The Trace Which Remains

Chapter 20: ... masters of darkness...

"The murders have been caused by our reluctance to proceed with the trial of Darth Vader!" Crix Madine, SpecOps Supreme Commander, pounded his fist on the table, glaring around the room at his fellow members of High Command. Mon Mothma did not miss the extra time he stared at her.

She fully understood his position. It was very likely that the upcoming trial was related to the recent deaths. However, Mon Mothma was aware that if they rushed the trial, then they would be performing an injustice. There had simply not been enough time for either the defense or the prosecution to make their case properly. "It has been four days. Even in a more simple procedure, it would be stretching it to force the trial so quickly."

Admiral Ackbar stroked the tendrils on his chin thoughtfully. "It seems to me that perhaps we should at least get the hearing over with. Perhaps the attackers would be assuaged with a little progress."

"And what of the attackers? We need to pursue this situation on two fronts."

Mon Mothma let a small smile touch her lips. "Our resources are strained as it is. General, you are a better strategist than this. If we divide our efforts too much, then we risk destruction."

"We are already at risk!"

Ackbar shook his head. "These are scare tactics. We must continue to use rational thought in times of crisis. I, for one, believe that we should pursue the murderers first, then devote our attention to the trial."

Madine's blue eyes blazed from behind his beard. "And if more people decide to commit crimes because of our hesitance to hold the trial?"

Mon Mothma frowned. "We run the risk of a mistrial- therefore prolonging the problem- if we push the trial hastily. I personally agree with Admiral Ackbar."

Airen Cracken, the head of Intel, drummed his fingers on the round conference table, before speaking. "Either situation runs the risk of complications. Madine, I respect your concerns, but I third the vote of postponement. My men are working as hard as they can to solve this problem, but even my best are struggling. How are we to know that the attacks aren't a trick to manipulate our treatment of the Vader case?" He leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes in musing. "Vader's arbiter has been working on the murder cases as well. She has not had the proper amount of time to form a legally legitimate defense- therefore I agree with Mon Mothma. Hurrying will only result in a mistrial."

Madine sighed in resignation. "Three to one- I concede the vote."

****

Myka had departed Luke's room, leaving Leia and Luke alone. They spent around an hour with Leia demonstrating to Luke the healing principles that she had gained from Myka, and Luke was absolutely impressed.

Luke asked through a screen, as he pulled his pants on, "Do you think that they would let me visit Father?"

He could hear her frown in her voice. "I honestly don't know- it's not likely. At this point, with security at a maximum, they're suspicious of anything."

Luke struggled to keep his voice steady. "But he's my father!"

"He's mine, too, and I seriously think the only reason I've been permitted to meet with him is the fact that I'm his arbiter." Luke stepped into the main room, and she stood, crossing her arms. "But I don't think it would hurt anything for you to ask to see him."

****

Luke entered Mon Mothma's office filled with trepidation. The slender Chandrilan woman rose to greet him, circling her desk and gripping his hands warmly. "It is truly a relief to see you mobile again, Jedi Skywalker."

"I'm relieved to BE mobile, m'lady," Luke blushed slightly- it was the first time anyone had called him "Jedi Skywalker," and the title sounded odd.

"Please, take a seat. A drink?"

"Hot cocoa, if you please." Mon Mothma strode over to her wall unit and punched in the request. Shortly, she set a steaming mug in front of Luke, with a mug of tea in her own hands.

"I suppose this is about your father."

"I know that security is tight right now, but I was hoping that I would be permitted to visit with him. I miss him."

Luke could hear the sympathy in Mon Mothma's voice. "I'm sorry, but Councilor Fey'lya has listed you as one of his prime witnesses. We can't allow you to confer with him."

Uneasily, Luke responded, "But what use would the prosecution have for my testimony?"

"I cannot be certain, but it may involve the events on Bespin."

Luke frowned. "I was not a witness to any criminal activity on Bespin. My father was acting within Imperial law regarding his actions towards me. The laws were terrible, but if I know Imperial law correctly, it states that the Emperor's will- including his whim- is law. Father would have been breaking the law and risking his life if he had disobeyed Palpatine."

