Between Sand and Stars 6

Two days after we had returned from Mos Eisley, when I told my Uncle I wanted to go to Naboo he didn’t have much to say about it. Naboo was not on the list of dangerous places I was not allowed to visit. I had used the excuse of wanting to get away for a small holiday and that seemed to appease his worries a little.

“I’ll be back before you leave so I can look after the jaxes. I need to be here before the art auction anyway, I promised Za’ar I’d have information ready for him about it before he makes planet side.” I had said as I had packed.

Uncle Vahlek had nodded. “Where will you be staying so I can reach you if I need to?”

“I booked a room in the main hotel in Dee’ja Peak. I’m told the waterfall there is something everyone should see at least once in their lives. Bedi said it’s where my parents spent the first week of their honeymoon.”

He had smiled. “Yes it is worth seeing and it was something your mother was bound and determined to show your father. She loved Naboo a lot, I think she spent a fair amount of time there as a child with her own family.”

“I’ll have my comm with me.” I had added as I finished my packing. “I just need to get away for a while and Bedi put the idea in my head to go to Naboo. I liked the planet the last time I was there; I felt a sense of peace. I need to get away and think and I can’t do that here.” I had said as if that explained it all and had hoped that he would accept this without digging further.

He had walked with me to the shuttle port in Wayfar and had kissed me on the forehead as I had hugged him before departing.

“Whatever it is you are looking for,” He had said softly in my ear, “I hope you find it with the minimum of bloodshed.”

“Me too.” Had been my reply and I had boarded the small shuttle to the Mos Espa Space Port without looking back.

The transport to Naboo was quiet. This did not surprise me because it was, I had been told by the travel agent I had booked the flights through, the off season for holidaying on Naboo. It felt odd to be using a public transport but my ship was on Nirauan and I had not wanted to take my father’s old cargo runner even though Bedi had offered it. It was easier to blend in and be anonymous by taking public transportation and I had wanted to attract as little attention as possible. I had booked a small cabin for the trip which would take longer on the transport ship than had I flown in my own but I didn’t mind, it gave me time to think. I had not really been joking when I had told Uncle Vahlek I needed to get away, that part had been true and surprisingly enough my first night on board the Narmle Pearl II I slept all the way through with no nightmares at all. When we landed at the Theed spaceport, several days later, I felt better rested than I had in ages. It was early morning and raining when I disembarked.

The shuttle to Dee’ja peak was busy with people commuting to work. It felt surreal to be on this world after so many years away from it. I had forgotten how lush and how green it was, especially when compared to the barren deserts of the planet I had just left. I was surprised to find myself shivering because I felt so cold and was glad I had brought along a long, warm coat. It was too easy for me to get used to Tatooine's shimmering heat.

The town of Dee’ja Peak was stunningly beautiful and I gasped at the sight of it when I stepped off the shuttle stopping mid stride to stand in awe at what I was looking at. My awe was short lived as the person behind me shoved into me cursing while trying to get past. Early morning rush traffic and I was in the way, holding things up. With a sigh I moved forward with the rest of the people pouring into the town from the small shuttle port and went in search of the hotel. It wasn’t hard to find and it was not busy. The droid who was working at the check in counter gave me a package with tourist information as well as my key card once I had signed in.

“I’m afraid the official tours only run once every two days Miss Gabriel, this is the off season and it is quite quiet this year.” He explained almost apologetically.

I smiled. “That’s fine, I’d rather explore on my own. Is there anywhere to rent a speeder around here?” I asked.

“Oh yes, you may rent one from the hotel if you like. We have a nice selection of vehicles for you to choose from, if you would… and I can charge that to the room bill.”

“Great.” I said and picked out the smallest, least expensive two seat vehicle, an AB-one land-speeder. It would do for what I wanted even though it wasn’t the fastest one offered. I thanked the droid again as he handed me the key to the vehicle and wished me a pleasant stay. I took my bags and went in search of my room. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the room I had been given was not only airy and spacious but also had a stunning view of the Dee’ja Peak waterfall.

Dee’ja Peak was nestled in the Gallo Mountains of Naboo which mean the town had great views and incredibly beautiful scenery surrounding it. The main attraction was the waterfall which was considered a very large point of interest for visitors. It was impressive to look at although not quite as impressive as the waterfall in Theed. Dee'ja Peak had been one of the earliest human settled places on the planet but unlike Theed or Kaadara it had never managed to obtain the growth or stature and had remained small and unobtrusive. During the Emperor’s rule it was the center of all things imperial and most of the civilians who worked at the retreat but who did not want to live there had found apartments in Dee’ja Peak.

