Torn Destiny

2000 short story by Louis Turfrey

Twenty years after Episode IV - A New Hope

Mira Brendo swore to herself as she ducked behind the cover offered by the collapsed wall. High-energy blaster fire raked the air above her head and the smell of singed hair assaulted her nostrils. Damn that man! She'd have to buy a new hairpiece now. What had she done to deserve this? She'd merely killed a couple of suspected murderers. She reloaded an energy pack and fired blindly over the top of the wall. There was a brief interlude followed by yet more blaster fire.

This man was good; he'd tracked her down within an hour. If not for her Imperial training, she wouldn't have stood a chance of escape. His only flaw seemed to be his impetuosity. She'd have to find a way to use that to her advantage. More blaster fire hit the wall behind which she was hiding and a chunk of plasticrete fell on her arm. It wasn't large enough to harm her, but it brought her mind back to the problem at hand. She had to get to the barracks before she was discovered AWOL. Otherwise this was all for nothing. Without access to the Imperial Database she would not be able to find the real reasons why those two men had killed that family.

Mira decided then and there that no matter what the outcome today, her vigilante days were over. She'd leave the Army, if they'd let her, and settle down on one of the quieter rim worlds, as far away from Correllia as possible. Damn CORSEC and their policy of absolute justice.

More blaster fire filled the air above her, but this time it was coming from a slightly different angle. Damned spook must be trying to outmanoeuvre her. She'd show him.

Pulling the modified blaster carbine off of her back she clipped a thirty-centimetre blast plate to the front. It would protect her from any flashback and offer some protection from any return fire. She popped her head up and started returning fire where she had estimated the shots were coming from. Sure enough, as the smoke from the blaster fire died away, she saw a body sprawled, legs exposed from the portion of the wall that had collapsed on it.

Yes she thought. Mira leapt over the wall, making sure that her eye mask was still in place, and cautiously approached the prone figure. When Mira got closer, she could see that he was still breathing. There was a large wound in his side, and he was still awake, but the look of agony on his face said everything she needed to know. She approached closer, noticing that he only had one weapon and that it was out of reach. Good, she could leave him here and there was no chance of anybody following her. She was about to leave when something pulled her back. She had the feeling that if she didn't help this man now; something terrible might happen in the future. She made a quick decision and took the field med pack off of her belt and knelt down beside him and started to remove portions of the plasticrete from his body. Eventually she was able to move him out from the debris.

   "Looks like you won't be going anywhere today." Something about this man sparked her interest. He seemed fitter than the regular law enforcer, and there was an unsettling power behind his eyes. She made sure that he was incapacitated by applying a slight muscle relaxant, and then she placed her carbine against a nearby wall and administered some field bandages and some stimulants. He grunted.

The CORSEC man woke up a little. He turned in her direction.

   "Why are you doing this? I nearly killed you. Why didn't you kill me?" The questions came out slowly. He was struggling to breath. She continued to work on him for a few more seconds before answering.

   "I'm not a murderer. I seek justice. Those two men should not have been let off. They killed that family. They got just what they deserved." She finished packing the wound and closed the med pack. How could she tell him that they were lying in wait for her? How could she admit what they had told her?

   "Quite a medical kit for someone who kills people." He wasn't giving up. She looked him in the eyes.

   "I told you I'm not a murderer. I only dispense justice. You have no idea   the horrors I've encountered."

He laughed roughly at this, coughing heavily as he did so.

   "Your sort of justice is what gives Corellians a bad name. It's not needed and in this case it was totally unfounded." He managed to raise his head slightly. "They're innocent.  They had seen the crime and were too scared to talk. Another couple of days and they would have cracked. You missed them. Now they won't talk at all. You nearly killed the wrong people." He slumped back. "The information that cleared them was passed on by the Imperial Army itself.  Attempted murder is a serious crime. If you run they'll put a bounty on your head."

Mira looked at him closely, trying to gauge how much of the truth he really knew. She was sure that her feelings on the matter were correct. They had never failed her before. Then she heard the sound of sirens and cursed to herself.

   "To hell with your justice and to hell with your bounty. You don't even know who I am." She grabbed her carbine, tripping as she did do, but she quickly righted herself and ran, leaving the CORSEC officer wounded but alive. He watched her leap the wall expertly, her lithe form bounding up onto the roof of a nearby building. It was a seven-metre leap. The stylised image of a Corellian Hawk reflected back at him from her short cloak. Then she was gone. A small card lay on the ground, barely concealed by a thin layer of dust. The CORSEC officer strained to reach it before the rest of his team arrived. His fingers felt numb, and he was barely able to hold it. He looked at it briefly, an Imperial ID Card, and managed to place it in his shirt pocket before the rest of his team arrived.

   "See you around Lieutenant." He thought. Then the stimulants gave out and he fell into unconsciousness.

Twenty-seven years later

Duray Kindar carried the water back from the evaporator to the animal pens. His fourteen-year-old body was muscular and hardened by the extreme conditions imposed by the twin suns of Gantooine. He heard his mother calling him from the lodgings.

   "Duray, Duray? Where are you?  Your father's on the line."

Durays heart leapt as he heard the announcement. He carefully poured the water into the drink troughs and ran back to the homestead as fast as his legs would propel him. His father was a cargo pilot for the New Republic and was only home for four out of every eight months. Duray relished the time he spent with his father.

Duray dashed into the lounge area and leapt at the video com. He activated the receive button and immediately saw his fathers face on the screen.

   "Dad! How are you? Are you coming home?"

The face on the screen grinned back at him.

   "Yes son, I'll be back tomorrow morning, and I'm bringing a friend with me, who I'd like you to meet." Duray was excited. His father had many friends in the New Republic, some of which were famous both in and around the Rim worlds.

   "Who is it dad? Is he famous?" 

Durays father looked back at him with wry amusement on his face.

   "Well son, he's infamous rather than famous. You'll have to wait until tomorrow. Now go and complete your chores and put your mother back on." Duray groaned his disappointment but did as he was told. He knew it would only be a matter of a few hours until he met his father again.

The following morning came too slowly. Duray was up bright and early and ran through his chores in record time. He stopped only for breakfast, determined to get as much completed as he could before the end of the day.

