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Arrow of Time 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-six years after Episode
IV – A New Hope The starship dropped lightly into the atmosphere
of Leogard, her path taking her along the terminator as dawn approached.
Running on low powered repulsors only, and minimum life support, the powerful
starship was using her stealth technology to the fullest. Her pilot, sitting
in the sealed environment of his battle armour, let out a resigned sigh as he
followed the track he had been given. The co-ordinates of the landing place
loomed nearer on his navigation display. He slowed the ship to a crawl and
dropped her lightly to the ground. Thanks to gravity his descent had taken
only six minutes, well within the tracking cycle of the scanners on the
starship orbiting the planet. Tarr Ranth emerged from the cockpit and set about
securing the ship. The Dark Star III
sat in the shadow of a giant wreck that had once been a strip-mining machine.
The large range of mountains behind the now inert strip miner, cast an even
darker shadow that fully submerged the small ship in darkness. The Dark Star III was hidden within an
overlapping shield that even the rising sun would not penetrate, her
thirty-meter long hull almost invisible to the naked eye. Ranth knew that
thanks to the anti-scan plating on her hull, she would now be invisible to
the starship currently orbiting the planet. Not for the first time, Ranth
wished for the higher level of firepower that his previous ship, Dark Star II, would have offered
him. Then again, that ship was designed for a different person, from a
different time. Emerging from the craft he checked his
location, and set off on foot to find the meeting place. If all went well,
then he should arrive there within half an hour. That would make him nearly
an hour early for the meeting and give him enough time to scout the area. He
raised his Jedi awareness and lightsabre combat abilities and let his
portable tracking unit do all the hard work. A thorough check of the meeting area
had produced no sign of traps or scanners, however
Ranth did not let his guard down for a minute, but chose instead to rest in
the dark recess of a large boulder. Soon he was relaxing into a Jedi
meditation, his mind and senses extending beyond their normal reach. He was
aware of the transport well before its scanners had picked him up. He scanned
the minds on the approaching speeder and noted that they were the people who
had been sent to bring him to his meeting. Rising
from his hiding place he carefully moved out into full view. His Jedi senses
detected some alarm and surprise at seeing him and he realized that he must
have been shielded to their scanners by the large boulder. He smiled to
himself. It still gave him some pleasure to elicit that reaction from people
he didn’t know. The speeder pulled over and two armed
men jumped over the side. They pointed their blasters at Ranth, and he noted
their Galactic Alliance `T’ Squad uniforms. The third person in the speeder,
a young woman, jumped out after them and approached Ranth. Ranth pulled back
his cloak, revealing the armored helmet. She nodded momentarily and smiled.
Taking a holo picture out of a pocket in her
all-purpose jump suit she compared the image on it to Tarr Ranth. Ranth
noticed that her eyes were different colours, one
green, and the other violet. She looked directly at him.
“If the rumours are correct, then that
armour is valuable and hard to imitate. My boss says it could withstand a
direct shot from a blaster at close range. Is that correct?” Ranth nodded.
“It will, but such attempt would be pointless anyway.” One of the girls’ eyebrows rose
slightly and a quizzical expression lit up her features.
“Is that so.” She motioned to one of the men,
who immediately squeezed off a shot. Before the shot had a chance to hit
home, Ranth had moved out of its way. There was a gasp from the girl at this
maneuver. Ranth called for his lightsabre and activated it.
“Care to try that again?” The girl motioned to the other man and
he also squeezed off a shot. The bolt was deflected back at the girls’ feet.
To her credit, she did not appear shocked or intimidated by this. Ranth
deactivated the lightsabre.
“Are you convinced?” She nodded, smiling as she did so.
“My grandmother told me that you were a man to be reckoned with. Now I
know why. My names Trude De’Athe. These two men are Stadler and Mendozar.” The two troopers lowered their weapons,
each offering a greeting in return.
Mendozar squinted at Ranth.
“And who are you?”
“My name is Tarr Ranth. Jedi Knight and ambassador to the
Galactic Alliance.” Stadler seemed uncomfortable with this
knowledge.
“Are you the same Tarr Ranth that used to be a bounty hunter?” He was
edgy and Tarr Ranth probed his mind to see what the problem was. When he
picked up on it he smiled.
“Bill Stadler. Yes I am. I remember you.” He paused a beat.
”Don’t worry, the Hutt that placed the bounty on your head died many years
ago. A bad case of blaster poisoning.” The man relaxed and seemed relieved.
Ranth turned to the girl.
