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Star Wars : A Life of Their Own
Chapter Seven

* * *

It was the pounding that awoke Anakin. At first it was the only thing that penetrated the fog of pain that shrouded his mind. Then he returned to consciousness with a jolt, startled to find himself on the floor of the Fahren's cockpit. He gathered the Force to himself and began to run a mental examination of his body.

He found it difficult to concentrate but Master Ben had drilled the routine into him for just such an occasion. He started at his feet and slowly moved up his legs. There were a few bruises on his torso, one on his hip where his lightsabre usually hung. He unclipped his weapon and set it on the control panel before continuing.

Finding no signs of serious internal bleeding, he moved up to his neck and head. There was a long gash across his forehead, where his head had hit the control panel in the crash. There was a trickle of blood streaking down between his eyes and dripping off his nose. From the pain in his head and the way the cabin seemed to move beneath him, Anakin guessed he had a concussion.

That explained the throbbing in his head but not the pounding. The pounding had very little to do with Anakin's head and a lot to do with the troop of Ekash guards trying to force their way into the Fahren. Struggling back into the pilot's seat, Anakin scanned the control panel.

The damage did not seem too severe, providing the diagnostic equipment itself hadn't been damaged. He began to prepare the Fahren for take-off, redirecting any systems that seemed too badly damaged. A shrill alarm went off beside Anakin's ear, startling him. As he moved his head a drop of blood fell from the tip of his nose to smatter against the controls.

After he'd silenced the piercing noise, he turned his attention to the display. The alarm indicated that the guards had managed to wedge open one of the Fahren's hatchways.

Anakin wildly searched the Fahren's controls until he found what he was looking for. In response to his frantic commands, a small panel slid open on the bottom of the Fahren's hull. An ornately moulded silver blaster with green and gold trimmings slid out and lined the guards up in its sights.
"This is so a woman's ship," grumbled Anakin, watching on the display screen.

The blaster let fly with two streams of fire that cut down half a dozen of the guards. The rest of the guards fled, firing their weapons harmlessly at the Fahren's shield-protected belly. Before powering up the engines, Anakin activated the proximity sensors.

The sensor alarms went off almost immediately, causing Anakin to wince again. A closer look at the sensor readout showed that the nose of the Fahren was still buried under part of the North Tower. Without much choice, Anakin increased power to the shields and powered up the engines regardless.

The ship groaned and shuddered under the weight of the stone but, slowly, she began to edge backwards. From the windscreen Anakin could see the guards hurriedly assembling an anti-aircraft gun but still the Fahren moved painfully slowly. Anakin urged the ship on faster, still fighting to suppress the pain in his head.

With a horrible screeching sound the Fahren lurched free.

Anakin swung the ship around to get a clear shot at the anti-aircraft gun and fired. Before the smoke had even cleared enough to confirm the kill, Anakin was speeding away over the purple landscape.

* * * * *

Emalda led the way amongst the purple undergrowth.
"Your planet's vegetation seems largely untouched," said Ben conversationally, ducking a branch.
"This is a very scarcely populated area, most of the people here live in the city itself," said Emalda tightly. "That's why Natheb built his base here."
"I've heard your people are not very fond of outsiders."
Emalda laughed bitterly, "Natheb doesn't even like his own people."
Ben stopped moving and when Emalda turned to look he had a strange expression on his face.
"What?" she frowned.
"What reason does he have for not liking you?"

Emalda opened her mouth to reply and a blaster bolt slammed into the tree trunk near her head. As she was diving for the ground and cover, Ben was swinging upwards on a tree branch. Using the branch as a pivot, Ben flew into a somersault. His lightsabre ignited in mid-air and he landed out of Emalda's sight.

She heard the hum of his lightsabre as it swung through the air and two screams. Then there was silence until Ben crouched by her side. Despite herself, Emalda was impressed. It seemed as if such a performance deserved a reward of sorts.
"He hates the Force," she told him.
"Excuse me?" frowned Ben, still focused on the ambush.
"That's his reason for not liking me."
"People often fear that which they do not understand.