He didn't have wait that long.  Two hours after breakfast he heard the telltale sound of a sonic boom and looked up in to see the telltale dot of an approaching spacecraft. He was puzzled; his father usually landed at the spaceport and then hired a speeder. Duray caught some movement out of the corner of his eye and saw his mother emerge from the lodgings, her hair combed and wearing her best clothes. Duray looked up again as he heard the whine of stressed repulsors. A strange black craft was approaching, its scorpion like appearance looked menacing silhouetted against the mid morning sky. It landed about a hundred metres from the homestead. A perfect three point landing. Thirty seconds later a ramp extended itself from the craft and two people exited. They walked towards the house. Duray had to run around the homestead before he had a clear view of who the two individuals were. As he rounded a wall he almost tripped over in amazement. His dad was talking to a tall man wearing distinctive black armour. His father saw him and beckoned him over.

   "Son I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine and an old friend from my CORSEC days. This is Tarrion Randelle, but most people call him Tarr Ranth. Tarr, this is my son, Duray"

Duray looked on in astonishment. Tarr Ranth was a legend in the Mid Rim. A bounty hunter who had survived the Empire, Glann Cipple and the New Republic. Duray wondered if he was going to take his helmet off.

   "Duray. That's an old Corellian name isn't it? Means Peace giver." Ranth held out his hand to Duray, who shook it slowly. "Pleased to meet you Duray. Your father says good things about you. However, I think I should introduce myself to your mother before we talk any more."

Duray just looked on in amazement, silenced by the presence of the man.

Ranth nodded to Duray and carried on towards the homestead with his father. Duray dropped in behind and followed them. When they drew up to his mother, she smiled warmly at them both then fiercely hugged his father.

   "Good to have you home Torath. Will the two of you be staying long?" She had an expectant look in her eyes. Torath smiled.

   "Yes my dear. Ranth is here to stay a couple of weeks then he is going onwards to A-desando. I'll be staying for a couple of weeks longer and then I'm off on a short haul to Chancai. "

She smiled wider at this news. A short haul meant that he would be back soon after. She looked towards Ranth.

   "You are welcome in my household but I must request that you leave any energy weapons on board your ship. Please understand, I have a fourteen year old son and I don't want to risk him having an accident." She looked hard at Duray, who looked away in embarrassment. Ranth caught the interplay and laughed.

   "Agreed.  Give me ten minutes to change and I'll be ready." He took his leave and strode back towards his ship. Durays father looked at his mother in consternation.

   "Mira, why did you insult him like that? He's a friend and an ally." His face was stern and he looked about to explode in anger. Mira faced off her husband.

   "You know my feelings on guns. They cause too much unnecessary death. I won't have weapons in my home.  If you can't accept that then you can go as well." His wife's comments stung like a scorpions tail. He looked down at his feet ashamed.

   "I'm sorry Mira. I know how you feel about weapons.  I should have realised. I was just so eager to see you I forgot. Forgive me?" He looked pleadingly at her. Mira's face couldn't hold the stern look for much longer and she grinned at him wildly, her beauty showing through even though she was nearing forty-five years of age.

   "Of course I forgive you, you old fool. Now come inside before we all get roasted by the suns." Mira and Torath entered the lodging, whilst Duray sat on the step and waited for Ranth. He didn't have to wait long. Ranth approached the house minutes later, dressed in light sand coloured clothing, with a brown cloak and hood pulled forward. He had a holdall over his shoulder. Duray noticed a silver cylinder hanging from his belt.

   "Mister Ranth, what's that?"

Ranth looked down to where Duray was pointing and detached the cylinder.

   "It was my fathers. I keep it near me, to remind me of who I am and where I am going." He pressed a button on the pommel and a green energy blade extended to a metre in length.

   "Wow, a lightsabre." Duray was wide eyed with amazement. "Does that mean you're a Jedi Knight?" Duray knew of the legends, his father had told him. Ranth looked at Duray and frowned slightly.

   "No. I have neither the training nor the inclination at the moment. Maybe one day." He deactivated the blade and moved it around the belt, so that it was out of sight. "Let's not tell your mother about this, okay?"

Duray nodded his ascent; glad to have a secret shared with such a man. Ranth look back towards his ship and raised his left arm to his mouth. Duray saw a hefty communicator attached.

   "Ranth to Star. Status airborne. Command lock out alpha, maximum defence, minimum aggression." Duray watched as Ranths spacecraft lifted silently on repulsors and started a rapid vertical climb into the atmosphere. Ranth turned towards Duray.

   "Shall we go inside?"

The lodgings were spacious and cool, though dimly lit. The design reminded Tarr Ranth of moisture farms he had seen on Tatooine, and brought back memories of time spent there. He shoved the memory aside, and followed Duray into a lounge area. Torath was waiting for him.

   "Duray, take our guests baggage to his quarters. Tarrion my friend, would you care for a drink?"

Ranth nodded.

   "It's a cosy holding you have here. How do you manage?" Ranth took the drink from Torath.

   "I don't. Mira does. She's a wonder with the Jajacki herds, and we've recently started a cross breeding program with some Banthas. They're very hardy beasts. We also make money by selling water, but this is at such a low rate that we just cover costs. Although the local water Barons don't like it. We've had several threats, but nothing has ever come of them. Mira's so dedicated that she hasn't left the planet in fifteen years. She always finds an excuse." Torath sat down and motioned Ranth to do so. Ranth made himself comfortable and removed his hood and cloak. The lightsabre rattled slightly in its harness. Torath looked at it.

   "I see you still carry your fathers sword. Learnt to use it yet?"

Ranth nodded.

   "Yes, I have another friend who is a Jedi. He's promised to teach me some other tricks if I ever get the time." He smiled at Torath. "Thank you for allowing me to stay here for a while. My last job was gruelling. I need some time out."

Torath nodded.

   "I remember what it used to be like, barely. Don't worry about the lightsabre either, Mira only dislikes blasters." At this point Mira came into the room carrying a couple of plates full of small snacks. She looked across at Ranth and seemed to stumble slightly. Torath looked across in concern.

   "Are you all right?"

Mira nodded her head.

   "Yes, just a little tired. I think I'll take a nap if you don't mind."

Torath nodded and she went to her quarters.

Mira gasped for breath as she closed the door of her bedroom behind her. Had he recognised her as she'd recoiled in shock? She thought not, but there was always the chance that he might. She moved over to her wardrobe and pressed a hidden panel in the back. The panel slid back to reveal a skin tight armoured costume, sitting on a mannequin. The silver Hawk on the cloak gleamed brightly in the feint light of the rooms' interior. A heavy blaster and a blaster carbine lay on the floor. She looked at them for a few moments and then seemed to make a decision. No, never again. She closed the door.