“I have detected a large slow
moving transport five clicks to the south of here. It’s moving in our
direction. We should go.” Trude nodded, not asking how he had
detected the vehicle. Within seconds they were heading away at a rapid rate
of clicks. Traveling swiftly over the rough
terrain, the speeder soon outdistanced the slow moving transport. Trude was
excellent at negotiating the area, anticipating turns and braking at high
speed to avoid unforeseen obstacles. Ranth sat beside her in the front seat. He
gently probed her and was relieved to find that she had some force ability
and that it wasn’t just reckless driving.
“How long until we meet your grandmother?” Without looking away from the terrain,
Trude answered.
“Not long, about five more minutes of traveling. Hold on tight.” The speeder shot over the lip of a
hill, dropping straight down into a steep canyon. Ranth knew the limitations
of this type of speeder, they shouldn’t survive the drop, but somehow he
trusted the young woman that was now piloting the craft. True to his
instincts, she pressed two buttons on the console and the cockpit sealed
above their heads. The second button caused two extra repulsor vanes to
extract themselves from the side of the craft. There was a feeling of intense
gravity and the speeder leveled off at fifty feet above the canyon
bottom. Trude banked the speeder sharply,
heading for a large cave concealed from above by a rocky overhang. She slowed
the vehicle down and entered the cave with headlights on.
“When we approach the main doors, make sure that your hood is up. My
grandmother wants few people to know who you are. Less chance of a leak in
the information chain.” Ranth nodded, accepting her reasons. Another two minutes of driving in a
straight line and they came to a large blast door. Two sentries dressed in
the same armour as their two troopers in the speeder, flagged the speeder
down. Ranth pulled his hood up around his helmet. The two sentries flicked
their glow lights over the occupants of the craft, resting on Ranth.
“Pull your hood back.” That one sounded gruff and tired. Trude
answered for him.
“Don’t be an idiot Maarkus, he’s with me. Let us through.” Maarkus became defiant.
“I have my orders.” Trude looked towards Ranth, who
shrugged, lifting his hand slightly.
“You don’t need me to pull my hood back.” He waved his hand slightly
and the man smiled.
“You don’t need to pull your hood back.” Ranth spoke again, moving his
hand with his speech.
“We can go through.” Maarkus smiled and gestured to his colleague.
“Let them through.” The doors opened and the speeder
slipped through. What Ranth saw astounded him. Built into and out of the surrounding walls of a
giant cavern, was a large town. Only a few people filled the streets, each
one moving purposefully from one location to another, each one carrying a
blaster. Ranth wondered how, where and why they were there. He wouldn’t have
to wonder long. The speeder pulled up to a large
building surrounded by an energy fence. Trude pressed a button on a remote
and the fence dropped power long enough for the speeder to
pass through. They parked the speeder next to a rock wall and
Ranth followed Trude through a three-meter high armoured door, into the main building. Ranth
was immediately engulfed in a cacophony of sound. So much so, that he had to
reduce the audio gain on his helmet. An elderly woman, on the far side of the
room, noticed their entrance and moved over towards them. She moved slowly,
affected by age, but her eyes sparkled with a fire stronger than youth. Ranth
pulled back his hood and released his helmet. The hiss or pressurization was
brief as he removed it and held it under one arm.
“Ah, good, you made it. Welcome to the Leogard Resistance Tarrion. My
name is Tasmin De’Athe,” she paused as she eyed Ranth closely. “Though you can call me mother if you
wish.” Trude looked shocked at this news and
turned to Ranth.
“You knew of this?” Ranth nodded
“I did. However, that is of no consequence.” He turned to his mother.
“I no longer go by the name you gave me. Call me Ranth.” His demeanor was
stiff and formal. His mother noticed this and stiffened a little herself.
“As you wish, but you will always be Tarrion to me. Come, you need you
to know why I called you here.” She turned, and without waiting further,
headed towards a small office in the corner of the room. Ranth and Trude
followed her. Ranth turned to his niece.
“Rather severe isn’t she?” His niece smiled back at him.
“No more than you. Besides, you’d be severe if you had four hundred
lives in your hands.” The office was small and functional. A
holographic map displayed a translucent image of the surrounding terrain.
Within this map, red lines criss-crossed in all
directions. Ranth looked towards his mother and noticed that she was studying
him.
“This is a map of the tunnels isn’t it?” She nodded.