I sat on one of the small comfortable chairs in the room and sighed noisily. I was tired from the long trip although I had slept well on board the transport. After a small one sided debate with myself I decided on having a bath, a luxury I had sorely missed on Tatooine and then maybe some breakfast that didn’t all taste the same, after that I would start the real reason I came out here. By mid after noon it was sufficiently warm for me not to be huddled in a thick sweater. I had eaten lunch in my room while browsing the HoloNet but I didn’t find anything of use and if Thrawn was out there creating havoc for the New Republic the HoloNews nets were not talking about it. I changed into traveling clothes and packed a small satchel with things I might need then went down stairs to go and find my speeder. It had been many years since I was here and I hoped that my memory of the location for the Imperial Retreat was accurate other wise I’d be driving around the planet for no good reason at all.

I wasn’t sure what I would find out at the Retreat, I wasn’t sure if it was even still there so I was very grateful when I came up over the hill to see the main building still standing. I slowed the speeder and manoeuvred it around the trails which had over grown until I came to the small house that I had once stayed in. La’yalla creeper had taken over one of the walls completely and I didn’t have to use any force sense to know it was deserted. When I tried the front door it was locked so I left it alone. My memories of this place were happy ones; I didn’t feel the need to see the decay which had set in. I sighed as I started the speeder’s engine up and headed towards the main Retreat building. At the height of the Emperor’s reign this had been a busy place but towards the latter years he had frequented it less and less leaving the bulk of the imperial administrative work to his advisers especially Sate Pestage. When I had last been here the compound had been full of workers and navy personnel now the place was deserted and ghost like.

I parked the speeder a little ways away, half hidden by trees and scrub bushes which had long been left to over grow the once cultivated gardens and made my way around to the back of the building to the lake side where I knew of a small set of stairs which would lead me to the balcony and hopefully a way in. I stopped on the wide sweeping balcony and stared out over the lake. It was every bit as beautiful as I remembered it to be and a wash of memories, mostly concerning Thrawn, made me smile. If I closed my eyes I could picture him standing next to me, whispering his seductive words in my ear, a thought which sent a wave of warmth shoot through my body. It seemed like an age since that moment and I sighed as I turned away from the view of the lake to try and find a way into the building without setting off any alarms. I considered using the lightsaber, the one that had once belonged to my mother, that I had brought with me on a whim but then I decided to try one of my imperial personal codes instead and much to my shock this actually worked. The side door snicked opened softly and I slipped in quietly like one of my uncle’s jaxes.

The retreat was dark, silent and smelled of disuse. It seemed strange that the building was completely intact and abandoned but then again maybe it had been overlooked and forgotten by the New Republic who had better things to do than look after an old Imperial hideaway. I made my way through the quiet hall until I reached the main foyer. The building had been built in Old Nubian style, with high, ornate ceilings and polished stone floors had been beautiful but now signs of neglect were creeping in. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and decorated with lacy cobwebs. No one had been here in a very long time.

First I made my way to the library; it seemed the best place to begin a search especially since I wasn’t even sure what it was I was looking for exactly. The large door slid open silently for me and I stepped through it cautiously. The huge room was full of shadows and floor to ceiling stacks which had once been full of data-books and chips but which now stood empty. The scent of decay was stronger in here than anywhere else I had been so far, probably due to the damaged electronics which lay strewn about carelessly. I looked at the shelves which had been stripped bare, this had once been one of the best information centers in the Empire, now, the data-files which had been left behind had been destroyed beyond repair and everything else was gone, wiped clean. I bit my lip as I found an access terminal, hoping that the main computer system was still online even though I doubted the databanks would be intact. It would have been fool hardy for any imperial to leave a place such as this accessible to the Rebels, especially the data. I tapped into the computer and was not surprised to find nothing remained on the public data core. No matter what code I typed I got the same response, <>. I was certain the data core had been wiped. There wasn’t much else in the library that I would find useful so I left. For a moment I hesitated and then headed down the long hallways to the turbo lift which would take me down to the subbasements and the hidden suite of rooms which had been Lord Vader’s.

The turbo lift doors opened onto darkness and for a moment I felt a wave of panic sweep through me but I squashed it quickly. There was nothing here and no one had been here in a long time. I dug out the small hand held light from my satchel and made my way to the small set of doors at the end of the corridor. The door was locked but I had access codes which Lord Vader himself had given me and they overrode the universal lock out. I stepped into the dark room holding my breath and only let it out when the door closed behind me. I fumbled for the light switch and was pleasantly surprised when one of the small side lights flickered on. Using the keypad I locked the door so that even if someone else was here they couldn’t get in.

