Whisper Your Weakness

DMS and Abby, thank you for your kind reviews! And Marina! If you're reading this, empty your mailbox. :) I tried to send you an e-mail in reply to the one you sent me at Christmas and it bounced back to me.

On to the story...I have to warn y'all. There's a character death in this chapter. (evil laughter ensues)


Chapter Fifteen

On Yavin IV, several of the stronger Jedi trainees awoke crying from vague nightmares. Jedi Masters Tionne and Kam Solusar and Streen shuddered and looked at each other in shock. Jedi Knight Kyp Durron barged into the lounge set aside for the adults at the Academy and gaped at the three of them.

“Did you feel it, too?” he gasped.

Tionne’s pearl eyes filled with tears as she nodded without speaking. The four of them could think of nothing to say, hoping that what they had felt through the Force was wrong, a mistake somehow.

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In her apartment in the former Imperial Palace on Coruscant, Chief-of-State Leia Organa Solo sat straight up in her bed with an anguished cry. Her husband jerked awake beside her and looked around the room in confusion for some unknown danger.

“Leia?”

Barely two seconds later, their bedroom door opened and three small bodies came flying towards their bed. Jacen, Jaina and Anakin were crying uncontrollably as they plowed into their parents. Leia barely noticed them as she seemed to be in some kind of shock.

“Leia?” Han asked again, a little more sharply this time.

Suddenly, he caught something of what the kids were sobbing. They were crying ‘Uncle Luke’ over and over again. Han grasped Leia’s face between his hands and forced her to look at him.

“Leia! Is it the kid? What’s wrong?”

“He…I…it was panic, fear and shock all at once…and now nothing. I can’t feel him in the Force anymore, Han!”

Han paled as they continued to stare at each other in disbelief. In the corner of the room, his comlink started to beep.

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“Of course it was something important, Talon! And I was only a few hours late. There was no harm done,” Mara said, sighing in exasperation at her boss’ stubborn expression.

They were standing on the bridge of the Wild Karrde and she was trying to calm him after he’d given her his patented angry glare because she hadn’t arrived at their rendezvous on schedule. Her explanation of ‘something urgent’ on Coruscant hadn’t gone over too well. Still, she thought to herself in irritation, he should be a little more flexible. It’s not like I’ve ever been late before!

“I think I’d be a little more understanding if you told me what was so urgent that it caused you to be late for a meeting with our biggest client, Mara,” Talon said in clipped tones.

“Look, as hard as it may be for you to believe, I do have a private life and I don’t-”

The shockwave slammed into her consciousness with all the subtlety of a meteor making landfall. Mara cried out in agony, clutching the sides of her head and falling to her knees. Talon jerked forward in surprise, grabbing her by the shoulders and calling her name, but she could barely hear him.

As suddenly as it had begun, the pain ended. Desperately, Mara searched for him over their bond, but could find no trace of his presence. The small corner of her mind where his essence had comfortably nestled was abruptly dark and empty.

“No…no…NO!” she screamed.

One of her hands flailed out and grabbed Talon by the front of his shirt. “Take me back to Coruscant,” she gasped.

“Mara, tell me what the hell just happened-”

Faster than he could blink, Talon was pinned up against the wall, a forearm pressed into his throat as he stared the Emperor’s Hand in the face. “Take me back to Coruscant, NOW!”

Talon swallowed, the best that he could with the force of her arm against his throat, and called out, “Aves?”

“Yeah, boss?” Aves replied, his voice faint with shock. The entire crew was staring in amazement at Mara Jade holding their leader up against the wall, but no one moved or said a word.

“Set our course for Coruscant, if you would, please.”

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Wedge glanced down at his chrono for what must have been the hundredth time. Luke had disappeared into the abandoned factory almost thirty minutes ago and Wedge had received no communication from him in that time.

Of course, Wedge had spent most of that time on his comlink, getting in touch with various members of Rogue Squadron, asking them to meet him at the building. He had tried to avoid giving out too much information over the comm, but he figured that most of his squad mates could tell that something serious was up as every one of them promised to be on their way as soon as they could.

Corran Horn. Wes Janson. Hobbie Klivian. Tycho Celchu. Gavin Darklighter. Wedge ran down his mental list with a nod, satisfied that he had called everyone. Now the only one left was Solo.

When he put Han’s frequency in, the comm seemed to beep forever before his fellow Corellian finally answered. When Han did, his voice was sharp and tense.

“Uh, I’m not calling at a bad time, am I, Han? This is Wedge.”

“Wedge. Yeah, actually it is a bad time. Something’s happened, I’m not sure what, but Leia and the kids are all freaking out about something in the Force. Have you talked to Luke recently?”

Wedge’s face lost all color and he stared at his comlink in horror.

“Wedge? You still there?”