“There are over three hundred kilometers of tunnels and shafts. We’ve
rigged most of them to collapse at certain points. Mining droids keep a
silent vigil down those tunnels we couldn’t rig. They’re armed with heavy
duty mining lasers and can pack a severe punch in most armour.” She moved
over to the desk, switching the display to an area of tunnel towards the edge
of the mountain range. “This is why I
asked you here. My grandson, Aaron, discovered this chamber, buried over
three kilometers under the surface of the planet. He’s an archaeologist first
and a miner second. He’s strong in the Force but I’ve always discouraged him
from pursuing that side of his character. It may have been his undoing.” She
flicked another button and the image changed to display a high-resolution
picture of a plinth, upon which was placed a cube. The cube looked like it
measured about twenty centimeters down each side. Ancient hieroglyphic images
were embedded in its black and gold surface. A previously closed area of
Ranths mind opened and concealed memories came flooding back in. Ranth
swallowed despite himself.
“The Sith Holocron. I’d forgotten about
that.” He sat down heavily on the seat opposite his mother, rubbing his hands
on his temples. She looked startled and angry at his statement. Ranth fought
to collect his wits.
“You mean to say that you knew it was here?” Trudes
voice, coming from behind, betrayed her anger. Ranth nodded and pressed his
hands to his face.
“Yes. Myself and some colleagues placed it
there over thirty years ago. We thought it would be buried forever. We didn’t
anticipate deep core mining.” He stood and looked closer at the image.
“This was taken recently. The
image shows a high level of detail.” His mother slammed her hand flat on the
desk and disrupted the image.
“Image quality, image quality! Is that all you can think of? My
grandson is trapped in there with that…thing.
You’re responsible, you and your kind. The worst kind of evil, not destroyed
or lost in space forever, but buried on a populated world in the middle
of the Setnin Sector and you had to be responsible for leaving it here!
You’re no better than your father, that idealistic fool!” She grabbed at her
chest, a look of intense pain crossing her face and staggered back towards
her chair.
“Mother?” Trude screamed as Ranth leapt around
the desk. He caught her as she fell towards the chair, easing her backwards
to the floor. Reaching in to himself he placed his hand over hers and pushed
his force sense into her body, seeking out and finding the darkness that was
her damaged heart. He struggled to calm its over stressed muscles and felt
his mother relax beneath him. He went one step further into the cells around
the muscle, persuading them to reform, regroup and release the poisons that
had built up over time. Some of the heart was repaired, but the repair would
degrade, there was only so much that the Force could do. In a last ditch effort
he called upon the Force to flood her body, giving her the strength he knew
that she would need over the next few days. Ranth sat back on his haunches,
breathing rapidly and heavily with the effort the healing had caused him. He
looked on gladly as the visage that had been so pale before the heart attack,
now took on the colour of a healthy person. Ranth
reminded himself that it was only a matter of time before the problem
reoccurred.
“You should have told me you were ill, I could have brought you some
medicines or a 2-1-D unit.” His mother turned on her side and looked at him
scornfully.
“Why should I be healed when there are younger people around me that
need the help more.” She pulled herself carefully to
her feet, looking surprised at her own nimbleness. Looking at Ranth with a
new respect.
“I feel fifty again. What did
you do?” Ranth smiled despite himself.
“Accessed the Force. There is no limit to what can be achieved with
the Force.” He stood up, helping his mother to her feet. She seemed calmer
now.
“I can understand how my nephew might have discovered the artifact,
but why do I need to rescue him?” His mothers face clouded over again.
“Because he is falling to the dark side and is at this moment
threatening to give away our location to the Ki-Ki fleet. That’s why I had to
make sure that as few people as possible know of your arrival. If he finds
out, I’m sure he’ll try to probe you with the force. If that happens, he’ll
know you are a Jedi and all will be lost. I need you to get him off planet by
any means possible.” Ranth wasn’t entirely convinced that
she was telling the whole truth.
“Dark Jedi are above such pettiness. What will he gain by this?” She looked solemn for a moment and then
spoke again.
“Like most who become involved with the dark side of the Force, he
started out with the best of intentions. He wants to lead the resistance. He
wants to train ten of my men, all Force sensitives, to be Force users.
Holocron explains how to do this quickly. However, he then wants to use these
men to take out the starship orbiting the planet and set a trap for the
incoming fleet. It could possibly result in the destruction of Leogard,
sacrificing everybody on the planet. Firstly, I’m responsible for the people
in this group and I don’t want them to die. Secondly we are trying to protect
the planet, and our investment, from the invaders so destroying it would not
be our first option. Thirdly, do you want eleven dark Jedi wandering about
the sector with a fountain of Sith knowledge itching to be used?” Ranth shook his head but his features
were solemn.
