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Title: X-Jedi Summary: Luke, Han and Leia cross paths with Mulder and Scully when they make an unscheduled visit to Earth. Author's note: In the prologue, you may notice, that a certain individual did not feel the tremor in the force from another Galaxy. I have been informed that the force is everywhere and that such and such should have felt the tremor. Well, in my version of reality the following analogy applies: The wind is everywhere. I'm in the U.S., you're in Japan. If someone passes gas in the U.S. do you smell it in Japan? Well, Japan is another Galaxy, see, and you don't. Relax, this is for fun. :) Author's Second Note: (sorry, this is the last one) Since this story has taken on a life of its own in my, mostly coherent, thought processes. There will be a volume one and volume two. revision: there will be four volumes Although I had way too much fun writing this, feedback would really make my life, be it good, bad, indifferent or life threatening. Sooo...flames, gripes, screams, expressions of confusion, utter disbelief or whatever should be addressed to me. this version is a repost. There have been minor editing changes. Prologue Galaxy X The ship fell out of hyperspace with a bang. The engines wound down for the last time as some ancient part rebelled against the assault that had been forced on it all these years. The sides of the vessel reflected starlight, being barely visible to the unaided eye. And completely invisible to instrumentation. A light glimmered near the 'top', automatically broadcasting an ancient beacon, while on board an ancient crew slept on. It was necessary that they remain in this state in this territory; lest the other's know of their existence... Somewhere, deep in the bowels of the ship though, some thing did awaken. The restraining field, an integral part of the engine systems had failed. The young woman sat up in her chamber, hair falling in brown waves across her shoulders. Her hazel eyes gleaming with intelligence, sensed the difference. The engines subtle vibration had ceased. She glanced quickly toward the open-ended section of the wall that had been barricaded with the energy field. It no longer shone. Stepping hesitantly toward the area, the girl looked around to see if there were any other signs of what might have happened. Maybe this was just another test. Reaching a hand tentatively toward the space, her hand passed right through. Gasping she drew her hand back and tried again. She was free! A smile spread across her features. She hadn't smiled in years. Not since... she couldn't remember. She only remembered a name...Fox. Fox had made her laugh. She wondered briefly where the Other's were. Moving quickly from the chambered room she headed down a rocky looking corridor, refuse strewn along the way, for the other chamber rooms. If she was free maybe the other captives would be too. Experiment or not, she had to find out. Milky Way, Earth, USA {MW} In a shadowy room a man sat looking out on the night darkened city. Tendrils of smoke formed around his head. He turned slowly in his chair as the whisper of robes reached his ears. What he saw there did not surprise him. The little elfin 'man' stood before him. His pointed ears were stiff and alert showing his agitation. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" the smoker asked. "You are aware of the penalty if you are caught." It was not a question. A faint smile crossed the lips, denoting his pleasure at the thought. The elfin 'man' stood his ground. His gray skin darkened showing his displeasure at the deal that had been made. But, the risk was necessary. His message was far too important to be passed on to anyone else. "There has been an accident. The carrier Hinderer did not arrive at the appointed time. We received a faint beacon on an ancient code grid. A rescue team has been dispatched, but there is the chance that someone else has received the message also." The little 'man' awaited a reply. "Why does this concern me? Can't they take care of it? I have bigger fish to fry on this end." The man spoke blowing the smoke so that it reached little 'man's' face, which, though he was standing, reached only to the seated man's chest. "Of course, you have not heard the news from home. It appears that no good brother of mine, Yoda, did not die as he should have when we fled. He trained another Jedi, a very dangerous Jedi. But of course, you cannot feel the tremor in the force so far away. I must also bear you bad news. Your father is dead." The elfin man enjoyed the expression of shock that passed over the smoker's face. The slight yellowing of the skin showed this. The smoker, taken aback, forgot the cigarette in his hands. It dropped, and would have fallen on his leg and burned him, had the elfin man not stopped it in mid-air with a point of his three fingered hand. "I see you are out of