Ranth watched Mira leave and had a strange feeling. He had only recently started basic training in Force techniques, and didn't yet consider himself even a trainee Jedi Knight, but his friend Blake De'Athe had insisted that he practice what skills he had learnt. As well as learning how to use a lightsabre, one of the skills he had picked up allowed him to sense other force users and to hide himself from them. It was more a matter of protection than anything else. Mira was strong in the Force. She broadcast force energy quite loudly, especially when she was upset, and she was upset now. Somehow he felt he knew her, but was nonplussed as to how. Surely he would have remembered a face so beautiful? He played a hunch.

   "Torath, might I have a glass of water to go with the food?" Ranth looked at Torath directly.

   "Sorry, I forgot to ask. Yes, give me a minute and I'll get you some." Torath exited into the kitchen. Ranth moved quickly. As soon as Torath had disappeared he reached over to the plate of food he had been given, and carefully scanned it with the portable Bio-scanner built into the forearm command unit hidden under his tunic. It took nearly thirty seconds to get a reading, and Ranth could hear Torath coming back from the Kitchen. The unit bleeped moments before Torath entered the room. Two key presses and he had stored the telltale humanoid DNA traces for examination later.

When Ranth did at last get a chance to contact his ship again, it was almost the middle of the night. He sent all the information to the ships droid brain, giving it instructions to search all his personal crime databases. It took two hours of searching, but eventually the computer came up with a match. Mira Brendo. Ranth looked at the information carefully and sighed to himself. He had a lot of thinking to do.

Tarr Ranth knew something was wrong. He had been at Toraths house for a week now, helping with the farm and generally making himself useful, yet he still felt tense. There was and underlying mood in the air that Ranth recognised as a `Force' feeling. Something was not right here and he would soon find out what.

Tarr Ranth was flying one of the old T-16's around the farm boundary, checking on the fencing and making sure there were no breaks in the corals, when he came across a horrific sight. A herd of thirty Banthas were lying prone on the ground, their bodies burnt almost beyond recognition. Ranth took the T-16 in a tight loop and slowed down, bringing it in close to the creatures. The feeling he was getting was stronger now. Ranth took a chance and throttled the T-16 to the edge of the herd, letting it come to a gentle rest on the sand. He was about to step out of the Skyhopper, when he had the strangest feeling. His hand fell to his lightsabre. A blaster bolt hit the ground centimetres from the landing skid of the Skyhopper. Ranth ducked inside quickly, releasing the sabre from his belt. Damn! He wished he had his armour on him. The world went quiet, and then he heard the voice.

    "This is a warning. Tell Torath to stop selling the water to the other farmers or we'll do the same to his family as we have to his Bantha." There was a brief silence then the sound of swoop engines. Ranth slammed the door shut on the T-16 and brought the craft around towards where he had heard the engines. Two black dots were streaking into the atmosphere, and Ranth knew there was no way he could catch up. He headed back towards the homestead, activating his wrist com whilst he did so.

Torath paced the floor wildly, hands clenched behind his back, a worried look on his face.

Ranth had returned to find Torath and Mira staked out in the sun, and their son Duray was missing. The kidnappers had left a note - 'Kill the Water or we Kill your Child'.

   "Why? What have I ever done to them?" He stopped pacing and turned towards Ranth. "Did you see who it was?"

Ranth shook his head.

   "No, but give me two hours and I will." Ranth's voice was cold and hard. It was in complete contrast to Mira's voice, which came quietly from the entrance to the sleeping quarters.

   "If you want help, I'll give you a hand. That's the second herd we've lost this month. We can't afford another."

Torath looked across at her sharply.

   "The second? Why didn't you contact me? Why didn't you call in the law enforcers?" He looked accusingly at his wife. She matched his glare.

   "Because you were too far away to be of any help and the local enforcers are in the pockets of the Barons anyway. You know that." She was quiet for a few seconds and then looked at Ranth again. "I can help, if you want me to. I have training in weapons and I know how to fly a ship, though it's been a long time."

Ranth shook his head.

   "No it's too dangerous." He looked across at Torath. "Right?"

Torath looked back sheepishly.

   "She's right Ranth. She's a better shot than me and she holds her head better in a crisis. I'm too slow and I'll get in the way. I'll wait at the freighter.  You can call me if you need covering fire. Let Mira help you."

Ranth nodded his ascent, he knew Torath too well to question his judgement.

   "Very well. My ship will be here in fifteen minutes. I'll go outside and prepare. Meet me at the ship in half an hour."

Mira nodded her ascent and Ranth left. Torath looked across at his wife.

   "He'll know. He'll know just as soon as you fire the first blaster shot. Why risk it Mira? Why risk it all?"

Now it was her turn to get annoyed.

   "Because I've run from my past to my future, and I'll not give up now. I've spent almost  thirty years of my life trying to make amends for the mistakes of the past. I'll not be stopped by some jumped up idiot who thinks he can rule half a planet by fear alone. Besides, do you think I'd trust my sons life to just anyone?" She stormed out leaving Torath to his thoughts.

The Dark Star II landed heavily, but Tarr Ranth knew it was well within the stress levels of its landing gear. He deactivated the security systems remotely and boarded his ship. He felt an air of expectation as he approached the lockers and quickly changed into his armour. He'd been without it for too long.

The cockpit was just as he had left it. He activated the scanner logs and rewound the display to the correct time index. He'd become used to the habit of leaving the scanners activated in a tight beam search pattern years ago. He had them constantly watching his position whenever he left the Dark Star II in orbit. You could never be too sure who might take advantage of his lack of transport. The ship was set to warn him if anything larger than a star fighter approached his position. He zoomed in on the time index and augmented the image. Two swoops, one T-16. He went forward slowly to the point at which he'd asked his ship to track the two craft. Sure enough, the augmented droid brain had followed his plans flawlessly. He couldn't get a clear resolution, but he followed the two ships to another small farmstead, less than fifty klicks away, then they went north and vanished into thin air. No further movement had been detected within the last hour. Good. He was halfway through prepping the ship for takeoff when the buzzer to the ramp hatch sounded. Ranth left the cockpit and walked back to the main ramp. He opened the door. Mira stood there, dressed in tight fitting battle armour. A silver hawk emblem was painted boldly on the chest plate. She also wore a false hairpiece and an eye mask.

   "You don't seem surprised?" Her voice was strong, yet resigned. Ranth looked at her through his visor.

   "Should I be? I knew who you were within ten minutes of your trip in the lounge area. I took a DNA scan of skin cells you left on the plate after handing us the snacks. People usually get nervous around me while I'm wearing the armour. Those that get nervous around me when I'm not make me curious. Would you like to come onboard?" He moved aside to let her on his ship.

   "Don't you want to arrest me?" She looked at him directly, then stepped past him. He shook his head.