Emalda snorted, "That's half the problem. Natheb can't use the Force himself but he understands enough to manipulate it for his own purposes."
Ben placed a gentle hand on Emalda's shoulder, "I give you my word that I will do everything in my power to stop him."

The conviction in his tone reassured Emalda. There would be no more victims, no more Yulanas. Natheb would be stopped for good. With this thought to warm her heart, Emalda made her way to the North Tower with the blue-eyed stranger by her side.

* * * * *

Anakin was rising high into the atmosphere, rising above the range of the ion cannons. Once he was clear he could run the diagnostic systems and find out what his distraction had cost the exquisite ship. Another alarm went off. Anakin slammed it off angrily as the pain in his head increased.

Sensors told him that the hatchway the guards had levered open had not been closed. Until it was, the Fahren refused to climb any higher. Anakin hesitated. They were not quite out of range yet but the nearest cannons were unmanned. He would have to shut the hatch manually and hope none of the guards returned while he was occupied.

Activating the automatic pilot and leaving his lightsabre where it was, Anakin rose unsteadily to his feet. He weaved his way towards the cargo bay, using the wall for support where possible. The difference in air pressure could be felt as soon as the door to the cargo bay opened.

Following the flow of air, he staggered to the open hatchway. A blaster had been tightly wedged in the opening. Anakin pulled but the blaster stubbornly refused to move. Anakin braced his feet on either side of the hatch and tried again.

After a fair amount of grunting, the blaster popped loose. Unprepared for it, Anakin fell backwards and the blaster flew over his shoulder. He could hear it bouncing across the cargo bay floor. The hatch slid shut automatically. Shutting his eyes in exhaustion, Anakin propped himself up on his elbows.

Tired as he was, he knew he still needed to get back to the cockpit. It was at that moment that someone grabbed him from behind.

* * * * *

Head held high, Leia allowed herself to be escorted down the corridor. In front of her, guards dragged the unconscious forms of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. They had not moved far before they reached their destination. With a parting shove, Leia was locked in an empty room with the incapacitated Jedi. The room was smooth and empty; there wasn't even a layer of carpet on the floor.

There was a light in the ceiling but it was too high to reach. The door was firmly locked on the outside and there were no windows. There was, however, an air vent set high into one of the walls. Leia went to examine it, reaching up on her toes to look at it closely. She slid her fingers between the slats and pulled but the vent was firmly attached.

Leia planted her feet flat against the wall and pulled again. The grating groaned but remained fixed. Panting from the effort, Leia tried again. This time her fingers slipped and she landed painfully on her back. Groaning in surrender, Leia crawled over to lie beside Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master mumbled quietly but remained unconscious.

The hiss of a lightsabre being ignited quickly caught Leia's attention. A lavender blade of light sliced through the vent from the inside. Leia hurried to her feet and caught the vent before it could crash noisily to the ground. A familiar face loomed out of the vent's shadows.
"Luke!"
"Leia! I thought it might be you, making all that noise."

Luke squeezed the rest of the way out of the vent, landing in a crouch on the floor. Leia dropped to her knees and hugged him enthusiastically.
"I knew you'd come," she smiled into his shirt.
Luke hugged her back just as fiercely, "We were worried about you."

Breaking the hug, Luke looked across at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
"How are they?" he asked.
"I think they're just unconscious. Natheb used some sort of sound to knock them out."
"Persuasion through sound?" asked Luke. "A transmission was sent to the New Republic fleet and everyone who heard it can't see the planet any more. Since they can't see the planet, they can't attack."
"I know how he's doing it," nodded Leia. "It's a machine... I can show you where."

* * * * *

As Emalda and Ben approached the North Tower, the extent of the chaos Anakin had caused became apparent. Part of the tower's base had collapsed and the top of the tower was leaning dangerously. Below it, guards were running about in utter confusion.

"Your friends are in the top of the tower," whispered Emalda. "And their ship is in an underground hangar beneath it."
Ben crouched beside her, his eyes sweeping the scene intently. Emalda could not shake the feeling that he was seeing things she could not.
"Will the tower stay up?" she asked, studying Ben's face for a reaction.
"As long as nobody else opens fire," Ben reassured her.