practice" the elfin man spoke softly. Turning to leave, the elfin man spoke over his shoulder. "Rough times are ahead, son of Palpatine, you have been warned." Chapter one {Gffa} The halls on the Imperial palace at Coruscant were deserted, with the exception of a few human guards and security bots. It was nightside at New Republic headquarters. The presiding members of the council were all retired to their prospective living quarters. In the depths of the palace, in a hidden corner of the War room, a long forgotten panel came to life. The audio having been disconnected from the unknown system in a time of need, no sound was emitted. A security bot patrolled the rooms, unaware of the silent beacon. Luke Skywalker slept peacefully in his bed. No visions disturbed his slumber. He'd seen Mara Jade off on her new assignment. She'd really seemed more at peace with herself since she'd killed that clone, Luuke. With the war with Thrawn over, there was now a general quiet over the Galaxy. Perhaps a quiet before the storm. But for tonight Luke slept in peace. MW--Earth, North Carolina Wednesday. A young woman hurried through a dimmed office corridor of the Acme Industrials Hanger. As she rounded a corner she slammed into a tall form. All the air squished out of her lungs for a second. The man grabbed a hold of her arms to steady her. "Rae, are you all right?" he asked when he saw her expression. She looked half scared out of her wits. He watched as she mentally shook it off. "I'm fine, it's just those men in the darks suits really spooked me. Dan wanted me to get something out of the storage rooms tonight for the environmental chamber test for first shift. I was just headed that way." The man nodded. "Okay Rae, but second shift's about to leave so I'm outta here, unless you want me to wait around until you come back up from storage." Rae smiled at him, it was nice of him to offer. But since she was the only woman in the department assigned to the male dominated field, she declined--despite the spooky feelings the office was giving her tonight. "Thanks, Mike, I'll be okay," he said. Then as an after thought, "just leave the muzak on would you." "Finally getting away from the horrible stuff you kids listen to?" Mike grinned. Rae just smiled at him. He insisted she was a kid at 27, she let him. He was *A lot* older than she was, anyway. As she hurried on to the door that led to storage, her smile broadened as the muzak crept up in volume a bit. Searching through the purse she'd thrown over her shoulder, she found her electronic 'key'. The credit card slipped into the slot for verification and authorization. A green light illuminated and a click indicated that the door was no longer locked. Her 'key' reappeared. She glanced at her watch momentarily. Seven past eleven. Everyone would be gone by now. She quickened her pace. She hated being here alone. Wandering through the piles of boxes and crates, she sought out a discontinued product that, her boss, Dan thought he'd found an application for. Unfortunately the chamber test had to be done first. A particularly ancient and dusty pile loomed before her. She was sure she'd seen it here before. Sitting her purse down near the container, she found that some of the boxes had been opened and that the one she wanted was three deep in the pile. Standing on tip toe she pulled the top crate down. A plastic bag sitting on top spilled over. Hundreds of small metal cylinders spilled onto her head. Crying out in frustration, she dragged what was left of the bag down and proceeded to pick up the cylinders from the floor and replace them in the bag. Hoping she'd gotten them all, and not caring what might have rolled under other crates, she sealed the bag and cursed the supply room for incompetence. Sneezing, she turned back to her original task. At last finding what she needed, she placed the other boxes back on top in no particular order. There was no way that there was a system to this mess. With another sneeze, she made her escape from the dim eerieness of the storage area. Finally able to leave the building, she headed out the back door of the complex. Her lonely green Shadow sat beneath the trees bordering the woods, at the far side of the parking lot. She had to stop parking so far away--that, or beg for a space in front of the building. She decided she would park closer. As she drove the winding road from the complex to the main road, she was surprised to see a dark van sitting in front of the complex through her rear view. She braked, and turned in her seat to be sure of what she saw. When she did, she noticed Mike's car was still there as well. Relieved, she drove on. Washington D.C. MW--earth Special Agent Fox Mulder yawned as he shuffled towards the kitchen for breakfast. As he passed the front door, headed for the kitchen he noticed an envelope had been slipped beneath his door. Pausing, he stooped over to get it