The Arcadia Chronicles

Zac was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, thoughts of the Princess running through his head. He smiled as he pictured the mischievous grin that always adorned her face when she was being playful. He relived the time when she snatched his favourite t-shirt out of his grasp, giggling as he chased her along the beach, at the way she squealed when he finally caught her, picked her up, and unceremoniously dropped her in the cool blue ocean water fully dressed. She had stood up laughing, her white dress clinging to her provocatively, her long hair streaming down her back. He remembered the way that she looked, walking towards him, the wet, sheer fabric of her dress framing her body, moving in the most intriguing way. His smile widened as he recalled the way that she draped herself over him, the cool feeling of her wet body pressed up against his warm chest, the contrasting sensations arousing his desire. She had kissed him then, pulling him into the shallow waters. They had made love right there that day, their bodies warmed by the afternoon sun as only meters away on the other side of the rocky outcrop masses of people obliviously went on with their lives.

Zac moaned and stretched his body out on the bed pulling his hands down behind his head. A twinge of pain shot from his knuckles making him grimace. He pulled his hands out from behind him and studied the bandages for a while, opening and closing his hands to test the sensations. Coming to a decision, he sat up on the bed and began to remove the bandages, tentatively examining his wounds. The antiseptic that the Princess had applied had already begun to work. The accelerated healing properties of the cream had encouraged a rapid regeneration of his cells. Where earlier there were gouges on his hands, now they were just grazed. He opened and closed his fists again to test them and was satisfied with the result.

His body shuddered as a cold shiver ran down his spine, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. “Cadi!” the thought barely had time to form before he was on his feet and pulling his weapons on around his waist. He strode out of his room and pressed the door release to the Princess’s chambers. A quick scan of the area proved she wasn’t there. The knot in his stomach grew as he picked up the pace and went in search of her, his weapon drawn. Jogging through the house he made his way out to the terrace where the others were just sitting down to lunch.

He spotted Luke at the table chatting with his sister.

“Where is she?” he demanded.

Everyone looked up surprised by Zac’s vehemence.

“What?” asked Luke.

Zac glared at him through his brows, “Arcadia, where is she?”

Luke looked around as if realising for the first time that she wasn’t there, the same fear starting to grip him.

“She said she wanted to be alone for a while to think,” he started.

Zac’s eyes widened, “And you let her go? What kind of idiot are you?”

Luke opened his mouth to speak when a loud beep emanated from Zac’s wrist. Still glaring at Luke he moved the communicator to his mouth and spoke into it.

“Talk to me.”

“Sir, there has been a low range weapons discharge at the rock. I thought you should know about it.”

Zac looked out across the beach at the formation. “No!” the thought screamed through his mind.

“How long ago?”

“Maybe five minutes,” came the reply.

“Have any ships been cleared for take off in that time?”

There was a brief pause, “No sir.”

Zac was about to take a breath of relief when the voice interrupted.

“No wait a minute sir. There was one ship. It took off a couple of minutes ago.”

Zac closed his eyes and tried to contain his anger, “Track them,” he ordered and signed off.

Zac glared at Luke. It took all his strength to stop himself from physically attacking him.

“This is all your fault,” he growled, his body trembling.

“Hey now, wait a minute, we don’t even know if Cadi was on that ship,” Han tried unsuccessfully to diffuse the situation.

Zac turned his head and stared at him menacingly for a long moment, the tension in his body knotting his muscles. Leia could feel the explosive nature of the standoff and quickly interceded.

“Okay boys,” she said, “bring those testosterone levels down a notch. This isn’t helping.”

Zac knew that she was right but couldn’t help the way he was feeling. Someone had his precious Princess and he dreaded to think of what they might do to her. The idea that he may never see her again tied his stomach up in knots. He felt so helpless, so guilty.

If only I hadn’t over reacted, she’d be sitting down here at the table smiling at me now. She’d be safe. Better to see her in Skywalker’s arms than this.

He flinched as he felt the cool touch of Leia’s hand on his seething flesh. As he turned to look at her Leia could see the pain and fear in his eyes.