   "Not now. We'll see about that later. At the moment a child's life is at stake." He moved towards the cockpit area. Mira followed him.

   "You know I changed my name and my appearance but I never thought about altering my DNA." She followed him into the cockpit area. "What's the plan?"

He sat down in the pilot's chair and motioned to a secondary seat, just to the right and placed slightly behind the primary one.

   "Take the co-pilots seat until we're airborne. I'll need to alter your armour so it looks more like a bounty hunters." He turned the seat slightly, so she could see the front of the helmet. "Do not misunderstand me. This is going to be a dangerous undertaking. Your job will be to rescue the boy and get out as fast as you can. My job will be to bring the perpetrators to justice. I want no heroics; you simply need to obey orders.  Understood?"

Mira looked at him and nodded.  Ranth smiled beneath his helmet.

   "Good. Your sons life depends on it."

The Dark Star II took off at full burn, leaving a glassy area of sand in its wake. The twin Heddon 6 Drive units pushed the spacecraft out of the atmosphere in a matter of a minute. It took Tarr Ranth a few seconds to reposition the spacecraft over their intended quarry. Navigational controls were set and Ranth took Mira back to a series of large lockers set behind the cockpit area. There he took out various spare bits of armour, some tools and some paint. Within a couple of hours, Mira's armour had been re-coloured, redesigned and modified for stealth. Ranth had spent many years honing his skills and these minor modifications could have been done in less time, but he wanted them done properly and safely. Next was the helmet.

  "Your current eye mask provides cosmetic balance to your armour design and night vision capability, but offers no protection." Ranth opened another locker and brought out another helmet, of similar design to his own, but of lighter construction. He adjusted some controls inside the helmet then beckoned Mira over. She was self conscious of the fact that she was wearing only a transparent body stocking whilst the armour paint was drying off, but Ranth did not seem to notice. He stood up, walked behind her and raised the helmet over her head.

   "I should warn you that I have deactivated most of the capabilities of this helmet, as they are superfluous to this mission. However, there will still be an initial spate of sensory overload when the helmet is engaged, so stand still and wait for your body to adjust." He moved up closer behind Mira and slowly slipped the helmet over her head. Adjustable pads and pressure seals conformed to the contours of her skull. He switched on the helmet remotely from his own and waited.

   "Oh," Mira's voice trailed off as her legs buckled slightly. Ranth supported her for the few seconds it took for her to adjust.

   "Alright?" She still seemed a little weak and disorientated, but she slowly straightened.

   "Yes.  The effect was, well, familiar and unexpected. Reminds me of the first time I wore a Stormtrooper helmet. I'm recovered now though." She turned a full three hundred and sixty degrees. "There's a slight lag in the update on the visual acuity scanner in the visible light spectrum."

Ranth frowned but made the adjustments anyway.

   "For someone who has not worn augmented armour for thirty years, you are sure of yourself." He made a final adjustment. "Better?" He closed the access flap at the side of the helmet.

   "Much better. This is quite some piece of equipment."

Ranth nodded.

   "It was state of the art thirty years ago, and it's been heavily modified to keep it up with current technology." He reached over towards her armour, checking that the paint was dry, and handed it to her, piece by piece. She took it gratefully, obviously feeling exposed with merely the flesh-coloured body stocking on. Firstly she placed a light thermal body sock over her upper and lower torso, this was a new addition. Secondly, she placed the modified torso armour and thigh shields on. Lastly, she clipped on the blaster and equipment belt, lower arm shields and repulsor belt. The blaster itself was the last thing that Ranth gave her. It was her own unit, but with a new modified sighting system that interfaced with the helmet. Tarr Ranth looked at her closely. She looked every bit the professional bounty hunter. The modifications to the armour made it look Mandalorian in origin. Perfect for the effect he wanted. She moved into the centre of the small lounge area and started practising a series of combat moves. The sureness of her movement alerted Ranth to the fact that she had not neglected her physical training over the years. She finished quickly, apparently pleased with the armour.

   "Good, prepare for quick evac and hard landing." Without any further preliminaries, Ranth ducked back into the cockpit and activated the communications relay to Toraths ship.

   "We're about to make the descent. Track us and await my command. I need you in orbit ready to start the rescue operation."

Toraths voice came back over the comm unit.

   "No problem. I've set the gunnery systems to automatic defence. I'm ready when you are."

Ranth confirmed the plans once more and closed the communication. He then reached across to the Navigation terminal and set off a pre-recorded flight plan. The Dark Star II began a rapid descent into the atmosphere, so rapid that the outer hull started to heat and the rush of air could be heard screaming around the airlock doors. Ranth returned to the emergency airlock where Mira was waiting. He activated the suit mike as the volume of the re-entry increased outside.

   "Twenty seconds until the ship levels off at one thousand metres. We'll be travelling at four hundred clicks, and it will be dark. Your repulsor belt will activate at three hundred metres. Follow me down, but stay behind me. Use the tracker function on the helmet like I showed you. My suit offers more protection than yours and will give you some cover. The sonic boom will hit five seconds after we exit, so be prepared."

Mira nodded and then there was no time left and the hatch burst outwards. Ranth jumped and Mira followed.

You have to have a solid faith in the technology you're using to jump from a starship hurtling towards a planet at two-thirds the speed of sound, especially in the pitch darkness of night. Tarr Ranth was impressed with Mira and her dedication to her family. He wondered when it might be right to tell her about what had happened after she had left Correllia, but just as he was about to activate the mike his repulsor belt cut in. He heard a grunt over his helmet speakers as Mira took the full impact of the deceleration. There was a large rumble as they were buffeted by the sonic boom. The ground approached rapidly, but Ranth had calculated the descent correctly. However, there was still no sign of any buildings, and this gave Ranth some concern. He came to a stop, signalling Mira to do the same. Mira mirrored his thoughts.

   "Where are they? I expected them to come out and see what the noise was."

Ranth switched to all-spectrum scanning on his helmet and picked up a high-energy hot spot almost beneath them.

   "Switch to infrared and follow me down." They both floated rapidly to the ground. Ranth signalled for silence and they both trotted over to a small ventilation tube, camouflaged to be nearly invisible until nearby. Ranth switched to an all spectrum scan and searched the ground for traps, alarms and hidden switches. His search soon brought forth a result. He reached into the sand next to the ventilation shaft and pushed at something gently. There was a clicking sound and the top of the ventilation shaft folded back to reveal a lighted shaft with a thin ladder attached to the side. The shaft itself was two metres wide.