and then continued on to get his Captain Crunch. Over his cereal he opened the envelope. It contained an article from the Charlotte Observer. It concerned a historical sight on the outskirts of Charlotte, that had burned to the ground during the night. the warehouse of Acme Industrial had held several historical articles having to do with flight. The next sentence caused him to freeze, with his spoon halfway to his mouth. The Acme Industries warehouse had been a storage and testing facility for military surveillance equipment. There was no official cause for the fire listed. The owner of the building a Steve Maycex had given a statement concerning the fact that the roof had been engulfed in flame first. The roof had then collapsed unto the other levels and thus destroyed everything. If arson had been involved and this was indeed a government contract house, then an investigation would ensue. Agent Mulder wondered, though. The article had made no mention of arson. He decided to do some digging. A man spoke into a telephone. "Were you able to recover the items?" he asked. While listening with apparent disinterest, he drew on a cigarette. "Complications?" he asked, after blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Continue on to phase II." Rae woke later than usual, at 12:30 p.m. She'd been on-line a bit late the night before. It tended to relax her. She'd needed it after the night she'd had last night. First those men in the dark suits and glasses, at night mind you! and then the ticket. She'd forgotten to turn on her lights when she left work and so a policeman had pulled her over, and unfortunately, that was when he noticed that her inspection sticker was past due. Showering and grabbing some 'breakfast' she got ready for work. She really didn't need to be there till three, but she wanted to stop by the bank to deposit first. For the drive out she popped in Copland. She'd show Mike yet that she could listen to Pearl Jam and Classical and still remain sane. When she approached the long drive leading back to Acme something appeared strange. And there was an odd smell to the air. She didn't realize what it was until she saw the rubble that used to be Acme. A red fire marshal's car was parked near the ruins. She felt tears welling in her eyes. So much in that building had represented hard work and determination for her. Steeling herself she went over to talk to one of the men sifting through the mess. "Sir," she started, "what happened?" The burly officer looked up at her. "This building was destroyed in a fire in the early hours of this morning," he said. Seeing the corner of the badge sticking out of her pocket, he continued, "Did you work here?" Rae nodded. "Have you figured out how it happened?" she asked. Recognizing some of the incineration patterns from some of the tests she'd done in the chamber. The fire seemed to have burned from the basement up. She remembered her trip to storage the night before and a sliver of apprehension snaked through her. The man paused for a moment, she reminded him of his daughter. He had a job to do. He gave her an answer. "The fire seems to have started from the roof and after the roof itself collapsed the fire spread to the rest of the building." Rae looked at him stunned for a second. "But...the patterns...." her voice trailed off as she pointed to a piece of wall still standing. His expression had changed. He'd flushed with...embarrassment, anger, panic? The man looked at her in amazement. He had orders to follow and a job to do. "Miss I have work to do, you really shouldn't be here." Turning, he dismissed her. Rae stood for a moment, apprehension growing. She'd call Mike, that's what she'd do. There was no way that burned as the Marshall had suggested. Mike would know. As she searched through her purse for the business card Mike had given her months before, she found that a couple of the cylinders from the night before must have fallen into her purse. Absently she put them in her ash tray as she dialed Mike's home number. A woman's anxious voice picked up the phone. No doubt his wife. "Hello, is Mike there," Rae asked. The woman seemed to deflate, "No, he isn't here, he didn't come home last night and I'm worried sick, can you help me find him, the police say I have to wait 24 hours," she confided. Rae's heart froze. "I'm terribly sorry," she choked out. "I must have a wrong number I'm looking for a Mike... Jones," she managed. Then quickly broke the connection. Rae started her car and drove automatically. Not paying much attention to her destination, until she realized she had driven home. As she pulled past her apartment complex she saw a black van like the one from yesterday parked in her court. She kept on going. She didn't know what else to do. She felt that some terrible thing had happened to Mike. And that fire Marshall... The light turned red up ahead. She frantically searched her wallet