“It’ll be okay Zac.” She said. “We will find her. You’ll get her back. I promise. I have no intention of losing my sister a second time.”

He looked at her for a long moment then turned and strode back into the house. The others stood up and followed. Zac positioned himself in front of a console and started to tap at the keys. The screen came alive, images of stars and diagnostics blinking into view.

“What are you doing?” Leia asked.

“Cadi’s bracelet has a tracking device built into it. I’m trying to lock in on the signal.”

Han and Luke exchanged a look, impressed by Zac’s ingenuity.

“That’s fine if she is wearing it,” commented Han.

“She never takes it off,” Zac replied in annoyance.

“She may not have a choice in the matter,” was Han’s rebuke.

Zac stopped tapping the keys as the image sank in. It took all his strength to try and control his rising anger and frustration.

“You’re not helping Han,” Leia reprimanded him softly.

Taking a deep breath, Zac fought the images that started to flash across his mind. He knew that he had to keep a clear head if he had any chance of finding and rescuing Arcadia. Steadying himself, he continued with his enquiries on the screen. His perseverance finally paid off when a red marker suddenly appeared on the monitor, blinking slowly as it moved through the virtual star fields.

“There,” he said pointing at the screen.

“Where are they headed?” asked Leia.

Zac shook his head, “It’s too soon to tell, “ he replied.

Zac’s communicator beeped again. He lifted it to his mouth and spoke, “Yes?”

The same voice that he was speaking to earlier replied, “Sir, we have locked onto the ship as you requested. I am sending you the details of the occupants from the system files. There doesn’t seem to be anything unusual there, Sir but we will keep looking.”

Zac nodded, “Thanks Jenkins, keep me informed.”

“Yes Sir.”

The monitor beeped and started flashing the information that Zac was expecting. They all studied the screen. Images of a middle aged man, a teenage girl and a younger girl appeared on the screen. The accompanying narrative identified them as a family. They were travelling with their two uncles and an aunt. Jenkins was right; on the surface everything seemed normal. They had registered at the hotel two days ago, did some shopping, ate at the restaurants and attended the fun park.

“There’s nothing here,” Zac said in frustration.

“Maybe it’s the wrong ship,” Han said peering at the data.

“No,” Zac pointed at the screen, “The ships markings are the same.”

Luke shook his head; “Maybe one of the girls found Cadi’s bracelet and decided to take it home with her.”

They all turned and looked at him.

Leia shrugged, “It’s possible,” she conceded.

Standing up Zac turned from the console and made his way to the door. “Let’s go check,” he said and started jogging up the beach to the rocks.

As they hurried towards the formation, Luke heard a distant cry. He stopped and turned searching the beach for the source of the voice. He saw a young woman jump down off the terrace and run towards him. As she neared he realised that it was Talya, the young mother from the orphanage. He jogged back towards her.

“Luke,” she said breathing heavily. “Something terrible has happened.”

He put his hands on her arms to steady her. “It’s okay Talya, slow down. Tell me what happened.”

She took several deep breaths then continued. “I just saw two men dragging Arcadia onto a ship. She was unconscious. We have to tell Zac. We have to help her.”

Luke’s heart sank.

So it’s true, I should never have let her go.

Talya looked at him, “Did you hear me Luke? We have to help her. We have to get her back. She has done so much for us. I can’t imagine not having her around.”

Luke tried to calm her down. “It’s okay Talya, we’re working on it. We are tracking the ship as we speak. We will get her back.”

Talya searched his face then nodded, “I just don’t know what I would do without her,” she said. “I love her, we all do.”

Luke smiled at her, “I know Talya,” he said. “I love her too.”

Luke caught up to the others just as Zac climbed up onto the flat rock where Arcadia had been earlier. Zac knew this spot like the back of his hand. She would always come here whenever they had a fight. It was her special place, her sanctuary. After pounding at the punching bag, he would sit on the beach watching her as she sat there, arms wrapped around her knees, contemplating her life. His own anger dissipating as the gentle lapping of the waves soothed him. After some time he would climb up the rocks and sit behind her, taking her into his arms and letting her rest against his chest. They would make up then, never letting a day end in anger. They spent many long nights sitting there, watching the stars, as they talked about their lives, their currant loves, their problems and every time they left that spot they would come away feeling better, feeling good about themselves, about their lives. It was a special place but now as Zac looked around he was filled with a sense of dread, of foreboding. The once peaceful outcrop had somehow turned sinister.