“It may mean me killing him.
Are you prepared for the death of your grandson? Is your granddaughter
prepared for the death of her brother? If you are, then I will = track him
down. I presume he is hiding in the tunnels?” Trude took over the conversation from
her grandmother.
“Uncle. If necessary we are prepared for my brothers’ death, but he is
not hiding. He is simply waiting in the Holocron chamber for our response. We
have one day to reply. Otherwise he will walk away from his
family and use the tight beam transmitter in our communications
center to inform the Ki-Ki forces of our location. I have no idea what
he would hope to achieve by doing this but I am confident that he would go
through with it.” Ranth looked at his niece and sensed
her confidence in that regard.
“How can you be so sure?” She looked at him squarely.
“Because I am one of the ten people he wants to train. I am able to sense his state of mind.” The tunnel was easily thirty meters
across and at least fifty meters high at the apex of its roof. It reminded
Ranth of a large underground cathedral, such was the effect of the lighting
on the surrounding rocks. Having memorized the map that would lead him to the
Holocron chamber, he had set off alone. However, although he had specifically
warned her against it, he sensed that his niece was following him at a
discreet distance. He waited until he was around a blind bend and activated
his repulsor belt. He quickly rose above the lighting into the dark recesses
of the tunnel roof. A few minutes later, Trude rounded the
corner, blaster in hand. She was moving with extreme stealth and Ranth
wondered just how good she was in a fight. As she passed beneath him he
dropped silently to the floor behind her and coughed lightly. As she span
around, he quickly called her blaster to him. She gasped as it slid out of
her hand and landed in Ranths open palm.
“Go back. If I can disarm you so can he. You’ll be a liability.” He
handed her back her blaster and strode past her, not looking back. The last
he saw of her, she was standing motionless in the center of the tunnel. Two hour’s later Ranth calculated he
was within two hundred meters of the chamber where the Holocron had been
hidden. He felt a breeze on his face and the smell of fresh air. When he
rounded the final bend he found that half of the mountain had been gouged
away in a massive rock fall. Revealed at the base of the rock fall, and
supported by mining props, was the entrance to the Holocron
chamber that they had tried do hard to hide, so many years ago. He
remembered Jan Lomona’s prophetic words and wondered why they hadn’t
destroyed it at the time. Plausible deniability. Glann Cipple had wanted it
delivered; they had to find a way to lose it. A movement caught his eye and
he noticed a figure, standing by the entrance to the chamber. Ranth zoomed in
with his helmet systems and saw the haggard features of his nephew. He had a
smile on his face.
“Ah, so my grandmother has sent a messenger. Who are you? I warn you I
shall destroy you if you make any attempt to stop me.” He rested his hand on
his hip, pulling back his tunic. Ranth saw a lightsabre hanging from his
belt. It looked like it had been created from cannibalized parts. Ranth
pulled his own robe away from his helmet, revealing the dark Mandalorian
armour.
“My name is Tarr Ranth. I am here to talk some reason into you.” As he
talked he moved closer, obfuscating his Force ability, concentrating every part
of his will in to hiding what he really was.
“Stop where you are. I know of you. Drop your blasters and I’ll let
you closer.” Ranth paused, pulled back his robe and released his blasters
from their holsters. Ejecting the power packs he threw them to the ground.
His nephew stretched out his hand, appearing to concentrate hard, and pulled
the blasters into his hand. He examined them closely then dropped them to the
ground beside him. Ranth started to move forward again, noticing the
quizzical look on his nephews face.
“I didn’t say you could walk again did I?” He stretched out his hand
again and Ranth felt a cold grip on his throat. He paused, unflinching, and
pushed back at the grip slightly with the Force. He welcomed the look of
surprise on his nephews face.
“You should be on your knees. Why aren’t you on your knees I wonder?” Ranth took the opportunity to help his
own case along a little with a blatant lie.
“Didn’t you know that Mandalorian armour deflects Force energy?” He
strode forward more purposefully now, making no attempt to hide his
intentions. His nephew scrambled back,
nearer to the entrance of the Holocron chamber. The confusion in his mind
radiating outwards. Ranth decided to push the matter further and released the
obfuscation of his Force energy. He forced out a growl and leapt the last ten
meters, grabbed Aaron, and slammed him against the wall.
“Little man. How do you expect
to use the full capabilities of my Holocron if you are not prepared to use the dark side of the Force?”