It felt odd to be in his rooms because even though he had never spent much time here a sliver of his presence remained and suddenly I missed him sharply. That terrible sense of loss rode up and made me sad in a way I could never seem to quite understand. Lord Vader had never liked being on Naboo, it reminded him too sharply of his long dead wife, Padmé Amidala. These memories made his already legendary temper even more volatile and violent so he had usually sequestered himself down in these isolated rooms when he was here, it was the safest thing for all concerened. The Emperor had taken a perverse delight in making sure that Lord Vader had spent time on the planet, knowing it made him edgy and peevish. Palpatine liked to unbalance people and this had been a sure fire way to rattle Lord Vader’s cage. I went to the desk on the far side of the wall which had once been mine to use and sat down. I probably should not have been surprised when the screen came up blank regardless of what access code I typed in but I was. I sat back in the chair and sighed because this meant there was only one more place to go to find information here and it was the last place I wanted to visit.

I made my way back through the hallway to the narrow corridor at the end and stepped into the turbo lift. The Emperor’s private chambers were on the highest floor as usual. He had had a penchant for being above everyone else and here at the retreat had been no different. I half expected the lift to be on lock-down but it responded to my touch, my fingers tingling as I brushed against the control panel. There were no real memories but an after image of Sate Pestage came to mind and absently my fingers retraced the pattern his had made over the keypad. When the turbo lift lurched upward my stomach lurched with it.

I stepped out of the lift when the doors opened, half expecting to be challenged by members of the Royal guard but the hall was as empty as the rest of the building. It was eerie and disorienting. I walked silently down the dark empty hall, unsure of where I was headed exactly. Unlike the Imperial palace, I did not know the lay out of the Retreat that well and I didn’t have a set of blue prints to help me along. I tried each and every door I came across but either the door was locked or the rooms were empty. It seemed that while the retreat had been left standing intact who ever had been in charge of it last had not been asleep and had made sure the place had been stripped of all that was important. I suspected that Sate Pestage had taken care of this. If this were the case, it would not have surprised me; he had been Palpatine’s right hand, Palpatine’s shadow he had been called, taking care of all the day to day aspects of running the empire and essentially acting as Palpatine personal assistant. Everyone thought that Pestage would take over leadership of the Empire after the Emperor's death but Isard had not allowed that to happen. If Pestage had been a force user I had never felt it but he had been clever and the Emperor had trusted him. I sighed loudly out of frustration because I felt as though I was getting nowhere.

Palpatine’s audience chamber was on the top floor of the complex. The aura of power that had surrounded him in life had not diminished any in this place and I shuddered as I stepped out of the turbo lift. The chamber was vast, darkly lit and sparsely furnished, designed this way to instill a sense of awe and fear. I walked to the throne and stared at it for a moment before laying my hand on one of the arm rests. If I had been expecting a barrage of images and memoirs of the man who had once sat in this chair I was sadly disappointed. All I felt was a cold caress of a papery hand across the back of my neck. “Not here, child.” I shivered and sat down on the cold stone floor in frustration. I had been here for hours and found nothing, yet I had felt pulled to the Retreat and usually these feelings held some truth so the fact that there was nothing here puzzled and annoyed me. I looked at my chrono, it was late and the last thing I wanted to do was take the speeder back to Dee’ja Peak in the dark, driving oalong unfamiliar paths through wooded areas of Naboo but I didn’t particularly want to spend the rest of the night in this complex either. I made my way back down to the main rotunda and slipped behind the concierge’s counter. I smiled when I found what I was looking for, the entrance key for the small house I had once lived in tucked at the very back of the drawer where no one could find it.

The small residence was dark and still as I opened the door. No one had been here in a long time, in fact I doubted anyone had used this place since I had been here. No one liked this particular building because they believed it was haunted and because it was so far away from the main Retreat complex. I had been given it as a place to stay while working here because there had been no other housing available but I had not been unhappy about it. It had been a blessing to live so far away from the main complex and the little house which had been designed for two people had been completely mine, I had not had to share it. It was in a quiet area, surrounded by trees with a nice view of the lake.

Without turning on the lights, and being as quiet as I could I moved through the place quickly. Once I had done a cursory sweep through to make sure I was really alone and not sharing the house with any creatures that might have found a way in I breathed a small sigh of relief. Everything was exactly as I had left it, at least that is what my cursory first glance told me and touching furniture confirmed that no one else had come here since I had lived in it, at least not to stay for any extended period of time. Once I felt secure that there really was no one else here, I turned on the lights and began to dig through the kitchen cupboards hoping to find the half bottle of brandy I had left behind by mistake. I was not disappointed. Grabbing it and a glass I made my way to the living room and plunked down on the small couch. It was only then that I noticed a book on the small table in front of the couch and it sent a shiver down my spine. The book was old, ancient in fact and I had not left it here which meant someone else had. I knew without touching who that person had been and the knowledge turned my stomach. Let’s get this over with shall we, I thought to myself and reached over to pick the heavy book up. The memory was short and to the point. Palpatine’s voice shot through my mind like a slap and it was painful.