   "They must use this to enter and exit using the swoops. The best course of action would be to find another way in. I don't want them exiting whilst we are dropping down the chute."

Ranths cautious approach surprised Mira. He had apparently matured significantly since their first encounter, but she didn't have time for those thoughts now.

   "No. The longer we wait, the more chance we have of loosing the trail. I won't let that happen." She moved over to the edge of the shaft, looking down as far as the helmet would let her. The range finder estimated the drop to be about fifty metres. She turned back to Ranth.

   "Are you still with me?"

Ranth nodded, and they both activated the repulsor belts again. As they passed the entrance to the shaft, the exit clicked together silently behind them. There was no way out now.

The descent was cautious, and twice Tarr Ranth had to deactivate security scanners. Mira followed behind, always mindful of her lack of high-energy armour and hopeful that she would not need it. As they neared the exit, Ranth could hear people talking below. He motioned for Mira to halt above him. He flipped himself upside down and detached a small remote camera from his belt. A wire attached it to his armour. Activating the viewer in his and Mira's helmets, he let the camera drop on the wire until it just stood proud of the exit to the shaft. They saw four men, sat around a table, at the edge of a small underground hanger. Six swoops were parked near the exit to the shaft. The men were playing Sabacc. Two other men came out of a doorway with food trays in their hands. One sat down at the table, and watched the game. The other slid his tray through a small opening in the wall. Ranth shifted the camera angle slightly and saw a view of a series of vertical bars, behind which Duray sat, eating the food. There was no apparent entrance to the cell.

Ranth rotated himself upright, motioning for Mira to stay where she was. He waited where he was until all the men were ignoring the exit, then he dropped silently to the ground. As he landed, Durays' eyes grew wide, but to the boys credit he didn't mutter a sound. Ranth walked a few paces towards the men before announcing himself.

  "Drop your weapons."  It was all he said. Two men went for their guns simultaneously, one managed to get it free of the holster before Ranth blasted him. The other didn't. The four remaining men looked on in bewilderment. Then they seemed to notice Ranth's armour and the fear reached their eyes.

   "That's right, unlock the boys cell and send him to me."

One of the men went to comply, but Tar Ranth saw something else in his eyes.

   "Don't even think about using the boy as a shield. If you value your life you'll do as I say."

The man at the cell door visibly relaxed a little. Duray almost ran past him. Ranth motioned for him to be quiet and directed him towards the exit.

   "There's somebody waiting for you at the mouth to the tunnel.  Let her take you to the surface. I have some unfinished business with these...gentlemen."

The boy nodded and rushed for the shaft, climbing the ladder rapidly. Mira gave Ranth a click on the comm to say that she had received her charge and then activated the rescue signal that would bring her husband. She started up the shaft with her son clinging to her armour.

In the room below, Ranth had made a decision. He increased the volume on his biofeedback monitor and scanned the heartbeats of the four remaining kidnappers. He made his choice and motioned one of the men over.

   "The rest of you get in the cell."

They complied, apparently grateful not to be chosen.

   "Now we can get on with the interrogation."

Mira heard a scream as she helped lift Duray over the edge of the shaft. Just in time, as the power readings on the repulsor belt had started to blink empty. The shaft closed again behind them, cutting off the mounting screams. Mira's com link chirped in her ear.

   "Mira, Ranth, this is Torath, I'm on an incoming vector, but I have four aircraft on my scanners approaching your location. I suggest you find some cover."

Mira responded with two clicks of the comm unit and ushered Duray over to some nearby dunes. She heard two more clicks from Ranth. They settled into the sand. The night air had started to chill the ground and Duray was soon shivering quite violently. Mira pulled him close to herself. He looked up into her helmeted faceplate.

   "Who are you? Why are we waiting for Ranth?"

She looked down at him and saw the fear in his eyes.

   "It's okay Duray. It's your mother. Ranth is trying to find out who hired those men to kidnap you. Your father is on his way to pick you up and return you to the spaceport. Now, we must remain calm and quiet until Ranth has emerged from the shaft."

Duray smiled, he recognised his mothers voice even through the voice filter, and his shivering lessened a little. He snuggled a little closer. Mira started digging into the sand around them, creating a hollow beneath her.

They were upon them without warning. Two Dune Huggers swept low over their heads, causing the sand to stir into violent dust clouds. The vehicles, a two seated derivative of the T-19A Skystalker, rotated on their jets and settled into the sand near the shaft. A few seconds later she heard the engines of two more craft approach and start to circle above them. She looked at her son, catching his eye.

  "They will be sweeping the sand, probably using thermal imaging equipment. You must stay underneath my body, quickly now." 

Ranth had though ahead by providing her with a thermal body sock. It would reduce any heat escaping from her body to match the surrounding air. Shame that he had not owned one small enough for Duray. They had both hoped that the current situation would not become a reality.

The light from the T19's created a small sphere of visibility around both craft, lighting up the side of the shaft. Mira cursed to herself. Ranth would never get out now. She saw the hatches from the craft open and four men emerged. She recognised one of them as her neighbour Tarak Dill. At least I know how they kept getting away so quickly, she thought to herself. She used the viewer on the helmet to zoom up to her neighbours face and started a quick holo-recording. She used the directional microphone on the helmet to listen in on their conversation.

   "Sir, there's no reply from inside on the secure channel. What should we do?" Before the man she knew as Dill had a chance to reply, a shout came from near the other craft.

   "Sir, Spybird's one and two report an incoming freighter. Medium size YT-1500 designation. What do you want them to do?"

Tarak Dill didn't hesitate; he withdrew a com unit and spoke rapidly into it.

   "Destroy the freighter. Yes, you heard me! Use the Ion Cannon."

There was the sound of boosted engines overhead and then the sound of the aircraft started to fade. All was silent again for a few seconds. Then a man walked out of the darkness into the pool of light surrounding the two T19's. He wore a black tunic and trousers, covered in a black hooded robe. The hood had been brought forward to cover the face. Dill seemed unperturbed by the mans appearance. There was a slight movement of his hand and suddenly the area immediately around the shaft entrance was covered in luminescence, the source of which was a large floodlight that had emerged unseen from one of the nearby dunes. The pool of light just stopped short of the dune behind which Mira and Duray were concealed. The unknown man nodded at Dill and raised his head slightly as if looking around.

   "Come out Mira. I know you are here. I've been expecting you." Mira froze where she was. How could they know she was here? The man raised a hand in her direction, and Duray suddenly started to choke violently. The dark man laughed.

   "Come out Mira or he'll die."