He lifted him physically of the Floor, and with help from the Force, threw
him five meters to the ground. He called one of his lightsabres to him,
igniting the modified red blade and walked rapidly to where his nephew was
scrambling to his feet. Aaron grabbed for his own lightsabre, managing to
activate the blade, and brought it around in a high arc. Ranth countered and
by sheer force of will, knocked the blade out of his hand. He called the fallen blade to him, and
pretended to examine it, all the time keeping his own blade at the throat of
his frightened nephew.
“Quite an achievement, but don’t think that creating one is the same
as using one. You have a lot
to learn.” He mounted the lightsabre on his own belt. Motioning with his free
hand, he lifted Aaron off the ground.
“Now boy, tell me
where you have put my Holocron.” They traveled for twenty minutes, this
time over the open landscape that had once been the surface of Leogard. Where
the side of the mountain had collapsed, a giant gateway had been opened to
the outside world. Ranth looked on it in awe, wondering why the chamber had
not been buried altogether. He watched Aaron carefully as they traversed the
terrain. He had taken a gamble that his nephew would fall for his ruse, and
so far it seemed to be working, but it never paid to become complacent. The
area around him suddenly took on a supernatural coldness that chilled Ranth
to his soul.
“It’s here somewhere, I’m sure it is.” Ranth immediately knew something was
wrong. He sensed no fear from Aaron, only anticipation. He raised his combat
abilities and placed his hand back on his lightsabre.
“Don’t lie to me… I can hear
your thoughts.” The young dark Jedi turned around, a
manic grin on his face.
“Oh, but it was you
who lied to me wasn’t it Uncle?” Ranth was taken aback for a moment
until he realized what the boy meant.
“How did you know?” He gripped his lightsabre more strongly now.
“My sister Trude told me. Of course she didn’t want to tell me at
first, but I persuaded her. She really should have gone back like you asked
her to.” He took off the pouch that had been hanging around his neck and
threw it towards Ranth. Ranth caught it mid flight and brought it to him with
the Force. He opened the pouch slowly suspecting a trick. What he saw inside
horrified him. Two eyes stared up at him from inside the pouch, one green,
the other violet. He looked towards his nephew with horror, glad that his
helmet hid the full expression on his face.
“Why? She was no danger to you?” Aaron looked smug. Ranth felt a surge
in the Dark Side energies surrounding him.
“She would have killed me given the chance. As would you.” Without warning, Aaron's lightsabre
ripped itself away from Ranths belt and sped towards it’s
owners hands. Without thought, Ranth threw his own lightsabre after it. The
blade ignited mid flight and chopped Aaron's lightsabre in two, causing a
small explosion between the two men. They both dived for cover, but Ranth was
knocked over by the blast. It was only when he heard the hum of a lightsabre
blade that he realized what had happened. Instead of being destroyed in the
explosion, Ranths lightsabre had been deflected towards Aaron. Now he stood
triumphantly, blade raised high, the red glow reflecting in his eyes. Ranth
slowly got back to his feet and waited for the attack he knew must come.
“Oh dear. Poor Uncle.
I suppose you feel stupid now don’t you?” He started to walk towards Ranth,
who stood his ground. Very soon there was less than three meters between them.
Aaron stopped. Ranth spoke first.
“I’m a Jedi, Aaron. This armour disguises the fact, but I am a Jedi.
If you cut me down I will become more powerful. All you would gain will be my
lightsabre.” He moved his hands up to his helmet, trusting in the
Force that he would be able to react to any attack by his nephew,
and released the catches. Air hissed as the hermetic seal opened. He
removed the helmet and dropped it to the ground beside him. Aaron looked
amused.
“An old man. They sent an old man to retrieve the Holocron? Oh boy,
they must be desperate.” He started to circle Ranth. Ranth remained calm in
the Force and did not turn to follow him. He readied himself and directed a
small portion of the Force to a small hidden compartment, on the base of his
armors jet pack. A hinged door dropped down, hidden by his Jedi robes.
“I may be old, but I have fought more battles with more people than
you’ll ever meet. Your dark Force abilities may have enhanced your skills,
but I doubt they have enhanced your ability to fight with them. Do you really want to put them to the
test?” Aaron moved back around to face
Ranth.