for the number her father had given her three years earlier, just before he'd died. It wasn't there. The light turned green. Steering the car one-handedly, she dumped the contents of her purse, looking for the smaller wallet, where she kept her identification. A small metallic object rolled under the seat, along with an ink pen and a chapstick. Having retrieved the card, she quickly dialed the number. Washington D.C. When Special Agent Dana Scully stepped into The X-Files office, it was to find that her partner was already there. No surprise. He was busy typing at his computer, several files lay open on his desk. "Hey Scully," he greeted her, barely glancing up. She saw the gleam in his eyes, he was on to something. Great, it was Thursday. She hoped it wasn't going to ruin her weekend plans. Melissa had suggested she go out with this guy. She'd said he was perfect for Dana. Reason enough, from Dana's point of view to avoid him like the plague. Melissa only seemed to know 'out there' guys. The night before, however, she'd become suspicious at the market, when a gentleman had kept watching her. He'd been dressed nicely, in business attire. He had been tall, muscularly built and darkly handsome. When Dana had pulled her cart up to the checkout counter, he'd pulled up behind her. He awkwardly carried an arm load of items. "Excuse me," he'd said from behind her, while she waited her turn. "Yes?" she'd answered emotionlessly. Not letting on that she was worried about, what seemed to be, the undue attention he'd been giving her. "Are you Dana Scully by any chance?" he'd asked smiling. Taken aback, Dana hadn't replied for a few seconds. "Uhm...yes I am," she'd finally gotten out, betraying her confusion. And curiosity. "Do I know you?" He'd laughed then, "No, I don't think so. Allow me to introduce myself," he'd started as he dumped his items on the counter. Offering his hand, he continued, "I'm Benjamin Adams, you can call me Ben, though. I'm a friend of Melissa's. She's told me a lot about you." Dana blinked, and then her eyes widened. Surprised pleasure had flowed through her. The name had clicked in her brain. He was the guy Lissa had told her about. He was quite a 'specimen'. After her items had been checked he'd passed her a slip of paper, with a sly grin. "Dinner, Friday night?" he'd asked. She'd looked up into his eyes and been unable to resist the charm that poured from the man. Where had Lissa found this one? and why was she trying to give him away? "All right," she'd said, stuffing the slip of paper in her pocket. "I'll call you," he said. "But, you don't have my phone number," she'd replied. "I will," he'd challenged. Dana had raised an amused eyebrow and walked out of the grocery store, promising that she'd revise her opinion on Lissa's taste in men. Then, recalling Lissa's current steady, she'd amended that to Lissa's taste in men for her. Coming back to the present, she decided to find out just what Mulder was about to get them in to. "What's up?" she asked her partner, picking up one of the folders on his desk. Pulling his eyes away from the screen, he looked to see what file she had. Taking it away from her, he placed the newspaper article, that had ended up on his doorstep this morning, in her hand. Reading over the article, Scully's 'you don't really believe this means anything, Mulder' expression fell over her face. Out loud, she said, "Let me guess, we're going to Charlotte? Maybe catch the Hornets?" Mulder grinned at her, "No, not yet, got a date first." Scully's face dropped, "how'd you know?" she asked and then realized her mistake. He hadn't known. Mulder looked at her in askance. She returned the look, mentally kicking herself. Was she that bad off? Sure, she hadn't dated since who knew when, and why shouldn't she? And why should she explain that to Mulder? When she didn't reply, Mulder continued," Our date is this morning in...thirty five minutes." Grabbing his coat, he headed for the door. Rolling her eyes toward the ceiling, Scully followed. Office of the Lone Gunmen The three misfits stood before a projector when Mulder walked in. Mulder handed the article he had received to Frohike. Frohike glanced at it then nodded gravely, passing it on to Byer's who looked at it intently for a few seconds and nodded with some gravity at the third gunmen, Langly, before handing it to him. Who then gave it a cursory once over before passing it back to Mulder with a meaningful look. Through out their exchange, Scully had looked at them and Mulder as if they were all lunatics. What was this ceremonial passing of the article? She suspected they were doing it for her benefit, after all Frohike had started it. Shrugging it off, she focused on what was being said. "...warehouse owned by a Steve Maycex. He inherited it from his father Colonel Wayne Maycex. We put out our feelers," Frohike said, wiggling his fingers in the air, "And we have