She looked at her son and saw the pleading look on his face. She stood up slowly, hands away from her sides. Dill looked momentarily shocked, but seemed to regain his composure quickly. Mira activated the amplifier on her helmet.

   "Let my son go and I'll come."

The dark man shook his still partially concealed head.

   "No bargains. You must obey."

She felt a compulsion in her mind and suddenly she was walking towards him. She fought desperately to stop but her legs would not obey her. The dark man dropped his hand and she heard her sons ragged breathing behind her. She dropped the volume on her headset, so she wouldn't have to hear his pain.

   "What do you want from me?" She stopped barely two metres short of the unknown man, whom she now suspected was a dark force user. Her heart sank. They had found her after all this time.

   "I just want you Mira. You escaped us the last time we crossed paths. This time you will be entered into the fold. Maybe your child as well. He seems to have some latent ability." He moved a little nearer and the light fell on the scarred features of a middle-aged man.

   "Remember me?"

Ranth, watching from behind a nearby dune, saw Mira react with blinding swiftness. Her blaster was an extension of her arm as she drew it from her holster and fired at the man dressed in black. However, instead of hitting the man in black, the blaster bolt seemed to bend in mid air and hit the man standing to his left. He looked extremely surprised and turned his face accusingly to the man dressed in black, who grinned wildly.

   "My apologies Mister Dill.  Your services are no longer required."

The man staggered and fell to the ground. Ranth felt a coldness emanating from this man. He was practised in the Dark Side of the Force. Ranth wondered how he had gotten involved with this. He stood up and started walking around the group, wanting to enter the arena with an advantage, and found Duray shivering in the sand opposite. He gave Mira three clicks on the comm unit, the prearranged signal to say that Duray was safe. She started arguing with the man in black. Ranth didn't listen to the detail.

Ranth removed the backpack he was carrying and emptied its contents out onto the sand. Included within was Mira's facemask. He gave this to the boy, motioning for him to put it on. Then he took out the spare repulsor belt that he'd brought along and tied it around the boy. Attached to the belt was a deadman's switch he hoped he'd never have to use. He gave the boy one of his own jackets and a small holdout blaster. The boys face grinned. Ranth knelt as low as he could and whispered in the boy's ear.

   "Head out as far as you can, use the repulsor belt. It will keep you about two meters above the dunes. When you can no longer see the lights, press this button on the side. It will call in my ship on an evacuation setting. You'll not know it's there until it's upon you. The security system is set to accept you, so just push the panel in to the right of the door. The ship will do the rest once you are inside." He patted the boy on the shoulder and signalled for him to leave. Duray hesitated momentarily.

   "Don't worry about your mother. I've never lost a bounty yet."

The boy dashed off, disappearing into the night.

Ranth sat down behind the dune and started his Mandalorian battle meditation. He'd never known, until recently, that the meditation was close to that practised by Jedi's of old. Now he would need every ounce of strength he had ever called upon to defeat this man.

   "Nothing you do to me will ever turn me to your twisted morality, Deakon. I should have killed you properly the first time we met instead of maiming you." Mira was really getting into her role. She just wished that she didn't feel so afraid of this man. His taunts and force of persuasion had deflected her from her task before. Why was he so adamant that she had these abilities? She'd never used them, had she?

   "I feel your thoughts Mira. You doubt yourself. You shouldn't. You've been subconsciously picking up the thoughts of others for decades, that's how I spotted you when you were on that roof. That's how I was able to trap you. You are going to join me Mira, and if you don't then your son will." He looked puzzled for a moment. Then his face turned to rage and he leapt at Mira, lifting her bodily of the ground by her neck.

   "Where is he? Where is the boy?" Mira struggled to free herself from the mans grasp, but to no avail. She was starting to lose consciousness through lack of oxygen. She struggled again against the man and then as if from her very core, she heard the voice.

   `The Force is with you Mira Kindar. Release yourself to it and you will not fail.'

It was a kind voice, neither young nor old, and it called to her like no other ever had. `Relax, look inward, you have the ability.' She did as the voice asked, and found herself breathing more easily. Her body went limp in the hands of her assailant. Deakon looked on in disgust and tossed Mira aside. She hit the ground a full two metres away, only stirring slightly. He picked up her discarded blaster and aimed it at her.

   "I wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice came out of the darkness, near to where the boy had been hiding. Deakon looked around but could see nothing. He raised the weapon again.

   "I've asked you nicely. If you continue along your current path of action, I will have to intervene forcibly."

Deakon was becoming enraged. He reached out with the Force but felt nothing.  He turned back to the girl. His finger tightened on the firing stud. Then the gun was flying out of his hand and he could feel the burn on his fingers from the blaster bolt. He screamed in rage.

   "Who are you? Are you a complete fool? You saw what I did to the woman; I'll do the same to you. You have no idea who you are dealing with." He called up the dark side energies and started to search the area in earnest.  "Reveal yourself and we may be able to come to some agreement."

Ranth stepped up to the edge of the pool of light. His armour reflected very little of the light back to Deakon, but he could see Deakon clearly. He dropped the obfuscation skill he had been holding and brought up his combat meditation. Deakon reeled around, facing him directly.

   "You? A Jedi? A Mandalorian Jedi?" Deakon laughed. "My, my. What a contradiction."

Ranth moved further into the light, so that his armour could be more clearly seen.

  "You don't know who I am do you?" He moved a little closer towards Deakon, lifting a pad up so that he could see the display on it. He started reading out loud.

   "Greve Deakon. I am detaining you under the authority invested in me by New Republic security, Setnin Sector security authority and Corellian Sector Security, as a registered bounty hunter. You are advised that the bounty placed upon you nineteen years ago by Corellian Security is still valid and states that you may be brought in dead or alive." Ranth lowered the pad, affixing it to his belt again. "I'd prefer alive, but dead will do."

Deakon filled red with rage, the scar on the side of his face throbbed fiercely and a thin trickle of blood started flowing from his nose.

   "You, are, a, bounty hunter?" The words took Deakon a lot of effort. Rage had taken him over and his eyes sparkled. Ranth nodded. Deakon looked down at his hands and blue sparks started to be emitted from them. He raised one and pointed it at Ranth; the sparks built up and were suddenly emitted. The stream of dark side energy hit Ranths suit and discharged to the ground. Ranth felt a mighty push, the shock striking through his systems, and he was hurled ten metres backwards into the dunes. He shook himself and stood upright. His helmet and his suit weapons were dead, so he removed them, but the rest of the armour would offer some protection. Deakon stood watching him. Ranth surmised that the discharge had cost him dearly. This man might be a Dark Jedi, but his skills were far from complete.