I have not forgotten you child. I have not forgotten any of those who have served me. You came here too seek out knowledge but nothing remains. There are no vast libraries of information save that which I choose to create and in order to find them you will have to come to me. When the time is right you will know where and then you will be ready to begin your internship under my guiding hand.

I shuddered as I let the book fall back on the table. Even from beyond the grave he could still scare the hell out of me. I sighed as I poured a generous glass of brandy and sat back against the couch. The drink’s bite and burn was a welcome distraction against the internal cold that Palpatine’s touch created. Is this why I had come here, to find this book with its cryptic message from a man now eight years dead? As I rested my head on the back of the couch and closed my eyes Thrawn’s words about ascribing Palpatine too much credit came back to haunt me. Was I, I wondered. Palpatine had been the most powerful force user in the Galaxy for as long as I had been alive and for as long as he had known of me he had been a subtle and occasionally a not so subtle guiding hand, pushing me towards a place in his coterie of force users but that had been interrupted when Lord Vader and his son, Luke, had destroyed Palpatine at the battle of Endor. How much had Palpatine really foreseen? I was certain the Emperor had taken steps to protect himself and his empire but had he really been able to come back from the grave?

I took a large gulp of brandy and let out the breath I had been holding noisily. Exhaustion was slowly creeping over my body the way the brandy’s warmth crept down my insides. What would Palpatine want with me anyway? My talents, such as they were, were limited and small. Even the gift of reading memory from objects would have been a parlour trick in comparison to his skills and abilities. If he had managed to somehow survive and now lived then why had he not returned to claim his empire? Why had he not at least shown himself to Thrawn and sent him aid on the task which now lay ahead of the last of his Grand Admirals? I was certain that if Palpatine had made plans to come back from the dead he would not be doing so without military might to back him up, so where was it? None of this made sense to me, least of all these not so subtle clues left behind for me to find, suggesting I go off on some mad search across the galaxy so I could find and be trained by the man I feared the most, a man who was dead or supposed to be. Yet, he had removed all the libraries, his libraries of knowledge. Every place I went in search of answers had been stripped of them, only a single memory left behind for me to find. It was jarring and annoying.

I kicked at the book on the table with my foot, sending it flying to the floor where it landed opened paged, like a wounded bird. Something small and shiny tumbled out of the spine, which had cracked, and rolled under the table. Curious, I picked it up examining it carefully. It was an identity chip, something often used to tag and bind objects to a particular place, person or building. Somewhere in the chip was a code which gave the location of the origin of the object so that it could be returned to the owner but this one was old, a lot older than I had ever seen used within the Imperial Palace and it lacked the typical palace markings. I clutched it in my fist and willed it to give me a clue, give up some memory of where it had come from and when it did I was beyond surprised because it had nothing to do with the Emperor at all and everything to do with finding information. This book had been stolen by the Imperials from the great library on Obroa Skai, a world I had forgotten about but one my mother had mentioned often enough because it was purported to be the largest and most complete repository of knowledge in the entire galaxy.

I picked up the book, an old copy of fantastic takes about force users in the time before the Empire, and set it back on the table. I flipped through it carefully looking for other clues but found nothing of interest, not even the stories it contained held any sway. Whatever he had been thinking Palpatine had underestimated my hatred of him as well as my own disinterest in becoming one of his dark adepts. I smiled at this thought, because Palpatine had underestimated many things including Lord Vader’s love for his son and that had been the Emperor’s undoing.

I finished my brandy and lay down on the couch. When sleep came it was dreamless and when I woke up in the morning with the sunlight streaming through the windows making the dust in the air sparkle and dance I smiled. In a backwards way the Emperor’s attempt to sway me had actually helped me find a part of what I was looking for and now all I had to do was get the information to my uncle and Thrawn because, while it wasn’t an exact pinpointing of Wayland's location, I was sure that somewhere in the vast data collection of the galaxy’s largest library of information the co-ordinates where there, somewhere, and all one had to do was find them. I was pretty certain that this would be an easy task.