received some data since our previous email communication." On cue, the lights dimmed and the projector came on. "This is Judith Reenes, she was reported missing under strange circumstances, three days ago. After dropping her spouse off at work, she failed to return home. Her car was found, keys and purse inside, but no Mrs. Reenes. Yesterday morning she was found a hundred miles away, disoriented, by Greensboro authorities. She has no memory of what happened over the past 3 days. Mrs. Reenes' husband worked for Acme Industrials Warehouse." Mulder mulled over this new information. "Are all of your 'feelers'," he imitated the motion Frohike had made, "in?" "We are expecting others soon. Meanwhile, I'd like to make small talk, with your lovely partner." Frohike grinned in Scully's direction. Scully gave him her coolest expression. Then gave Mulder one as well. He could have warned her. She would have stayed at the office. {Gffa} Coruscant, Imperial Palace "R2D2, whatever are you blabbering on about?" C3PO said disdainfully to his counterpart. "Palace security is most efficient and are surely taking care of any alarms." The little droid responded with a series of beeps and whistles that didn't speak very highly of security or Threepio's intelligence. The little droid rolled off away from his friend. "R2D2!" Threepio exclaimed, as he watched his friend roll away. With a sigh of resignation, he shuffled off after him. Artoo rolled into the docking area, closely followed by Threepio, where Luke Skywalker was helping his brother-in-law, Han Solo, with the Millennium Falcon. Han had decided to retrofit some new system or other to the already interesting collection. As he looked up from the ships topside and saw the R2 unit followed by the golden droid, his mouth turned down into a frown. What could that bucket of bolts want now? And the day had been going so well. But, to his surprise, the droids went right past his position and around the side to where Luke was working. He sighed, telling himself it was a good thing they hadn't been looking for him. "R2D2, you should not be disturbing Master Luke with such nonsense!" Threepio was saying as the droids approached Luke. "What's going on, you two?" Luke said, looking down from his position beneath a rear repulser generator panel. He listened intently to Artoo's beeps and whistles. He'd come to understand quite a lot of what the little droid said. He caught something about a beacon. His Jedi sense stirred ever so slightly. Lowering the repulser platform to floor level, he had to know more, "What's he saying, Threepio?" "Master Luke, he's simply blabbering nonsense..." Threepio started. Honestly he didn't know what got into R2 some of the time. "Threepio..." Luke said, warningly. This was important. He could feel it. In a resigned voice, Threepio answered the question. Perhaps Master Luke was just humoring his little friend. "He says that there is a beacon going off somewhere in the palace. He insists that security doesn't know about it." Luke considered for a moment. A beacon somewhere in the palace. Could there be some sort of spy activity going on again. That trouble with Thrawn had only just ended, perhaps someone else was trying their hand. "Artoo, do you think you can find it?" Luke asked. He smiled at the little droids replied whistle of confidence. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Luke asked dropping the oily rag he'd been holding into the tool chest. Walking around the ship, he yelled up to Han that he'd be back soon. Han waved him on, grumbling something under his breathe, that Luke pretended not to notice. Somewhere in space. A small group of people huddled in the small chamber. It was nice to be near someone, even if they had no idea where they were. The young woman, that had gathered everyone together, was awake. All concept of time was missing. She didn't know how long it had been, since they'd escaped. She only knew she was hungry and scared. She looked over the small group. They were all young, children really. She didn't know hold old she was. She didn't feel young. She knew that many of them cried a lot, she heard them often enough. Sometimes, 'they' would let her go to them. She never cried anymore. She had to be strong for them, to take care of them. They were sleeping now. She would try again to get to the other side of that wall. Where 'they' were. She had to find out why they hadn't come out when the barriers broke. Maybe they were dead. Maybe they were afraid. Maybe this was another test and if she went beyond the wall, they'd kill her. She had to know. She had to get there. That was where the food was. {MW} Earth, Washington D.C. --X-Files office. "No way, Mulder. We have no authority to go in there. If an investigation is called for, I guarantee, it won't be an X-File." Scully was saying, as she reached into her pocket for the office key. A folder piece of