“Zac.”

Luke put a hand on Zac’s shoulder. Turning he saw the distress on Luke’s face.

“What?” he asked unsure if he wanted an answer. Luke hesitated for a moment.

“I just spoke to Talya. She said that she saw two men carrying Cadi onto a ship. She said that she was unconscious.”

Zac closed his eyes as his worst fears were realised. He could picture it all so clearly in his mind. She always sat looking out at the ocean. They would have come up behind her. She wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“At least we know that she’s alright,” said Han.

Zac looked at him under his brow.

“How do you figure that?” asked Leia.

“It was a low range energy discharge. If they had wanted her dead they wouldn’t have used a stun setting.”

Luke nodded, “Han’s right. They wanted her alive. They have got something else in mind.”


Back at the house, Zac was sitting at the console studying the files. He had been at it for hours and in that time nothing had changed. He leaned his head down and rubbed at his temples, the tension making his eyes blur.

“Any luck?”

Still holding his head, he shook it slowly. “No, nothing,” he said lifting his eyes to look at Leia.

“Here,” she said placing a steaming mug on the desk next to him. “I brought you some coffee.”

The strong, sweet aroma of the liquid wafted through the air.

“Thanks,” he said as he inhaled the scent.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and feeling the hard knots in his muscles she started to massage them.

“You are so tense.”

He closed his eyes as she kneaded his flesh.

“I know. I am just so worried about her, Leia. I feel so helpless sitting here doing nothing, wondering about what they may be doing to her.”

Zac’s console beeped at him. They both looked up at the screen, as the red marker appeared again, moving slowly across the blackness.

“They’ve come out of hyperspace,” he said.

“Where?”

Zac’s fingers moved across the keys. “Corellia,” he replied.

A sinking feeling washed through him as a wayward thought entered his mind. He turned and looked at Leia. She had the same shocked expression on her face.

“No,” she said in disbelief. “It has to be a coincidence.”

Zac regained his composure and started tapping at the keys again. The image of the man that he had been studying earlier appeared on the screen. He stared at it for a moment as the memories came flooding back. Slowly the image began to change.

“What are you doing Zac?”

“I am running a program that will reverse the aging process on this image. I want to see what he looked like sixteen years ago.”

As the computer restored the man’s youth, Zac and Leia stared at the screen. When the system beeped at them again, Zac sat back in his chair, his fingers running through his hair. He stared at the image for a long time considering.

“I know where she is.”

The pain in Arcadia’s head threatened to overwhelm her. The constant throbbing, pounding at the edges of her mind, pulled her out of her unconscious state and back to reality. As she slowly regained her senses, she could feel the cold hard surface pressed up against her. The droning of machinery and the hushed sounds of speech slowly came into focus. She lay perfectly still feeling the reverberations of the floor beneath her. The pounding in her head slowly began to diminish.

“Where am I?” she thought as soon as her mind had cleared enough to allow for such things. Her last memory was of sitting on the rock, thinking about Zac. Then she remembered, the two men behind her, the blue flash.

No wonder my head hurts so badly. They shot me.

She considered herself lucky that their weapon was only set on stun. That realisation bought other thoughts to her mind.

Who are they? What do they want with me?

She decided to remain as still as possible, feigning unconsciousness, in the hope that they might let some information slip. The reverberations beneath her changed slightly and she realised that the ship that she was on was coming out of light speed.

“How long have I been out?” she wondered.

Straining her ears, she tried to focus in on the voices.

“We are coming up on Corellia, boss.” The voice belonged to a man.

“Good, take her down and move our guest to her quarters. Make sure she is secure. I don’t want any more mistakes, Cohen. Do I make myself clear?” The deep grating voice of the man sounded familiar to Arcadia but her mind hadn’t cleared enough to place it.