I left the house as quietly as I had come, taking the speeder back to the Dee’ja Peak hotel. After I showered and packed I was anxious to leave I had no reason to stay here any more. The desk droid was annoyed when I checked out two days early but didn’t complain when I paid in full. I managed to make it to Theed in time to book a passage on a fast shuttle to Tatooine and was grateful to be leaving Naboo and its memories behind. The Retreat and the small house had been places I had enjoyed while I had been there but, like the Empire I had once known, they were now just shadows of memory and I was tired of memories haunting me. It was time to move forward and look to the future, which for now meant preparing for the up and coming art auction, because if Thrawn had been right and the major attraction, a moss painting was really going to be on the auction block then things were going to get interesting.

Between Sand and Stars 5

It was the same dream over and over again.

I knew I was dreaming but I couldn’t stop it from unfolding. I found myself in the facility in Mount Tantiss in the waiting room where the painting called Palpatine Triumphant hung. The sand jiggers in the pit of my belly were worse than ever and I was scared but I didn’t know why. The Emperor was dead, Lord Vader had killed him, thrown him down a shaft on the second death star. I didn’t know how I had come to this place or why I was here. Suddenly, out of nowhere one of the Emperor’s advisors appeared, sour faced and sallow skinned. I jumped when he spoke.

“Come with me Miss.” He said in a voice that was like sandpaper on metal.

Without word or protest I followed the man and marvelled at how his feet made no sound on the polished stone floor. We walked for what seemed like forever through a maze of hallways and winding stairwells. I knew this could not be right because the Emperor would never have bothered with stairs, he only ever used turbo lifts. We descended further and further going deeper and deeper into the belly of the mountain until I was sure we would reach the core. I could feel the pressure change on my ears and my heart pounded in my chest. I was frightened but also curious.

We reached our destination, a set of doors at he end of a long dim corridor, the advisor whose name I didn’t know stopped and pulled open the great set of double doors, gesturing for me to walk through them. I stepped hesitantly out on to the large platform and gasped. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting but what I saw was not it. As far as my eye could see the walls were lined with large tubes of transparasteel, each one held a body, a clone. The sight made my stomach turn. I closed my eyes because the images that flooded through my head were painful and made me dizzy. When I turned around to tell the person who brought me to this place that I wanted to return home I came face to face with the Emperor. His face was a wrinkled wreck and his laughter felt like claws down my back.

“I told you if you wanted to learn more you would have to come to me.” He said reaching out to caress my face with gnarled fingertips. “And here you are, too curious to stay away. I knew you would return to me. It is your destiny.”

I took a step back from him. “You’re dead.” I whispered, shaking my head in denial at what I saw.

He laughed. “I am never dead, child.” He said and for a moment he seemed to blur out of existence and then shifted back, changing his appearance from that of decrepit and old to that of a handsome, virulent man. He was powerful and young but in his eyes I saw him as he really was, malevolent and ancient.”

“How is this possible?” I whispered taking another step back.

“The dark side is a path to many abilities, child. You have no idea but I could show you. I could teach you so much. You have talents that could be of use.” He said. “I told you that you cannot escape me.”

“Why are you doing this?” I asked gesturing to the clones below me.

“I want my Empire back.” He hissed.

“Grand Admiral Thrawn is working on that.” I burst out.

His smile was cruel and terrifying. “Yes, he does my bidding well, does he not?”

“Your bidding?”

“Do you think, child, that he starts this war on a whim? Nothing in this galaxy happens without my knowing about it.”

I shook my head. “No. He never does anything on a whim.” I murmured softly. Wondering if Thrawn really did know about that the Emperor was alive.

The Emperor cackled, “Except for you, child.” He said snidely. “You were unexpected. His attachment to you was very unexpected, but useful.” He took a step towards me. His face kept shifting from old to youthful and back again as though he could not decide which phase he should stay in.

I stepped back one more step and felt the railing of the platform at my back. “Unexpected?”

Palpatine’s grin was full of teeth and malice. “Such a pretty distraction, no wonder he doesn’t want you to come here. My guardian would have such fun with you.”

“What guardian? Why are you hiding here anyway, why are you not helping him win back your empire?”

“I will return when the time is right and Mitth’raw’nuruodo will pave the way.” He snarled. “You will be the incentive to make sure he succeeds!” He added and reached to grab me but I pushed him away. “You cannot hide, little one, I can feel you through the force, did you think I could not?” He snickered.

“No.” I said shaking my head, suddenly terrified. I thought that I was free of him; I thought that with his death I no longer had to worry about the Emperor and his terrible plans. I took one more step away before he could touch me. The railing at my back gave way and I fell backwards into the abyss of cloning tubes, screaming as I went.