Emalda pursed her lips, "So we're counting on luck."
Ben smiled at her before leading the way towards the tower. His movement was eerily silent and Emalda had to sprint to keep up with his jog. Fortunately the rubble from the tower provided perfect cover and the guards made enough noise to disguise Emalda's stumbling progress.

They reached the entrance to the tower without incident. The narrow building seemed deserted, apart from the noise outside, and the power had been disrupted. The building was dark except where parts of the wall had fallen and the sunlight filtered through.

A thin staircase wound around the outside wall, leading both upwards and downwards. Below they could hear the sounds of movement and voices but above them was utter silence. Emalda nodded up the stairs and Ben followed.

"There's no chance they could have moved the prisoners?" Emalda asked nervously as they passed a large crack in the wall.
"We'll deal with that situation if and when we come to it," said Ben dismissively.
They continued to climb higher and it began to get lighter as there was less damage to the walls. Ben ignited his lightsabre but remained silent. He held out a hand to help Emalda over a broken step.

With a disgusted snort she waved away the help and leaped over the obstacle. Keeping a hand on the wall to guide her, she continued up the staircase independently.

When she looked back, she thought she saw amusement in Ben's eyes but it was difficult to be sure in the darkness.

After a while, she heard Ben stop. She turned around and came back to see what had delayed him. By the glow of his lightsabre he was examining the body of a guard. Debris from the roof had fallen across him.
Emalda crouched opposite Ben, "Dead?"
"Hasn't been for long," nodded Ben.

He reached over to search the guard's pockets, finding a security card.
"This could be useful," he said to himself, tucking it into his belt.
He stood up and gazed thoughtfully up the staircase, "He was probably one of the last to flee."

Emalda turned the guard's head so that she could see his face. When she got a clear view she felt as if she was going to be sick.
"Oh my god," she gasped. "I knew him. We grew up together."
Ben was instantly by her side again, "I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do for him now."

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder but Emalda didn't seem to notice.
"He probably didn't even know why he was being attacked," said Emalda, the anger coiling in her stomach. "He was a good man. He wouldn't have supported Natheb if he'd known the truth of what he is."
"The truth? What do you mean?" asked Ben.
"That he's evil," spat Emalda.
"We have no right to judge that."

"You're defending him? You're saying that good people are capable of this sort of thing?"
"That is not what I said," Ben corrected her coldly. "We can't judge whether or not he's evil but we can judge guilt or innocence. And punish him for it. Justice will be done here, have no fear of that."

Emalda brushed his hand off angrily and stamped up the stairs. After a minute, she could hear Ben following. The unfairness of it burned at her, mostly because she knew he was right. Emalda was so caught up in her anger that she almost missed the turn in the dark.

She waited for Ben and then they moved along the landing by the lightsabre's glow. Ben looked up cautiously at any doors they passed but all remained quiet. The other thing that Emalda trusted, besides her instincts, was her sense of direction.

They reached their destination without a single wrong turn. At last they came to the dead end that she'd seen only once but still knew how to find.

She waved at a door set into one of the walls. Ben moved forward and placed his ear on the door. Then he pulled out the security card and ran it through the slot - backwards. Rolling her eyes, Emalda took the card from him and opened the door.

"Ambassador Solo?" called Ben, stepping forward into the room.
Over his shoulder, Emalda could see that there was a couch in the middle of the room but little else. Frowning at the lack of response, Ben walked further into the room.

Han Solo’s head popped over the back of the couch, "Obi-Wan? Is that you?"
The heads of a wookie, a Bothan and another human appeared also.
"We've come to get you out of here," said Ben warmly.
"It's about time you people got here," said Han, breaking out into a grin. "We've been waiting for ages."
"We are not saints but seekers."
"You sure got that right, buddy."

* * * * *

Anakin twisted his body, rolling his full weight over his attacker. The attacker let go of Anakin for the first time and Anakin got a good look at his opponent. It was, unsurprisingly, an Ekash guard and one who looked very fit even for an Ekash.

Normally Anakin would have been more than a match for him but the concussion had disrupted his connection to the Force. What little Force he could gather was being used to keep himself conscious. Fortunately neither of them was armed.