“Yes, boss,” came the sheepish reply.

The floor tilted beneath her and started to shudder, making her feel nauseous. She fought the feeling with all her being, not wanting to give herself away and perhaps loose an advantage. The shuddering worsened as the ship entered the planet’s atmosphere, making Arcadia’s stomach swim. She was grateful that she hadn’t had any lunch, as she was sure that she wouldn’t have been able to keep it down. The pounding in her head started to intensify again as the ships engines groaned beneath her. Just as she thought that she couldn’t take any more the shuddering subsided and was replaced with a soft whine. Arcadia fought to relax her body as the ship glided towards its final destination. Moments later she heard the landing gear deploy and felt a jolt run through her as the ship came to rest on the planet’s surface.

“Home at last,” the voice belonged to a woman. “Come on girls, get your stuff. Let’s get off this rust bucket. I am dying for a hot bath.”

There was a squeal of delight, “me first.” The voice was a young girl’s.

“I don’t think so, brat.” A different female voice, “You’re the youngest, you can wait your turn.”

The first female voice admonished both of them, “You can both wait your turn. As your aunt I am pulling rank here. Nobody goes near the tub until after I have finished. Do I make myself clear?”

There was a moment of silence followed by, “Yes aunty Kayla.” The voices receded along with their shuffling footsteps.

Arcadia laid perfectly still, her breathing and nausea under control, listening for approaching sounds. After a while, she decided that it was safe to open an eye and have a look around. Slowly her eyelid fluttered open. Her first vision was of the cold steel grey floor that she lay upon. She slowly looked up. Strands of her hair draped across her face. She realised that she was in a room, probably a cargo hold. A door of meshed metal separated her from the rest of the ship, the red light glowing next to the door release indicating that it was locked. She scanned as much of the rest of the room as she could without moving her head. There were several crates piled up against a wall, held in place by thick netting. A small movement caught her eye behind one of the crates. She peered in the direction and was disgusted to see a moc bug crawl out. “Gross,” she thought, a shudder running through her.

The moc was a member of the insect family, native to Corellia. It crawled around on six spiny legs, its purple under belly barely skimming the floor. It was the size of a child’s palm, but they have been known to grow as big as a man’s hand. They were scavengers, eating whatever decaying piece of flesh they can find and in the process depositing toxins into their victims. A bite from a moc can be serious, depending on whether it was a male or female. This one looked to be male but you can never be really sure.

Arcadia remembered the time that she had stepped on a moc bug, long ago in that Corellian warehouse. It had crawled up right next to her while she was seated on the grimy floor. Stopping, it seemed to peer straight up at her before continuing on its journey down towards her feet. She had lifted both legs up off the ground and stomped on it hard. When she moved her feet she saw the exoskeleton of the creature part and thousands of baby moc bugs came streaming out of the carcass. They kept coming and coming, until there was nothing left but the clear shell. Nothing remained of the original moc, no internal organs, no brain, just the six dark legs and the clear hard shell. The young Princess had screamed as the tiny mocs scurried over her legs. She had never witnessed anything so utterly disgusting and freakish in her life. Ever since that day she had loathed moc bugs. They made her skin crawl.

The moc on the floor seemed to stare at her.

Don’t you dare!

As if sensing her discomfort, the moc took a couple of scurrying steps towards her then stopped.

Stay away from me!

The thought was half warning, half pleading.

The bug seemed to study her then slowly started moving towards her again. Arcadia’s anxiety levels began to rise. She really hated moc bugs. She didn’t know if she could keep still if the bug kept coming towards her. From her vantage point at ground level the moc looked huge, its jagged jaws chomping as it made its way towards her face. The adrenalin started to course through her veins as the moc came closer. Every instinct screamed at her to get up, to move but she fought it with all her might.

The floor beneath her started to shake as she heard the approaching footsteps. With one last look at the moc, which was still scurrying towards her she closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. She heard the two men at the door.

“She’s still out,” said one of the men.

“I told you that the setting was too high. She’s just a woman. The boss will be pissed if you’ve fried her brain.” She recognised the second voice from the earlier conversation.