white paper fell from her pocket and fluttered to the floor. Mulder moved to pick it up as she unlocked the door. He was prepared to give counter-argument to her previous statement, when something in her expression gave her away. She'd just realized what the slip of paper was. A slow grin spread over Mulder's face. "Could it be...?" he teased. Preparing to open the paper. Then, stopping, "Nah, I'm sure this must be for your eyes only." He handed it to her. When Scully reached for the paper, Mulder quickly pulled it back. "But then, we are partners. What's yours is mine..." He prepared to open it again. What Benjamin had written on that paper was for her eyes only, but it wasn't so bad that Mulder couldn't see it. Besides, he knew so much about her already. What did it matter if he knew a little more. It made sense. It was logical. So what if he knew what Ben thought of her blue eyes? He was her partner. She had it all worked out in her head. Which, did little to explain why she suddenly made a dive at Mulder, in an attempt to retrieve Ben's phone number. Mulder ducked back, keeping the number high over his head, but loosing his balance a bit. He caught himself by sitting heavily on the edge of his desk. Scully pressed her advantage and made another grab for the piece of paper. Unfortunately, his body was much longer than hers. Her feet got tangled in his long legs, and she fell across his chest. Mulder caught her with his free arm, dragging her to him to keep her from rolling to the floor. His other was still outstretched over his head. That was when they heard Skinner clear his throat. They both froze, looking dumbfounded into the furious expression of their boss. Scully scrambled from Mulder's chest and retreated in the general direction of her own desk. Her countenance fell even further, when Skinner took the slip of paper from Mulder's hand and read it. The phone number was written in Ben's hand. Followed immediately by his quite eloquent assessment of her eyes. Why oh why had she left that note in her pocket? Skinner looked up at her. His expression was completely unreadable. Scully couldn't hold his gaze, she looked quickly away. Skinner slipped the paper into his pocket. "Both of you, come with me. Now," he spoke the words softly, before turning on his heel. The two Agents followed silently behind him. Softly spoken words from Skinner, when he was wearing that expression meant BIG trouble. A look of apprehension passed between the two of them, when he didn't even look at them, during the elevator trip to the...first floor? Walter Skinner walked briskly ahead of his two agents. These were his best and his favorite. And most troublesome. But, he trusted them. That little scene in the office, he knew, was nothing. He would have a good laugh about it later, when no one was watching of course. In fact, he was having trouble keeping his face straight, even now. Scully's expression when he'd read that note had been absolutely priceless. The elevator slid open them. For now, there were other considerations. They'd reached the first floor. Skinner directed them toward doors leading to the outside. He wished he could read their minds at this moment. When he stopped and turned to look at them, both had expressions quietly bordering on panic. "Sir?" Mulder said after swallowing noticeably. Skinner savored the moment for only a second longer, before plunging in. "I have some important business that needs attending. This assignment is completely confidential. No one else is to know about it. When it's complete contact me at this number." He pulled a card from his shirt pocket and handed it to Scully, along with her slip of paper. He kept his expression carefully blank. She quickly shoved both into her pocket. Skinner continued, "Tickets are waiting for you at Washington National, you'll be traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina. You'll be meeting a Theraesa Manning. You are not to page her. She will page you as Mr. and Mrs. John Smith. Once you've made contact, find a safe place, and tomorrow, I'll expect you to drive her back here." When Skinner had finished speaking, he waited for the inevitable argument from Agent Mulder that this wasn't related to The X-Files. That this assignment should logically have gone to another department. Questions concerning the need for secrecy. There was none forth-coming. "That's it, get going," he said. "Your plane leaves at 2:20." "What Mulder, no arguments, no questions," Scully said. Mulder hadn't lodged one protest against an obviously un Special Agent assignment. "Are you kidding?" Mulder said. "We are now headed for Panther Country, who am I to argue with fate, Scully? I'm probably on a roll. I don't want to ruin it." Charlotte-Douglas International Airport "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, please report to the courtesy desk. Mr. and Mrs. John Smith, your party is waiting