"We will deal with the legal aspects of this situation later, Jedi Skywalker. As it stands, only the defense, the prosecution, and, if necessary, the medics may confer with your father." She folded her hands on her desk. "I am truly sorry that it can't be otherwise."

Standing, Luke nodded. "Thank you for the cocoa, m'lady."

****

"Luke, what is it?"

Leia found Luke gazing thoughtfully out of a viewport, looking at the moon of Endor. "I've been trying to finish a thought that keeps trying to slip out of my grasp."

"About what?" Leia rested her hand on his forearm.

"This damn trial. I mean- if you look at it from an Imperial point of view, any person will tell you that you do as the Emperor commands. Regardless of moral judgement, all people in the galaxy are required to obey the Emperor to the letter."

"But the Empire can't enforce such a law effectively."

Luke whirled on her, and she could see the passion in his eyes, could hear the determination in his voice. "But Palpatine COULD effectively enforce his will on Father! If we can prove that Father was unable to escape, disobey, or convince Palpatine to change his mind- that covers it!"

Crossing her arms, Leia looked at him levelly. "How do you expect to prove it?"

Luke faltered. "Well... it's obvious that Palpatine's mind couldn't be changed."

"My opponent will say this: 'Did Vader ever TRY to change Palpatine's mind?'"

Uncertainly, Luke pressed on. "If Father tried to escape, Palpatine would have found him and hunted him down."

"Why didn't Vader just kill Palpatine earlier?"

Leia watched the frustration twist Luke's face into a scowl. "If Father had disobeyed, Palpatine would have killed him!"

Leia sighed, and countered, "My opponent will ask why Father didn't LET Palpatine kill him."

Luke froze. Coldly, he replied, "It is not natural to want death. Even with all of his problems, Father did not and does not want to die. I know him well- he hoped that he could wait until Palpatine died of natural causes, then change the galaxy." He turned away.

"Luke- please- I'm just trying to explain the flaws in the legal issues this situation has to deal with." Leia wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "I have faith in Father. I just need to cover my bases- I need to prepare for what I'll come up against in this trial."

Luke shook his head, lips pressed into a thin grim line. "Father did nothing criminal. Immoral... definitely. But nothing illegal."

Leia sighed. "One of the witnesses claims that Father... raped and murdered his sister before the Empire's rise."

Luke stiffened, and Leia saw the shock and anger in his eyes. "Father is NOT a rapist!"

Drawing back, Leia nodded. "You know that. I know that. But the man has a genetic report that even Dr. Severeth says looks genuine."

Luke shook his head vehemently. "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

Leia asked, "Is there any other way that Mr. Granns could have gotten that report?"

He slowly shrugged. "It's gotta be a forgery. Perhaps planted evidence? Someone with..." He paused, and Leia saw recognition in his eyes.

"Someone with what?"

"Genetic expertise."

****

Myka looked up from his work as his hideout- his third one- was intruded yet again by hurried Skywalkers. "What the fuck!!! I run around this ship looking for privacy and a secure location, and you guys- especially you, 'Princess'- keep barging in on me!" He hid within an emergency generator room, huddling over his code.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Severeth, but it's important. You said that your mentor had been a geneticist?"

"Yeah." Sullenly, Myka started gnawing harder on his kallot- a hard orange vegetable.

"Could she have forged a report?"

"Yeah, duh."

Luke knelt next to Myka, and gripped the young man's shoulder. "If you were to guess, how would she have forged a rape report involving my father?"

"It's simple- use the wrong sample for the report. Anyone could have actually raped that girl- all it would take to make a false sample would be mixing her blood with Anakin's semen. And it would be a piece of cake for Morata to make lightsaber wounds on someone. I mean... come on. Sith have lightsabers. That's like asking, 'does a Wookiee have claws?'"

Leia spoke. "So all we need is evidence that Morata DID forge the report."