“I don’t have to. You are unarmed, and I have no problem with killing
you in cold blood. To tell you the truth, I would have had no problem with
killing you at all. Do you realize how long I have been searching for this
Holocron? Five years. That’s a quarter of my life. I knew from the beginning
what I was getting myself into. I’ve made deals with some of the most corrupt
individuals in the sector to find the information I needed. Do you think the
mountain collapsed itself?” He brought the blade up higher, preparing to
strike. “Don’t you think that there is some justice in destroying you with
your own blade? What a place for the great Tarr Ranth to die. A grubby
backwater world where nobody will miss you.” He brought the blade down and
around, but Ranth leapt up and over his nephew. In mid air he somersaulted,
reaching for the Force. As he hit the ground behind his nephew, he called for
his father’s lightsabre, which leapt to his hand from the hidden compartment
in his suit. Just in time, he managed to bring the green blade up to block
the secondary attack from Aaron. The young dark Jedi looked confused. They
held each other in a stand off, both blades locked together.
“Don’t be confused Aaron. I used to be a bounty hunter, remember? I
always come prepared.” He broke the lock bringing his blade around and down
in a swift attack on Aaron. Surprised by the sudden change in fortune, Aaron
was forced backwards. Ranth kept up the offensive display, hoping that his
nephew would just give up. Today was not going to be that easy. Aaron leapt backwards, finding higher
ground and started to run towards a small hole in the rock wall. He jammed
himself through the narrow gap and was instantly out of site. Retracting his
lightsabre blade Ranth made to follow him, but found that the opening was too
narrow for him to follow in his armour. He knew it would take too long to
remove his armour, so he reached into a small pouch on his belt and took out
a mini thermal detonator. Priming it for three seconds, he leapt backwards
and threw it into the cleft. There was a brief flash of light and then a
two-meter wide ball of intense energy expanded outwards into the rock. When
the explosion receded, there was a perfect two-meter wide hole. Ranth
collected his helmet, put it back on, and went through cautiously. The chamber was less than three meters
high, but stretched nearly thirty meters back into the rock. Ranth felt the
hairs stick up on his neck. Dark Force energy permeated the small chamber.
Remarkably his low light imaging system didn’t pick up either the Holocron or
Aaron. Ranth idly wondered if he had vaporized them with the thermal
detonator. There was a noise slightly ahead of him and he ducked to the side.
Just in time. A blaster bolt seemed to leap out the depths of the cave
towards him and impacted on the rock behind where he had just been standing.
It momentarily lit up the area around the blaster and Ranth was able to see
that the floor curved downwards to the rear of the natural chamber. He ran
rapidly in that direction, lightsabre at the ready, and nearly fell over the
edge of a deep hole in the cave floor. Clever. Ranth looked downward and saw
a figure clutching to the wall of the shaft five meters below him. There was
still a good ten meters for Aaron to climb down before he would reach the
bottom of the shaft.
“You’ll never make it Aaron. I can reach the floor before you do, you
know that. Give up now. I can help you.” All he got in reply was a series of
grunts, and then the figure let go of the shaft and plummeted to the floor
below. Ranth jumped off the side, calling on the Force to slow his descent,
and landed lightly next to the prone figure. He approached slowly, but
something didn’t ring true. There was no feeling of darkness here, he
stretched his sense out wider and caught a touch of dark side energy. He
turned rapidly to see his nephew standing silently at the top of
the shaft. Ranth drew quickly, and fired a small dart from his wrist-mounted
launcher. There was a stifled curse, then his nephew
was gone. Ranth was about to follow, when the figure at his feet groaned
quietly. He stooped down quickly, pulling the robe aside that covered the
figure. It was Trude. He was about to examine her when there was a rush of
super compressed air, followed by the deafening sound of an explosion. Dust
and rock rained down onto him from the roof of the shaft. Acting quickly, he
grabbed Trude and pulled her swiftly to the side of the shaft. He propped her
upright as the debris rained down harder. Then there was only dust and
silence. Trude groaned again. Looking at the girl closely, he saw the
area of her face where her eyes had been plucked from her sockets. He felt
pity for her, but he had no time for that now. Reaching into her with the
Force, he found that she had been drugged. Lucky for her. Although she was
bruised and cut, there were no broken bones. Ranth concentrated on healing
her eye sockets and then bringing her back to consciousness. As he did so, he
detected a strong Force presence growing inside her. He wondered why he had
not detected this before. She groaned again.
“Ranth. Oh no, don’t tell me he got you too?” Ranth helped her remain standing.
“Your concern is appreciated, but you are the one with the severe
injuries.” She smiled.
“I may have received a new gift to replace my eyes. Would you have a
strip of cloth that I can tie around my head?” Ranth tore some off of the inside of
his robe and handed it to her. She
tied it around her head.
“That’s better, now I can see where I’m going.” She pulled herself
away from Ranth and started to climb the shaft as if it was broad daylight
inside the cave.