“Y-yeah...I...are you sure it’s something to do with Luke?”

“Well, he and Leia do have that weird twin thing, so yeah, I’m pretty sure. Why?” Han asked and Wedge could hear the suspicion mounting in his voice. “Do you know what’s goin’ on, Wedge?”

“Unfortunately, I think I do,” Wedge whispered. He quickly explained the situation so far to Han, holding the comlink away from his ear at Solo’s violent spate of curse words when he got to the part about Luke going into the building alone.

“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in less than twenty,” Han fairly growled into the comlink after Wedge gave him the location of the factory.

Wedge clicked off the comlink and looked up at the building, fear for his daughter and his friend rising in his gut. Decision made, he pulled his blaster out and walked resolutely inside.

The corridors were dark and Wedge moved down them warily, making no sound, but keeping both ears and eyes open for any sign of Luke or Syal. His comlink beeped and he cursed silently as he pulled it off his belt and answered it.

“Wedge, where are ya? We’re outside this place you told us to meet you,” Wes’s voice crackled over the comlink.

Wedge knew that ‘us’ undoubtedly meant Wes and Hobbie. Tersely, he informed them that he was inside the building because he thought Luke and Syal were in danger and told them to have one of them follow him inside, using caution, and station the other outside to wait on the rest of their friends to arrive.

“Will do, Commander,” Wes replied, his voice utterly serious for once.

With that done, Wedge switched off his comlink, not wanting it to interrupt him anymore. His face was a mask of grim determination, but his insides were beginning to tremble with fear. He had never been a big believer in the Force until he’d met Luke and seen him do amazing things...and he had seen firsthand the uncanny bond that existed between Luke and Leia. If she believed something was wrong, she was probably right.

“Daddy?”

The muffled voice had him spinning in his tracks and he stared in disbelief at Syal crawling out of a ventilation duct. She took one stumbling step towards him and then she was crying his name again as she ran to him, her arms outstretched. Wedge dropped the blaster and fell to one knee as she reached him, wrapping her in a tight embrace as tears began to stream down his cheeks.

Wedge held Syal at arm’s length for a long moment, his parent’s eye wandering over her to make sure that she wasn’t injured. Then he pulled her in close for another tight hug, almost afraid to ever let her go.

“Daddy, we have to help Uncle Luke,” she whispered in his ear.

Wedge jerked backwards and looked his daughter in the eye.

“What do you mean? Where is Uncle Luke?”

“Th-the bad man got him,” Syal said, her eyes wide with fright.

Wedge tensed as he stared at his daughter. “Do you remember how many bad men there were, sweetheart?” he asked carefully.

“I only saw one, Daddy.” Her lower lip began to tremble. “But he was really mean. He scared me a lot.”

“Wedge!”

Wedge stood up at the sound of his name being called and looked down the corridor the way he’d come into the building. A sense of relief swept over him as he saw Wes, Han Solo and Corran Horn jogging towards him. The three of them spared a moment to speak comfortingly to Syal, glad that she was unharmed.

“What’s going on?” Han asked grimly. “Where’s Luke?”

Wedge turned back to Syal. “Do you remember what happened, Syal?”

“Me and Uncle Luke fell into this big hole and there was the mean man in there he had a glowstick and we were in a cage and then Uncle Luke threw me and then he started fighting with the mean man and he told me to run and at first I was scared but then he really yelled at me and told me to run and hide so I did and then I saw you coming down the hall and I came out of my hiding place so I could get to you,” Syal said, finishing her story with a deep breath.

“Which way, Syal?” Han asked, trying to be calm so he wouldn’t scare the little girl any more than she already was, but he could feel panic battering the edge of his senses.

Syal pointed towards a hallway that crossed the one they were standing in. Wedge picked his daughter up and handed her over into Wes’s arms. Syal protested for a moment, but Wedge reassured her that her mother was waiting for her at home and that quieted her down.

“Wes, take her home. Tell Iella I’ll be back as soon as I find Luke.”

Wes nodded and turned to head back out into the streets of Coruscant, glancing back over his shoulder once to see Han, Wedge and Corran disappear around the corner of the hallway Syal had indicated.

The three men didn’t speak, concentrating instead on searching for any signs of Luke or the man who’d taken Syal. Corran had his lightsaber ignited and at the ready and the other two had their blasters drawn, not willing to take the chance of being surprised by anything. The eerie silence of the air around them had them all on edge, so when they stepped through the next doorway and looked across the room to see a crumpled form on the floor, they froze for a heartbeat.

Han instantly recognized Luke’s Jedi uniform and, without another thought for any kidnappers, ran headlong to Luke’s side. Corran and Wedge were two paces behind him. Luke was lying facedown on the dirt-covered floor, ominously still. Han fell to his knees beside his brother-in-law, reaching out to grab Luke by the shoulders, carefully rolling him over to his back.