Anakin lurched unsteadily to his feet. The guard charged at him but Anakin managed to deflect the blows. Anakin tried to hit back but his balance was off and he missed. In that distraction, the guard tackled him to the ground and fell on top of him heavily. Anakin worked his foot up between their bodies and pushed.

The guard was flung backwards. Anakin rolled to his feet, wincing at the pain the movement caused. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the blaster. Focusing hard, he called on the Force. The blaster quivered and leapt up towards his outstretched hand.

At that moment, the entire ship shook with the impact of enemy fire. Apparently the unmanned cannons were unmanned no longer.

Both Anakin and the guard were thrown to the ground. With Anakin's concentration broken, the blaster fell in mid-air to bounce along the deck. Anakin scrambled back to his feet, unsure of whether it was enemy fire or the concussion that was responsible for the swaying of the room.

He moved jerkily towards the cockpit. All he needed was to raise the ship enough to be clear of the cannons and then he could focus his whole attention on his unwelcome guest. As he reached the door to the cockpit, another impact made him stagger to his knees. A warning siren began to blare.

A metallic voice called over the speakers, "Warning. Force shields failing. Repeat, warning..."
The guard smacked into Anakin from behind. They both fell forward into the cockpit.
"If I don't get to the controls, we're both dead!" cried Anakin desperately.
The guard's reply was an unintelligible babble.
"Oh, that's just perfect," snarled Anakin. "I don't speak Ekash."

Anakin flipped the guard over his back and dived towards the console. Through the main screen he could see a cannon almost directly beneath the Fahren. It appeared badly damaged but was preparing to fire on them. A wild shout in Ekash drew Anakin's attention. The guard stood behind Anakin's chair, the blaster gripped tightly in his hands.

The barrel of the gun was pointing squarely at Anakin's chest.
"We're in danger," Anakin tried again.
He gestured impatiently at the view below but the guard looked at him suspiciously. As Anakin gestured again to the view, he noticed his lightsabre sitting on the console where he had left it earlier. His seat blocked the guard's line of sight, literally giving him a secret weapon. All Anakin needed was a split second of distraction.

The guard's eyes moved to focus behind Anakin's head. Anakin would have taken it for a bluff if he hadn't caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Keeping half an eye on the guard, Anakin turned to look.

A familiar Corellian freighter charged into his view, blasting the cannon to smithereens. The horrified guard muttered something in Ekash.

Anakin seized the moment and called his lightsabre to his hand. The guard fired wildly but Anakin easily deflected the first two bolts lightly aside. The third he deflected back at the guard. With a scream, the guard collapsed.

Anakin's hands shot at last to the controls and the Fahren shot high into the air. The freighter followed. As soon as they were out of cannon range, the cargo ship transmitted a greeting.

"Fahren, this is the Millennium Falcon. Han Solo, here. Are you there, Anakin?"
With the adrenaline of the fight fading went Anakin's concentration. The pain in his head returned with a vengeance.
"Who?" he mumbled wearily.
"Han Solo," repeated the voice. "Your son-in-law, remember?"

In the background an unfamiliar voice piped up, "Son-in-law?"
"It's a long story," came the cultured tones of Anakin's master.
"Long or not, he better have a good excuse for trashing my ship..." the unfamiliar voice continued sullenly.
"Hush," sighed Ben.

"Anakin?" asked Han Solo.
"Yes?" said Anakin sleepily.
"Are you okay, buddy?"
"My head hurts."
"Okay, drop your altitude a little so you can pop open a hatch."

Anakin frowned. Hadn't he almost been killed trying to close a hatch in order to raise his altitude?
"Why?" he asked.
"Because your master is going to jump ship, literally."
Han Solo sounded decidedly amused at the prospect.

Anakin obediently dropped the Fahren lower, watching the nearest cannons nervously. First one, then two thumps could be heard on the Fahren's roof. Anakin popped a hatch near the sound. He rubbed his tired eyes and waited.

Master Ben was at his side. He felt strong arms lift him gently from the pilot's chair. An Ekash woman took his place at the controls while Master Ben leant over him. His master's face was hazy but smiling.
"You're a strong one, Anakin. Have I ever told you that?"