Myka nodded, munching less viciously on the kallot. "That's what I'm trying to find out- in fact, Princess, you promised to help me break this fraggin' code."

"Let's do it."

****

Over the next several hours, many things happened. Most were minor.

Han Solo lost his pants in a game of sabacc- to Chewbacca, who promptly returned them, stating he had no need for them.

Borsk Fey'lya received an encoded transmission from an anonymous source stating that Fey'lya was going to die in ten minutes. Fey'lya went for a bite, and got a bucket of red DYE dumped on his head. He did not find this funny.

T'Ayha Lusha drank herself stupid in the mess hall, then cried in the arms of some random old lady.

Bored out of their skills now that the meeting was over, Airen Cracken and Crix Madine played an old-style game that involved a ball and two paddles. They lost the ball in Mon Mothma's tea, where it dissolved. She decided to get a new cup of tea- and move her reading elsewhere.

The most important thing that happened, perhaps, was the fact that the old lady T'Ay sobbed her worries to...

... was Darth Morata.

****

"You've gotta be shitting me..." Myka whispered. Luke's eyes scanned the completed page of codework, confused.

"What?"

"This outlines all of her plans! Now that I have the code figured out, it'll make things much easier to decode. But one more thing is confusing me."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "Who is this 'project omega' that this page mentions?"

"I don't know... there's no other mention of them. All it says is, 'Project Omega will be the real test for my new skills. They will prove my might.' I can't make sense of it. I've never heard of Omega."

"Would she have any other files? A datapad?" Leia shuffled the pages around nervously.

"She never had a datapad when I was with her- a tabletop computer, yes, but never a datapad. And I didn't find one in my search."

"Were there any places where it could have been hidden?"

Luke saw an expression of horror cross Myka's face. "The boxes..."

"What boxes?" Leia asked.

"I always thought that they were just a booby trap! She had piles of boxes, all of them seemed empty! She tricked me!"

Luke shook his head. "How were they a trap?"

"Noise- she can hear very well. She would thrash me senseless if she caught me making any noise while she was asleep. Now... I know that it was in order to keep me out of her crap."

"We need to find out what's in those boxes." Leia pounded a fist into her open palm.

"I'll do it. I'm the only one who can spy upon her."

Leia shook her head. "If she knows you're here, then you're in danger."

"She doesn't. I've made sure of that."

"I'll go." Leia grabbed Myka's shoulder firmly. He shook it off gruffly.

"No. I can hide my presence from her. She doesn't know I'm here!" And he stormed out before either twin could stop him.

Leia turned to Luke, and asked, "Stubborn, isn't he?"

****

How dare the two of them believe that he was anything other than careful in his dealings? He knew what he was doing! He didn't need anyone protecting him.

These thoughts were running through his head as he turned the corner-

- to find the body of T'Ayha sprawled in two pieces on the floor, an ignited red lightsaber resting between the halves. Myka froze.

"Well, it seems that you've made quite a name for yourself here, my apprentice." The lightsaber rose into the air, righting itself in front of a large black cloak. When a pale hand grasped the hilt, the cloak fell away, revealing a woman identical to the fallen Twi'lek. Myka backed away, struggling against inertia and fear to run, to hide, to fight, anything!

"Lord Severeth, you have avoided me for long enough. This ends now. If you swear your allegiance to me... no more of your 'friends' will die at my hand. If you refuse... young Skywalker will die a truly horrific death. You are the only one who can protect them..."

"Leave them alone!" Myka shouted through his clenched teeth, hands fumbling for his lightsaber.

She was upon him in an instant, red blade of energy at his back, her arms wrapped around his waist. "You cannot fight me- especially when I take the form of one you care about. Twi'leks are so easy to replicate the features of, too."

Shaking, Myka whispered hoarsely, "You can't kill the Skywalkers. I need them for my studies."

"Oh, but you misunderstand, my apprentice..."

She tightened her grip on Myka, and brought her lips close to his. "I need them too... but I need them dead."

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