“Shut up Cohen. Let’s just do this and get it over with.”

The metal door screeched as it slid open, the sound piercing her ears. The men slowly approached her. She felt a tickling on the side of her hand and remembered the moc bug. Its sharp legs started to scurry up over her hand. Arcadia’s blood ran cold but she didn’t move. It took what seemed an eternity for the bug to crawl across the back of her hand and then wander across the floor.

“Damned moc bug!”

She heard a thud and a squelching sound. Involuntarily she tensed her body as the memory of the baby bugs flashed through her mind.

“I can’t stand those things.”

“Come on, get her up,” the voices were right above her know.

She relaxed her body as she felt the men’s hands on her arms. They pulled her up between them. She hung her head and stayed as limp as a rag doll, her legs dragging on the floor behind her. They dragged her out of the cargo hold and through the ship, unconcerned about being gentle. She swore that when she escaped she would hurt them for their carelessness. The angle that they were moving in changed and she realised that they were going down the ramp. If she was to do something then now was the time. With her head still hanging she opened her eyes a touch and looked at the men’s legs. The man on the left of her had a gun sitting in his holster. The man on the right was unarmed.

“Perfect,” she thought a twinge of a smile tugging at her lip.

Listening intently she tried to determine if anyone else was around. Hearing nothing she decided to make her move. She knew that she had to move quickly to take them both by surprise. Tensing her arms she elbowed them both hard in the groin. They immediately let go of her and doubled over in pain. Landing hard on her knees, she reached across and pulled the man’s weapon from his holster and stood up. She took two steps forward then turned and kicked the unarmed man in the face. Blood spattered across the floor as her foot connected with his nose. The sickening crunch of breaking bone the only sound coming from him as he slumped onto the ground. In the same movement Arcadia spun and pointed the gun at the other man’s head. He looked up at her, the pain still etched across his face, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Looking at the weapon she saw that it was still set on stun. A smile appeared on her face as she looked him in the eye and slowly squeezed the trigger. A blue beam flashed from her weapon and touched the man. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Arcadia knelt beside him and checked his pockets. She found nothing of interest and was about to stand up to search the other man when she felt the cold metal pressed up against her head. She froze.

“Put the gun down and get up slowly,” the grating voice ordered.

Numerous scenarios played out in her mind in that instant, but she dismissed them all. A gun to your head was not something you take risks with. She looked at her weapon and noticed that she was still wearing her bracelet. A glimmer of hope ran through her. She knew that Zac would come after her.

Slowly she lowered her hand and placed the gun on the floor. Reaching her hands out in front of her she slowly stood up, the gun never losing contact with her head.

“Turn around,” he ordered.

Taking a deep breath, she complied. Turning she faced her captor and looked directly into his cold steel grey eyes. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Not much scared the Princess but those eyes still haunted her dreams.

“You!” she spat.

He smiled cruelly at her. “I see you remember me. Good.”

He pressed the gun hard against her forehead. Turning it on its side he ran it across to her temple then down her cheek. He then pressed it hard up under her chin, making her lift her head. She closed her eyes as the fear and anger started to rise.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” she thought as she struggled to control her emotions. His sinister laughter made her glare at him.

“I am going to enjoy this,” he announced.

Looking down at his henchmen, he raised an eyebrow at her.

“So you like to play rough, huh?”

She glared defiantly at him again. Before Arcadia knew what was happening, he clenched his free hand and punched her on the side of the jaw, the force of the blow sending her to the ground. The blinding pain shot through her. She closed her eyes as the ground started to spin below her, her vision blurring. The acrid taste of blood filled her mouth making her gag. Drops of the red liquid raining onto the ground. She opened and closed her jaw to test if it was broken and was relieved to see that it still worked. His laughter echoing between the buildings made her blood boil. She opened her eyes and forced them to focus, her mind willing the pain to recede but before she had adequate control, he reached down and grabbed her ponytail and yanked her up off the ground, pulling her head back as far as it could go. She winced in pain but refused to give him the satisfaction of a scream. The blood streamed down the side of her mouth, flowing down her neck, over her breasts and seeping into her white top.