My screams echoed about the room as I woke, soaked from sweat shivering from fear. I wept then, something I hadn’t done because of a nightmare in a very long time but these dreams scared me even more than the ones in which I saw Thrawn die. For three days the tension in the house had been uncomfortable and the dreams had been far more vivid than normal. My uncle had been distant and I had been cranky. The subject of Wayland lay between us, a rift that made being in the same room difficult because I wanted to ask and he refused to speak of it. Since our late night conversation I had woken each night from the same terrible dream stifling my screams with my fists. I sighed and got out of bed and went to shower. By the time I was dressed my uncle was awake and making ‘caf. It was just past five in the morning.

“You’re up early.” I mumbled.

“You are a hell of an alarm clock, child.” He said looking at me with worry.

I sighed as stood leaning against the wall in the archway between the kitchen and the living room, “I’m going to Mos Eisley today.” I said after an uncomfortable silence.

He nodded. “Bedi will be glad to see you and it will be good for you to stop putting off dealing with the task at hand. The sooner you get all of Kit’s things sorted out the better I think. Maybe your nightmares will stop then.”

“I’ve told you, my nightmares have nothing to do with going through papa’s things.” I said sulkily.

“I hear you screaming, Lei’lei.” He said softly, “If the dreams are not about what happened to Kit or what took place on Ando Prime then just what are they about? Are you dreaming of Palpatine again?” He poured the ‘caf, and placed two cups on the kitchen table. He fed the jaxes and sliced some fruit which he set in a bowl on the table. I remained silent and sulky, my resentment and anger exacerbated by the terrible images that haunted me in my sleep.

“Sit, eat and listen to me.” He said in a tone of voice he rarely used. He was fed up with my moods and a little worried although he didn’t come out and say it.

Too tired to argue I did as he asked and picked a piece of fruit out of the bowl to nibble on.

“I know you are cross with me but my business with Admiral Thrawn has nothing to do with you. You are his bond mate not his second in command, no matter how much you might like to think so. He keeps his work separate from his private life and that is exactly how it should be. He told me you would get yourself all worked up if I told you what I was contracted to do for him so I didn’t but you are getting better at putting the pieces together and I wonder if even he’s figured that out yet.” He said as he sat down and pushed a cup of stim’caf towards me. “What is it about this place, Wayland that has you looking like death warmed over every time the name gets mentioned?”

I eyed him with a scowl and sipped the ‘caf. It was very strong and unusually bitter. “It’s a bad place.” I mumbled as if that explained everything.

He gave me a small smile. “Yes, I gathered that, which is why you have been asked to stay away from it. Now tell me everything you know about it and why you are so obsessed with it.”

I chewed my piece of fruit slowly, trying to organise my thoughts. “It was the Emperor’s private store house, his personal fortress for all the things he wanted kept private. I only saw a very small part of it.”

“It was obviously enough to make you go a little crazy.” He retorted.

“I see it in my dreams sometimes.” I replied carefully.

“The ones that have you screaming awake in the early hours of the morning?”

I nodded.

“I thought you did not recall what they were about?”

I made a face. “I lied; sometimes I do remember although I wish that wasn’t the case.”

“Ah.” He said happy to finally be getting to the heart of the matter. “And that’s reason enough for you to want to go tearing across the galaxy into almost certain danger in spite of being asked not to?”

I shrugged. “It’s a terrible place. Being there was like having bees burning in my brain but these dreams, they mean something; they are trying to tell me something, and whatever that is, it’s important.”

He shook his head, puzzled. “What exactly do you mean?”

“I feel as though I am forgetting something, a detail that is part of a larger picture, like the last piece of a puzzle.” I said with a sigh, “It’s always this way with these types of dreams. It’s a message but this time I don’t understand it. He’s dead, the Emperor, he’s dead. The empire fell apart, it’s been over eight years and the New Republic has control over nearly two thirds of the Empire so if he has the ability to clone himself with all his power and all of his memories intact then why would he wait so long to come back and re-establish his right as ruler? Why?”

Uncle Vahlek looked at me for a second as though he were trying to decipher a new code. “Honestly, Lei’lei I’m making allowances because it’s so early but you’re really not making much sense. Tell me everything you remember about the facility, everything and do not leave a single detail out.” He said.

“Wayland’s in the Ojsoster Sector but I don’t know exactly where. Lord Vader punched in the coordinates himself. The actual fortress is deep in a mountain and it’s some sort of a store house, I think, for all of his treasures that he didn’t have at the Imperial palace.” I said evasively.

“Treasures?” He asked.

I shrugged. “I was stuck in a waiting room and it was full of rare and precious arts works. I got the impression this place was where he kept all the things he coveted and didn’t want to share with anyone else. I was forbidden to move outside the room under pain of death and when I was called before the Emperor, I was taken directly to his audience chamber. I didn’t see much else. But I can tell you this even Lord Vader was afraid of that place. He would never say it or even show it but I felt it. We were tied by something, a bond, which allowed me to know things about him occasionally and I could sense his fear. Wayland held secrets that worried him, made him nervous. I haven’t thought about the place I a long time but now it’s the only thing on my mind and I don’t know why.” I was rambling.