   "Impressive attempt. Care to try again?" Ranth calmed himself and found his centre, a technique he'd always used to prepare himself for battle. Deakon withdrew a lightsabre from inside his tunic and thumbed on the blade. He seemed slightly unfamiliar with its use, but nonetheless held its grip like one born to it. Ranth repeated the gesture, his own green blade extending to just over a metre from his body. Although it was his fathers' blade, it was as familiar to him as if it were his own. He moved towards Deakon. Deakon let his crimson bladed sabre hang down at his side, beckoning with his free hand.

   "Ha, a true Jedi. I hope you are as good with the Lightsabre as the last person I fought. He did try so hard to protect his family." As Deakon spoke he locked eyes with Tarr Ranth. Ranth didn't waver; he needed as much concentration as he could muster if he was to stand a chance of defending both himself and Mira. He only had to wait until Torath shook off those fighters.

10 Kilometres Above Tar Ranth

Torath was not shaking off the two Headhunters. He guessed they had been severely modified; either that or he was fighting against two Jedi. He set the YT-1500 into a spin and pushed it sharply into the atmosphere. He knew his assailants Ion weapons would have a limited range and couldn't afford any more pounding on his shields. He sent out another automated distress call to the local defence forces. There was a sudden buffeting as he hit a thermal layer and his already stressed shields gave out entirely. The hull started to heat up violently. No choice but to slow down, but if he did that then they would catch up with him. He made a quick decision and dropped the power to the main engines. Activating the repulsors, he let the craft drop suddenly. The two Headhunters, already right on his tail, shot straight overhead. Two taps on the firing stud and they were vapour.

   "Hang on Ranth, I'm coming to get you."

10 Kilometres Below Torath

The crimson blade came over in a fast slash, deflecting off the green blade and scorching the sand. Deakon smiled and leapt over Tarr Ranth, landing behind him. Ranth twisted sharply, bringing the green bladed sabre around in a vicious arc that was easily deflected by the more experienced Dark Jedi. Ranth had to duck quickly, as the return attack nearly separated his head from his shoulders. He kicked out hard, sending Deakon staggering backwards, off balance and onto the sand. Ranth rolled over sideways, leaping towards the weapon Mira had been forced to discard earlier, and scooped it up into his holster as Deakon rolled with the impact and came back on to his feet. Deakon ran at Ranth and brought the blade down in a two handed attack. Ranth deflected the blade again, but the edge caught his shoulder armour, causing him to drop his lightsabre.

   "That hurt." He leapt sideways, forced away from his own lightsabre by Deakons attack. Deakon grinned wildly and pressed the advantage by causing Ranth to keep dodging the blade. Eventually there were nearly twenty metres between him and the lightsabre and Ranth was wondering how he would get out of the situation. Then luck caught up with him. As the crimson blade came down, Ranth ducked underneath it and rolled forward under Deakons guard and came up behind him. Deakon twisted around, intending to catch Ranth with the back slash, but Ranth jabbed a hard punch into Deakons ribs. Deakon grunted in pain and released the lightsabre; the momentum of the swing sent it flying in the opposite direction. Ranth followed up with a sharp kick to the mans back, and something crunched under his boot. Ranth took no chances and dashed for his lightsabre. Meanwhile Deakon was on his knees in the sand, screaming curses at Ranth. He turned in his rage and raised his hand. Ranth felt a violent push from behind and was hurtled off his feet, overshooting his lightsabre by five metres and landing heavily next to Mira. He noticed that she was awake but immobile and wondered why, but not for long, Deakon was half stumbling, half running towards him.

Ranth leapt across Mira, rolled into a kneeling position and brought up his blaster. He started firing a deluge of shots at Deakon, who successfully blocked them all, but seemed unable to return any in Ranth's direction. Ranth kept up the firing, changing target as he did so and causing Deakon to have to twist and turn violently, but slowly the man was edging nearer.

Time was against Ranth, his blaster pack was emptying and the lightsabre was over eight metres away. He kept looking across to it, looking back to Deakon, all the time wishing it were nearer, all the time cursing himself for not staying with Blake and learning more Jedi skills. Was this how he was going to die, on a backwater world where nobody would mourn him and where the scavengers would pick his armour clean?

The blaster pack ran out. Time slowed. He saw the rictus of Deakons grin, the lightsabre blade rise and the man dash forward. Ranth resigned himself to not knowing why the man had attacked Mira. Deakon ran up and the blade descended. For the first time in many decades Tarr Ranth felt a brief fear and raised his hand as if to ward off the blow.

   "No."

Mira's voice came out of nowhere and so did the lightsabre. It shot into Ranths hand and activated under its own volition. Ranth barely had time to register its presence and grip it before Deakons blade hit it. The two blades locked briefly, energy spitting out in all directions. Ranth reacted without thinking, pulling the vibro shiv out of his boot and burying it deep in to Deakons thorax. The look of surprise on the mans face said it all.

Deakon felt the blade go in and suddenly realised he had made a fatal error. This wasn't a trainee Jedi Knight, unsure of his abilities and fearful for his life. This was a trained bounty hunter with over two decades worth of experience. He staggered backwards, dropping his now inactive lightsabre onto the sand. He called for the dark side, intending to let it heal him, but to his surprise it wouldn't come. He clasped both hands around the hilt of the shiv, but was unable to get a solid grip due to the sticky red substance flowing out of it. He looked across at Ranth and Mira, falling down to his knees as he did so.

   "This is not the end.  There are others. We will prevail." His voice was calm but forceful. Ranth knew the man was dying. Only dark side energies had kept him going this long. Now it seemed they had abandoned him. Deakon looked across at Mira.

   "If you ever see my brother tell him I am sorry."

Mira walked up to him as he fell down onto his back, looking down at him as he did so.

   "Tell him yourself, Imperial Scum." She turned her back on him, and started walking towards the coming dawn. Ranth looked down at the now dead Dark Jedi and bent to retrieve his vibroshiv. He wiped it off and placed it in its boot holster.

   "Ditto."

The Simple Life hard docked with the Dark Star II eight hundred kilometres above the surface of Gantooine. Tarr Ranth manually input the unlock code to the airlock doors and stepped onto the deck plates of his own ship. Torath and Mira followed, both quietly holding hands. On the other side of the airlock, Duray waited, his face alight with the joy of seeing his two parents alive. The family hugged each other and started to swap stories while Ranth went into his quarters to change.

Ten minutes later he emerged refreshed and clean, wearing his Jedi style robes. He smiled as he walked into the lounge of the Dark Star II and sat down opposite his friends. Mira looked at him tentatively.