* * * * *

Leia squeezed backwards through the air ducts, dragging a barely conscious Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon's eyes were open but he wasn't able to do much more than kick feebly every few minutes. Leia was lying flat on her stomach, moving feet first. She would hook her feet in regular grooves on the ducts surface and pull with her legs.

She couldn't even support herself on her elbows since her arms were wrapped around Qui-Gon's large chest. The duct was hot, stuffy and thoroughly unpleasant. Leia was quite glad she'd missed it on her earlier tour of the facility.

She groped with her feet for the next foothold. She was so focused on pulling herself along, she was shocked when the floor disappeared out from under her. Qui-Gon's clothing slipped through her fingers and she fell backwards, sliding down a metal slope.

She rolled twice, landing with her feet above her head. She righted herself and looked about. The duct had been straight earlier on but here it widened out enough for Leia to crouch. Unfortunately, there was a metal ramp in the floor of the duct and Leia hadn't seen it coming.

She sighed and scrambled awkwardly up the metal ramp to where Qui-Gon still lay. Slipping her arms around him again, she braced her legs against the ramp and pulled. Qui-Gon slid down the ramp, rolling on top of Leia as he did so. Muttering, Leia pushed him off.
"Don't go anywhere," she told him. "I'm going back for Obi-Wan."
Leia crawled back up the slope and back along the ducts.

It seemed much easier now that she was moving headfirst. She soon popped her head back into the cell she'd just escaped from.
"Luke?" she whispered.
Luke walked towards her, a limp Obi-Wan in his arms. As Leia shuffled backwards, Luke began to push Obi-Wan into the ducts. Leia grabbed him beneath the arms and once again began shuffling slowly backwards.

"Next time you do the duct work," she grumbled quietly.
Luke heard her anyway, "Next time, you can lift a six foot Jedi to your shoulder height and squeeze him into a hole."
"I think I'll stick to duct work."

* * * * *

From the pilot seat Emalda looked across at Ben and his young apprentice. Since the Fahren had no medical bay, Ben had stretched Anakin out on the cockpit floor. Ben's robe was folded beneath Anakin's head. With the Fahren out of cannon range, the automatic pilot was in charge.
"This is everyone then?" asked Emalda. "Are we leaving now?"
Ben answered without looking up, "No. There are still three Jedi on the planet, not to mention the kidnapped Minister."

"If they're inside the city, we won't be able to get to them."
"We need to find out what they're up to," agreed Ben.
Ben reached into his tunic and pulled out a commlink, "Qui-Gon, this is Ben. Are you there?"

He waited a minute but there was no reply. Emalda turned to the console and dialled up the Fahren's flight history. Ben tried again.
"Obi-Wan, this is Ben. Can you hear me?"
Again there was silence.

Emalda studied the records of Anakin's piloting.
"Luke, this is Ben. Please answer."
"I'm here, Ben. What's the matter?" came the reply, finally.
"I can't contact Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan," Ben told him.
"They're with me," answered Luke. "We've found Leia too. No sign of Han, though."
"We have Han Solo, his ship and the Minister's aides but we can't get into the city as long as that shield is up."

"We'll deal with it. You get up to the New Republic fighters and tell them to get ready to attack the second we get rid of that illusion."
"Understood. May the Force be with you."
"And with you, also."

Emalda listened with half an ear to the pleasantries. Most of her attention was focused on the control console. If this data was correct then Anakin was a brilliant pilot. Emalda realized she shouldn't be angry that he'd damaged her ship but grateful that there was anything left of it.

She'd have to get to know this young man better, as well as his master. She looked back across to Ben and got a gentle smile for her troubles. Emalda found herself smiling back. Beneath her hair she was blushing and she turned away.

Ben appeared by her side, "Luke wants us to join the New Republic squadron in orbit. Let them know what's happening."
"Leave the planet's atmosphere?" asked Emalda, startled.
"Is that a problem?" frowned Ben.
"It's just my mother told me I wouldn't leave the planet until I..."
She paused, staring into Ben's blue eyes. Her protest died on her lips.
"Until?" he prompted.
"Nothing. Let's get out of here." THE END OF PART SEVEN

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