“Let’s go,” he ordered and shoved her forward.

She stumbled as he let her go but quickly regained her feet. Wiping the blood from her mouth with the side of her hand, she studied it for a moment before wiping it on her pants. “Bastard!” she whispered as he forced her along in front of him.

He marched her out of the daylight and into the gloom of the old abandoned warehouse. She looked around trying to take in as much of her surroundings as possible, looking for escape routes, weapons, anything that may prove useful. Whenever she slowed down he would nudge her in the back forcing her to keep moving.

The interior of the building was run down and dusty. The glass from broken windows and rusting machinery littered the floor. As they moved through the building it started to change, where there was a thick layer of dust two turns earlier, now there were clean floors and walls. The lighting was brighter too. It was obvious that her captors had spent some time preparing for this. If someone had walked in off the street, they would have been confronted with nothing more than a derelict building, but were they to venture deeper within the bowels of the structure, they would have discovered a modern command post and hideout.

Arcadia absorbed all of this as they snaked their way through, trying to memorise the twists and turns that they took to get here. Finally they arrived at their destination. He pushed her up against a wall; her tender jaw crushed against it as he reached over and pressed the door release. Grabbing her by the hair again he shoved her into the room, closing and locking the door behind her. Arcadia fell onto her hands and knees, her head spinning again from the sudden movement, the sound of receding footsteps filling her ears. She stayed in that position, waiting for her head to clear and her eyes to focus. The inside of her cheek and her lip no longer bled and the pain had transformed to a throbbing numbness. She sat back on her haunches and gingerly touched the side of her face. The swelling had already taken hold. She moved her fingers to her cut lip and felt the sticky coagulating blood. Her lip felt huge. Opening and closing her mouth she tested her jaw, trying to get some feeling back into it.

Once the physical discomfort began to recede she looked up and focused on the room. It was a small boxlike structure with no windows and bright artificial lights. A cot sat along a side wall, a blanket neatly folded at its base, a pillow sitting on top of it. The opening in the far wall caught her attention. She pushed her self up off the floor and holding the wall for support she made her way to it. The opening led to a small bathroom. She entered the room and moved to stand in front of the small basin. Looking up she was shocked to see the face looking back at her. Closing her eyes she gripped the basin with both hands, her head hanging. She took a couple of deep breaths then lifted her head to look into the mirror again. Her reflection hadn’t changed. She had dark circles under her eyes, her lip was swollen, the side of her jaw and her cheek where already showing the first signs of bruising. The drying blood caked against her skin from her lip down to her breasts in a long stream.

Shaking her head she turned on the taps and waited for the water to flow. Cupping her hands she splashed the warm liquid over her face and neck, cleansing it of the blood and grime that had accumulated during her ordeal. Pulling off her top she tried to rinse the blood from it, careful not to wet the entire garment. Squeezing as much of the excess water from it as she could she spread it out on the bench and left it to dry. Turning her attention back to her face, she studied her reflection in the mirror again and for the first time noticed that she still wore her emerald. She was surprised that they hadn’t relieved her of her jewellery. The necklace was worth a small fortune prompting her to wonder at what they had planned for her. Looking at her other wrist, she noticed that they had taken her communicator and her weapons were also gone.

Touching the teardrop at her throat, her thoughts turned to Zac.

He must be going out of his mind.

Feelings of guilt and anger welled up inside her. She couldn’t believe that she had let herself get into this situation.

I should never have gone off alone.

Looking at her reflection in the mirror again she shook her head and reprimanded herself, “Idiot! How can you be so stupid?” Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and whispered, “Zac, I am so, so sorry.”

Thinking about Zac forced the determination back into her. She shook off the negative feelings then began to look around her prison, the survival instincts starting to kick in. She surveyed every wall, the ceiling, under the sink, behind the cot, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon or an escape route. Finding nothing she moved to the front door and studied the internal controls thinking that she may be able to hotwire it, but the panel was sealed shut. Her captors had thought of everything.
“Damn it,” she said sitting down on the cot. There was nothing that she could do at the moment except wait and hope that an opportunity would present itself.