“How?” She looked over her shoulder at Ranth
and he could feel the Force strongly in her.
He nodded in comprehension. She
could see through the Force.
“Oh, I see. Hold tight, I have a faster way.” He took hold of her and activated his
repulsor pack. They were over the edge of the shaft in seconds. What greeted
them ahead was disaster. The entrance to the cave had been
collapsed by the explosion. Rubble extended ten meters into the cave,
effectively blocking any chance of escape. Trude groaned loudly.
“Now what?” She turned to Ranth. Ranth flipped open his belt pouch and
removed one small, and one large thermal detonator. All he had left.
“I’m going to make us an exit. Stand as far back in the cave as you
can. There will be no explosion, but the heat will be intense.” He configured both devices for slow
energy release. It really would mean that there would be no explosion, just
an expanding ball of intense energy. He placed the smallest at the front of
the rubble and stood back. There was a series of bleeps and then the
detonator disappeared in a small ball of bright light that expanded upwards
and outwards into the rock. The result was much the same as the one he had
used to create an entrance to the chamber. Ranth waited for the rock to cool.
When the conditions were right he moved two meters into the hole and placed
the larger detonator. This time he ran out of the hole at full speed,
reaching Trude as the detonator expanded. He grabbed her and pulled her back
over the edge of the shaft, using the Force to help his repulsor pack. Heat
followed them and they hit the ground just in time. Pushing Trude to a cleft
in the side of the shaft he covered her with his body. Hoping that his
limited ability to divert energy, and his armour, would be enough to protect
them. He was in luck. The heat dissipated well before it had a chance to
fully engulf them, but it had made the air inside the cave incredibly hot.
Ranth noticed that Trude was finding it very difficult to breath. He reached
down to his belt and detached a small cylinder from one of the pouches. He
pressed it to Trudes lips and pushed a small stud
on its side. Immediately her breathing eased. The front of the cave had been
unblocked to an area of twenty meters, but it hadn’t entirely cleared away
the rubble from the explosion. What rubble remained had been fused into a
hard glassy substance by the thermal detonators slow build up of energy.
Ranth estimated that there was about a meter of rock separating them from the
open air. He knew that he had to move quickly now, ignoring the searing heat
that still glowed at the heart of the last thermal detonation. What air had
been left within the cave had almost entirely been engulfed by the heat from
the detonation and although his own air supply would last hours, the portable
unit he had given to Trude only had about ten minutes supply. Ranth removed
his lightsabre, altering the frequency and length of the blade, and plunged
it into the rock closest to the outside world. There was the hiss of melting
rock, and the blade kept moving inwards. Then he was through to open air. The blade slowly cut an exit hole,
large enough for them to crawl out. Although Trude had not had the protection
of Ranths armour, she only needed to quickly pass through the red-hot rock.
Her jump suit and what remained of Ranth’s Jedi Robe was enough to protect
her. Ranth followed her, but it was soon evident that kneeling in a pool of
red hot rock, surrounded by glowing white rocks, had taken it’s toll on his
armour. He staggered upright in some obvious pain, struggling to release his
helmet. When he had finally managed to unlock the heat damaged clasps, he
gasped and drew in the air quickly. Then the helmet was back on again, but
unsealed, as Ranth searched for the subcutaneous tracking unit that he had
fired at Aaron. He read the read-out and almost swore. “He’s six kilometers above us and
climbing rapidly. Too rapidly. He has a ship?” Trude nodded.
“An old modified YT-1500. Fast but lightly armed. Are you going after
him?” In answer there was the roar of boosted
engines and a matt black spacecraft dropped down and started to hover in
front of them. Ranth grabbed Trude, pulling her close to his helmet speaker.
“We have one chance to stop him, but it means leaving the planet. You
won’t be able to let your grandmother know what’s happening. Are you in or
out?” She hesitated only a moment.
“In.” Ranth grabbed her around the waist,
boosted his rocket pack and shot over the top of the Dark Star III, landing on top of the ship near a rapidly
opening hatch. He guided her on to the ladder, but she seemed to need very
little help finding her way. Within seconds they were in the cockpit area and
the airlock hatch had been closed.
“Lock yourself in.” She nodded, as Ranth removed his helmet
and replaced it with a portable monocular system. He attached a wire from the
monocular to a small socked near the neck of his suit. Suddenly he was all
business.