For a long moment my uncle just regarded me and then he said, “Stop avoiding the real issue. Tell me about these dreams.”

I took a large gulp of ‘caf and thought about how to unravel the weirdness of the nightmares which had been plaguing me. Even bringing the memory of them back made my stomach turn. It must have shown on my face because Uncle Vahlek’s expression softened as he reached over and placed his hand over mine, saying; “Lei’lei, you’re sitting my kitchen and you’re perfectly safe. What do you see in these night terrors?”

I drew a deep breath and began to describe my nightmares as best I could. He sat, listening without interrupting and frowned when I finished.

“What do you think it all means?” He asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing, maybe everything. I don’t know.” It was the truth. I was missing something and it was driving me crazy.

“You’ve mentioned this idea of him cloning before. Do you think that the cloning facility is real?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know that either, Zte’sa, maybe. There was a rumour around the palace that the Emperor had the ability to clone, but I don’t know if it’s real. I told Thrawn about it because he was searching for answers, for ways to increase his numbers. It was just a possibility; I saw something when I was running around Coruscant, you know before all hell broke loose, and I thought it may be what he was looking for, but it is all just bits and pieces and what-ifs, nothing concrete. Whatever it is that is there is bad and I am dreaming about it, drawn to it. The answer to something is there I just don’t know what exactly.”

“Maybe the place is not the key, maybe it is something else. You just dream of this particular place because you associate it with Palpatine, you associate it with a bad experience.”

“Maybe. It was the first time he used my talent for reading the memories off objects.” I shuddered.

“Then step away from it for a while and maybe the answer will come to you sideways.”

“I am so tired of this. I thought the emperor was gone for good and now I can’t get him out of my head.” I spat. “He died at Endor, I felt it and now he haunts me in my dreams as though nothing ever happened.” I shook my head. “What the hell does this ghost want from me?” I yelled, thumping the table crossly with my fist.

Uncle Vahlek stared at me and then at his cup for a very long time. “How much time do you think you will spend in Mos Eisley?” He asked abruptly changing the subject.

“I don’t want to overnight at the docking bay if that’s what you are asking.” I said quietly. “There are too many memories, I don’t want to shock the hell out of Bedi by waking the entire house up with my screams, and…,” I shrugged, “…and I don’t feel at home there any more.”

“So just for the day?”

I nodded. “If we can get what has to be done in that time frame yeah.”

“I will let Bedi know to expect us then.”

“Us?”

“Yes, us. Given your current state of mind I don’t think I am letting you out of my sight. I, too, made a promise.” He said with a sigh, getting up to refill our cups. “I intend to keep it. So there will be no arguments about this from you, besides Bedi has been wanting us both to come to dinner ever since she heard I returned home safe and sound.”

I just nodded. I had been dreading going back to the docking bay because it meant having to help Bedi go through my father’s things and his papers. I didn’t want to deal with it; I didn’t want to deal with any of it.

“If you hurry up and get ready we can catch the early shuttle out and be in Mos Eisley by eight.” He said, a not so subtle hint to get up off my behind and get moving.

The trip to Mos Eisley was quiet and uneventful. The shuttle was full of the usual commuters but we had arrived early enough to get a seat. The walk from the shuttle port to the docking bay was a painful reminder every step of the way that I was going back to a home that no longer had my father. The sudden ache of loss was painful. I sighed and Uncle Vahlek wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we jostled our way through the morning crowds. It felt as though I had not been in Mos Eisley for centuries, as though everything had changed even though it was exactly the same as it had been a few days ago.

Bedi was waiting for us and her hug was warm and loving. “Bel will be so sorry she missed you all, she went to visit her sister for the week.” She said. “She needed to get out of the house and …well…you know how it is.”

I nodded. I knew and understood. Bel had been a part of the family for almost as long as I could remember, in many ways she was like a sister to me. She had loved and looked up to my father and his death had torn her apart. Though she would never voice it I got the feeling that a little part of her blamed me for what had happened and I wasn’t sure that she was wrong either. I turned down Bedi’s offer of tea in favour of getting straight to work and headed to papa’s office. I had not reckoned on the flood of memories which assaulted me when I walked into his room, nor had I been ready for the sudden tears which sprang to my eyes unwanted and unstoppable. I was grateful that Uncle Vahlek and Bedi were still in the kitchen, giving me some time alone. Grief had a terrible way of slapping me in the face and I never got used to it. Once I got over the crying jag I went to work and began the task of dismantling my father’s life.