   "I've told Duray that I'll be leaving, and why. He understands. Where will you be taking me to trial?" Ranth's face went serious for a moment and then he took out a small holographic recorder and placed it on the table that was between them.

   "Suppose you first tell me what happened on Corellia, then I'll tell you where you are going to be imprisoned." His face was grim. Mira nodded.

   "It was pretty straight forward. I'd had a tip off, whilst working for internal security, that a couple of high-ranking officials were coming to the planet to pick a special team of operatives from our group. We heard no reason as to why they might do this, other than the fact it was upon the Emperors order. We were excited, as we believed all that the Emperor and our training had told us. Two men arrived on planet, one of whom seemed familiar to me at the time. I was to learn later that he was my uncle. The other man wore black armour. I was to learn later that this was the Emperors sith apprentice. Of course their real purpose had been to search out and destroy a couple of Jedi who had been reported as hiding on the planet. I didn't know at that point that one of them was my father and that the other was my mother. Neither did they know that I was related to them, as I'd taken my mothers name at the time. I only found out about their deaths when they were broadcast over the local news network. They said that they had been vile creatures that practised arcane arts that violated the very nature of the universe it's self." She stopped, the pain obviously visible on her face. Ranth kept quiet whilst she collected her wits.

   "The sith lord left the planet, but Imperator Deakon stayed. He said he had a duty to hunt out any force user and enlist them into the Empire. As you might have guessed, I had been encouraged to hide my Force ability by my parents, and that technique had now become useful. I was confused and felt let down by the Empire. I surmised that if they had lied to me about the true nature of a Jedi, then they might have lied to me about everything else. I started trawling through the local databases, investigating unsolved crimes, and eventually finding that a lot of them where down to the more undisciplined members of the local garrison. You have to remember that we were a group of people who had voluntarily enlisted in the Imperial Army, and not cloned Stormtroopers that had already become so widespread." She paused momentarily. Looking Ranth straight in the eyes.

   "It took six months of planning and training, listing the criminals, both local and Imperial, who had been shielded by the Empire. There were a lot, fifty in all. I used my position within Army Intelligence to factor the locations of these individuals and started to do something about it. That's when I created The Hawk, based upon a popular children's fictional heroine. Unfortunately the Hawks rather unusual physical abilities attracted the attention of my uncle. He bided his time, working out the reason for the Hawks appearance and eventually laying a series of traps. I dodged them easily, but then he caught me unawares. The two Imperial officers were on a patrol that I was commanding. They were junior lieutenants, new to the planet and very sure of themselves. We were doing a house-to-house search for a known criminal at the time and they got a bit zealous. No, let me correct that, they got downright nasty. They started beating up on an Ithorian family, for no apparent reason, calling them alien scum, telling them they didn't deserve to live. I was two dwellings away when I heard the blaster shots. When I got there all they had to say was they were resisting arrest. I found the mother in the sleeping area. She died protecting her baby. The two were immediately arrested by the remaining members of our team and marched back to the garrison. I remember the smirks on their faces.  Until recently I still dreamed of them. They were tried under local law and found innocent. The information that cleared them was provided by another member of my team, an INTEL officer who claimed to be with them at the time. He was actually with me when I heard the blaster shots.

Of course, this enraged me, but when I had calmed down I knew what had to be done. Sorry, can I have a drink of water?" She swallowed a drink from the glass Ranth fetched her and started again.

   "You have to understand that I didn't know the Jedi creed.  I had competent Force abilities but my parents had always said that they were a family gift and that the rest of the galaxy despised these abilities. They had aided me on several occasions during training, I could extend my leaps, increase my stamina and I often knew about danger before it happened, which gave me the appearance of quick reflexes. It was because of these abilities that I blamed myself for the deaths of the Ithorian family. I felt that I should have known about them in advance. So I felt a need to try and correct the mistake by taking a life for a life.

I had never actually taken a life before, except in defence or the service of the Empire. I merely had to beat the confessions out of the criminal individuals or simply scare them enough so that they confessed without duress. I then dropped off the holographic recordings of these admissions to the local CORSEC offices. I assumed killing someone was going to be just as easy. I waited until night fell, then using the Force I worked my way into the barracks where the men were billeted. I caught them playing Sabacc and was just about to pronounce my judgement when Deakon came in behind me. He took me completely by surprise and gave the men enough time to draw their weapons. There was a fire fight and both men were wounded, but not killed. I was thrown across the room by a Force push from Deakon and hit the wall hard. Deakon then caught me in a Force choke and started squeezing the air out of me. He violated my mind, trying to Force my identity out of me but all I would let him see was that I was the daughter of the two Jedi he had murdered. He then proceeded to tell me the details of how he had killed my father and mother, under the sith lords gaze, and that it was the final test created by the Emperor to test his loyalty. He also admitted that he was in fact my father's brother and that he had once been a Jedi himself. I lost all control of my senses at that point and managed to break free of the Force hold. I called by dropped blaster to me and shot him in the side of the head. Thinking him dead I ran, but he set CORSEC on me. The rest you know. I skipped the planet, had my features altered and started a new life. When Torath and I became heavily involved, I told him the story. He accepted it and we married six months later." She sat back, obviously pleased to have been able to share her story. Ranth stopped the holographic recorder. Looking at Mira he removed a pad from inside his tunic and read it out loud.

   "Mira Brendo. You are hereby informed that as of this day you are required to be taken from this place, to a location known only to myself and select others. Here you will become a trainee initiate of the Jedi Blake De'Athe. If you agree to the above then all previous charges formally raised against you under the regime of Emperor Palpatine will be dropped, as will the charges of injuring a CORSEC officer and damage to property through affray. What say you?" He looked at Mira trying not to reveal his emotions.

   "Yes, definitely yes." She hugged her son and her husband. "How? Why?"

Ranth smiled.

   "After you left the planet, while Deakon was still injured, we interrogated the two officers again. They cracked eventually, but not before Deakon had been able to skip planet. Apparently the sith lord was not too pleased with his performance and issued a death warrant on him. Now will you explain to me why you were playing dead down there and why you didn't fight Deakon yourself?" 

Now it was Mira's turn to smile.

   "Oh that's easy. I was in a healing trance, talking to my father." Ranths eyebrows rose notably. "As for not fighting Deakon, the only thing I knew about a lightsabre was how to turn it on. Think yourself lucky that I put it in your hand the right way around."

Ranth raised his eyebrows again. 

Lucky indeed.

Torn Destiny

2000 short story by Louis Turfrey

Twenty years after Episode IV - A New Hope