“Hold tight. This is going to
be rough.” Ranth heard the small tone that told
him that he had a minute until the scanners on the Ki-Ki warship were again
in range. He boosted the engines, keeping as low as possible, and took them
away from the entrance to the mine. At the last second, he pulled up the
ship, straight into the scanner range of the warship. A klaxon sounded as the
warship focused its scans. Ranth ran his own scan, searching for the tell
tale signature of the YT1500. He found it just on the edge of the dust cloud.
Ranth pushed the engines to the limit. Ignoring the approaching Ki-Ki ship,
he sped away from the planet towards the YT1500. Within half a minute he had
closed a quarter of the distance between them. Ranth opened a communications
channel.
“Aaron, stop this madness. The Holocron is corrupting you. You must
return to the Jedi Council with me. Only they can decide whether the Holocron
must be kept or destroyed.” There was a momentary sound of static,
they the slightly manic sound of Aaron's voice filled the cockpit speakers.
“You are a fool Ranth. I have already transmitted the co-ordinates of
the base to the Ki-Ki. You’re too late to stop me entering the cloud and I
don’t think that your Jedi sensibilities will allow you to destroy me and the
Holocron both. It’s too valuable to the Jedi Council. Farewell uncle.” There was a brief flash of light, and
he was gone into the dust cloud. Trude stirred behind Ranth.
“He’s mined the area. Be careful.” Ranth nodded, not asking how she knew.
He gunned the engines up to one hundred and twenty percent of normal power.
Extending his mind outwards through the Force, he found Trude. By silent
consent, they both joined minds. It was like linking two amplifiers in
series. Their combined range doubled their individual abilities. They saw the
mines like beacons standing out upon the starry skies. The Dark Star III weaved through the small minefield, having to
slow to do so. The Ki-Ki warship was able to get within targeting range and it’s batteries opened fire. However, despite it’s best efforts, the ship was unable to lock on to the
small ship. The Dark Star III
dodged quickly in to the dust cloud, leaving the Ki-Ki warship having to slow
rapidly to avoid the mines. Ranth breathed a sigh of relief. He stretched out
into the Force again, and with Trude’s help he was able to locate the
other ship, deep in the cloud. He broke contact with Trude. He could feel the
hurt in her mind.
“Why?” Ranth, answered her as best he could.
“He refuses to listen to reason. We tried. He is a danger to the
sector and the Jedi with the Holocron in his possession. I must make a decision,
one that may haunt me for a long time. I don’t want you to be a part of that
decision.” There was a bleep on the scanners and
the cloud in front of them cleared momentarily. Ranth saw the YT-1500,
engines blazing at full burn, less than three hundred meters ahead of them.
He turned the transmitter to tight beam, high power, and targeted the
transport.
“This is the Dark Star III.
I have you within my weapons targeting scanners. Surrender the Holocron and
heave too. Failure to do so will result in your immediate destruction. This
is your last warning, do you understand?” In answer to his hail, there was a
brief flash of light towards the rear of the transport. Defense screens
flared as a proton torpedo impacted. Ranth cursed as he fought to regain control,
lateral thrusters failed and he found himself having to use the engines own
directional thrust units to negate any spin. He made his decision.
“May the Force forgive me.” He activated the turbo laser. Unable to
use the scanners accurately in the dust cloud he used the Force, and brought
the guns around to bear on the YT-1500. He paused. Was this the right thing
to do? He looked to the Force but it had no answers. Then Trude’s voice ended
all doubt.
“Do, it. Do it now.” Twin streaks of energy bolts sped out
towards the YT-1500, catching her across the already weakening shields. There
was the briefest flash of energy meeting energy and then the shields
collapsed completely. Bolts of high-energy laser fire broke through the
surface of the craft’s skin and within seconds it was an expanding ball of
light. Ranth slowed down to avoid the explosion, skewing the Dark Star III slightly deeper in to
the dust cloud. He hung his head, feeling his age for the first time in the
last two days. Trude leaned forward, and rested her hand on his shoulder.
“Take me away from here, I never want to see
this damned system again.” Tarr Ranth nodded and set the Dark Star III a new course. Arrow of Time 2001 short story by Louis Turfrey Thirty-six
years after Episode IV – A New Hope Histories – Set after
the Ki-Ki Invasion of Leogard, this Louis Turfrey
tale shows Tarr Ranth’s encounter
with his mother, their first meeting for decades. Set on Leogard, this shows the state of
play in the war – how Setnin forces have
had to corral themselves into resistance cells to fight back at the
oppression of the Ki-Ki Sectors invading armies. Cast of
Characters Tarr Ranth Tasmin
De’Athe Trude
De’Athe Aaron
De’Athe Stadler Mendozar Maarkus |