“Oh, sith!” Wedge gasped as he saw the blaster burn dead in the center of Luke’s chest. The pool of blood under Luke told them that he’d been slowly bleeding to death for a while and the whiteness of his face only reinforced the fact.

Han was cradling Luke’s head in the crook of his arm, calling his brother’s name insistently. His other hand was pressed on Luke’s chest wound, in the useless hope of stemming blood that had long stopped flowing.

“Luke!” Han yelled. “Not breathing. He’s not breathing!” Remembering the basic first aid that most soldiers and rebels were taught, he laid Luke’s head down on the ground, pinched the Jedi’s nose shut, leaned down to place his mouth over Luke’s, and tried to force air into his brother’s lungs. Wedge dropped to his knees on Luke’s other side, his hands taking the place of Han’s over the chest wound.

Wedge watched silently as Han attempted to force Luke to breathe for what seemed like an eternity before a chilling realization began to slowly settle over him. We’re too late.

“Han…” Wedge began.

Han ignored him, continuing his steady breathing into Luke’s slackened mouth.

“Han, he’s gone,” Wedge said, his voice breaking.

Solo looked up at him then for a moment, his eyes blazing with pure fury. “Shut up! I am NOT going to let him die!”

“It’s too late, Han. He’s already… I can’t feel him. In the Force, I can’t sense him at all,” Corran said in a low voice.

Han glared up at Horn from his position beside Luke. He began shaking his head angrily.

“No, no, you’re wrong. We just need to get him to a medcenter, get him into a bacta tank and he’ll be fine. He’s been through much worse than this-”

He broke off as he turned his head back to look at Luke. Han Solo was familiar with death. He’d seen it many times in his life, as an Imperial soldier, as a smuggler, and as a rebel. The utter stillness of Luke’s form, the whiteness of his skin…Han knew what those things meant. His little brother was dead.

For the first time, Han realized that Luke’s eyes were partially open and he felt a sharp pain pierce his chest at his brother’s sightless gaze. A harsh sob forced its way out of his throat as he raised a hand to gently close Luke’s eyes. His fingers left little smears of blood from the blaster wound on Luke’s eyelids and Han’s vision blurred with tears.

Han gathered Luke’s limp body into his arms, pressing his forehead against Luke’s cheek as he began to slowly rock back and forth, his heart breaking as images of the kid in years past flashed through his mind. Tears flowed uncontrolled down his face and the only thing he could think was How the hell am I going to tell Leia?

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Han didn’t remember much of the next few hours. Later, he would be grateful that Corran, Wedge, Gavin, and Tycho were there, Wes and Hobbie having taken Syal back to the Antilles home. Corran took the responsibility of calling the Jedi Academy, while Tycho called New Republic Security.

The NRS officers arrived, shaken by the identity of the victim, but still professional enough to do their jobs. They questioned Wedge and moved around the scene where Luke’s body lay, gathering evidence and making notations on datapads. Han flinched as the workers placed Luke’s body into a dark bag and zipped it closed over his face.

They lifted the bag onto an anti-grav stretcher, preparing to take him away. Han suddenly couldn’t bear to let them take Luke without seeing him one more time.

“Hold on,” he called as they turned to leave the room.

He walked slowly over to the stretcher, his hands shaking as he partially unzipped the bag to reveal Luke’s face, already an ashen shade of gray. Han put one hand on Luke’s cheek, shuddering as he felt how the skin had begun to cool. Leaning down, he kissed Luke’s forehead.

“We will get whoever did this to you, Kid, I swear,” he said as he straightened back up.

By the time he got home to Leia, it was going on 0300. There would be many decisions that would need to be made in the next few days, but right now, Han knew that Leia was going to need him. He dreaded having to tell her that one of her worst nightmares had come true.

As it turned out, he didn’t have to tell her anything. She knew. Of course she would know, Han thought. Still, she didn’t want to believe.

The moment Han walked through their front door, the first words out of Leia’s mouth begged him to deny what she knew. Her eyes had already seen the blood covering the front of his shirt and she blanched, swaying on her feet for a moment.

“Tell me he’s okay, Han. I need you to tell me he’s all right.”

“Leia…” he said sadly, his voice trailing off. Damn, I don’t think I can make myself say the actual words!

“Please! Tell me that my brother, my twin, my other half is okay! Because if he’s not, I don’t think…I can’t…” She brought both of her hands up to cover her mouth as she stood there in the middle of their living room, staring at him with eyes filled with pain.

Han swallowed and looked at her, hating himself for having to be the one to confirm what she couldn’t bear to consider.

“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry-”

His inadequate words were cut off at the wail of absolute anguish that erupted from Leia, the sound of it punching him in the gut. Han was beside her in an instant, catching her before she could fall to the floor in grief.

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