When Bedi knocked on the door to tell me lunch was ready I was a little surprised that so much time had passed and even more surprised to find out that I was hungry. Over lunch we all spoke of inconsequential things and then once there was no more to eat and no more small talk to make I went back to sorting out the paperwork in my father’s office, this time Bedi came with me to help and I was grateful.

“Why did papa keep all of this junk?” I asked looking at the piles we had sorted out.

Bedi sat back against the desk and smiled sadly. “He was such a pack-rat. He never threw anything out.” She said. “He kept receipts for things that were destroyed or lost ages ago.”

“Well most of this rubbish can get thrown out or taken to the recycle plant.” I said gesturing around the room. “I found the deeds and I’ll get the changes done so the properties are all in yours and Bel’s names.”

“I’ll agree with this only if your name stays on the leases as well.” She said with a sigh. “You will not shut us out. I know you want to, I know you think if you do it will help heal the hole in your heart but trust me it won’t. I need you and so does Bel.”

I stared at her for a second and then nodded. “I think I’d like a cup of tea.” I said quietly. “I’ll send the additions to the paperwork tomorrow. I can do that from Uncle Vahlek’s house. ”

“You won’t stay here? I’ve kept fresh linens on the bed for you.”

I shook my head. “It’s too soon, Bedi.”

“I understand.” She said quietly but she was disappointed and sad.

“I will, I promise, but…” I stopped as more tears welled up in my eyes. I sighed angrily as I brushed them away.

“But it’s too soon, I understand.” She nodded. “When you are ready, it will be waiting for you.” She said. “You can always return here, it’s your home Merly, no matter what you think.” She patted my knee and got up from the floor. “I’ll go make tea shall I?”

“Please, I’ll be there in a moment.” I said and watched as she left the office quietly.

I stood up and walked around my father’s desk, brushing my fingers across its smooth surface. Memories of my father bubbling into my head, making me miss him all the more, images of him sitting at his desk, sorting through papers, reading, and doing ordinary every day things. These memories hurt and I sat down hard in the chair. If I closed me eyes I could almost see him, bring his presence into focus but he ache of loss overrode my desire to remember and I opened my eyes again quickly. I had loved this room as a child; the walls were lined with shelves full of books and strange souvenirs from all over the galaxy. Each item had a story to tell and my father had loved to tell them. I didn’t need to touch them to remember. I sighed as I stared at the shelves, my thoughts drifting to the small library that the Emperor had given me access to in the palace on Coruscant. He had emptied the room out so that when I had returned only a few items had remained including the memory of him. Unwanted, his voice whispered in my mind;

“If you wish to further your education about the force and its intricacies you must come to me little one.”

I shivered at the echo of his voice. He had known I would come back to Coruscant, come back to the library and he had planted this memory for me to find. You must come to find me… he had said but where? Coruscant was in the hands of the New Republic now and I had promised I would not go to Wayland. Thrawn’s insistence and the fear underneath his words scared me enough to want to honour my promise, for now, which meant that if I wanted an answer to my question then I had to find another way, another place to look, but where?

“Merly, tea’s ready!” Bedi called, breaking my train of thought.

I sighed as I got up and went to leave but as I did a small, holo capture tucked between two books in the bookshelf by the door caught my eye. I picked it up and stared at it. It was of my parents sitting by water on a beach but I had never seen it before. I took it with me to the kitchen and showed it to Bedi as I sat down to join both her and my uncle at the table. She smiled as she took the picture from my hands.

“They went to Naboo for their honeymoon.” She said, “This picture was taken by the beach at the resort, she taught your father to swim there.”

“Swim?” I asked.

Bedi nodded, “Your father was Tatooine born and bred and he couldn’t swim so she taught him on their honeymoon.”

Uncle Vahlek chuckled, “I remember her talking about that, she said that teaching Kit to swim was a little like trying to teach a bantha to fly.”

I laughed but my mind was buzzing. I had been so focused on Wayland that I had forgotten about one of the Emperor’s most important retreats. It was a place that I knew well enough but that had most likely been forgotten by almost everyone else, the Imperial retreat on Naboo. Palpatine had left a trail for me to follow, he had enjoyed games and he was playing one with me now. Even after his death at Endor his touch, cold and cruel remained. As I sat in the kitchen drinking tea with what was left of my family I realized that if I wanted some answers to the questions flying around my head then I would have to go and look for them. I had promised Thrawn I would stay away from Wayland and I would honour that promise if I could, but I had not given my word to stay away from Coruscant or Naboo.