for you at the courtesy desk," a voice rang out over the intercom system. "Come on, Pocahontas," Mulder said as they headed toward the courtesy desk, in search of one Theraesa Manning. A brown skinned young woman, dressed stylishly in pink, approached uncertainly. "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith?" she asked. "Last I checked," Mulder responded dryly. The young woman sighed in relief, "I'm Rae Manning. I'm so glad you're here. I just didn't know what else to do, except to call the number." "The number?" Scully questioned. Whose number had she called? "Yeah, it's the number my dad gave me a couple years back. Before he died. He said I should call it if I ever got into really bad trouble." "And whose number was it?" Mulder asked, a thought occurring to him. "It belonged to a man, Mr. Skinner, I think he said," she shook her head. "Do you guys work for a security company or something?" "Yeah," Mulder said, unspecificly, though his interest had suddenly heightened. How had she ended up with Skinner's number? He turned to Scully giving her a look full of meaning. "We should get out of here," he said. "I'll get a rental car," Scully replied. "We can use my car." Rae said. "It's just parked across the deck there." "We should get a rental car. We don't know what we're dealing with, and this isn't a good place to talk." Mulder explained to her as Scully went on toward the car rental desk. " I'm Fox Mulder and my partner is Dana Scully. Will you be needing anything out of your car? It could be a few days before we come back here." Mulder purposely didn't tell her they were FBI. If Skinner hadn't told her, he wouldn't unless it became necessary. "Uh...yes," Rae said. "My purse, I didn't bring it with me, I just brought my I.D." "Okay," Mulder said. "We'll go get it then, as soon as my partner comes back." Parking deck "There it is," Rae said, when she saw her green Shadow sitting where she'd parked it after talking to Mr. Skinner. Mulder parked the car across from it. Then, they all got out and headed toward Rae's car. Rae retrieved her purse from the trunk, while Mulder looked around the deck for any sign that someone was watching. A charm that hung on a chain around her neck, caught on her trunk. She sighed in frustration, "My nerves are a wreck. You wouldn't believe the past two days I've had!" The catch on the front of the charm had broken. The charm opened to reveal a picture. It showed a dark skinned man, with intense eyes. Even though he was clean shaven, having only a mustache. It was unmistakable who this man was. Scully's sharply indrawn breathe drew Mulder's attention. Mulder paled when he saw who was pictured there. His mysterious informant's face, Mr. X, was pictured there. "Who is this man?" he asked more forcefully than he should have. Rae looked at him strangely, taking a step back. "It's my dad, he died almost three years ago. Did you know him?" Scully could see that Mulder was battling over this. Before he could say anything more, she spoke up, "No we don't. For a moment there, he looked familiar, but now I see, he can't be who I thought he was." Mulder nodded, before looking away. Rae seemed to accept that. Removing the chain, she placed the broken locket into her purse. "Oh wait," he said. "There's one more thing. I accidentally brought them home from Acme." She headed around to the passenger side door. "Acme?" Mulder said. "Yes, Acme Industries, it burned down." By now she had the door unlocked and opened. She leaned inside to retrieve the objects from her ashtray. Mulder looked in amazement at Scully. Could all of this possibly be just falling into his lap? "Here they are," Rae said, handing the two metal cylinders to the Agents. Both Scully and Mulder thought the earth must have come to a screeching halt when they saw the two metal cylinders. They were identical to the ones Scully had pulled from the sinus cavity of a corpse, so long ago. "Theraesa, I think you should start from the beginning," Mulder was saying. He'd decided that it would be best to get out of the city before finding a place to stay for the night. He continually glanced in the rear-view for evidence of a tail. "Rae." Rae said correcting his use of her name, it was a mouth full. "Do you guys know what those things are, you both seem pretty spooked." She looked from one to the other. Neither agent was able to answer her. Scully felt shaky about having the tubes with them. If they were after Rae, she might be killed if they thought she knew something. "Mulder, I think we need to get rid of the cylinders." Mulder caught her gaze in the mirror. He had evidence. Hard evidence that the government was in on, at least, some sort of conspiracy that involved abduction and mutation of it's citizens. He didn't want it out of his sight. He was prepared to argue. "Just in case," Scully added softly, seeing him gearing up. "We could package it up and mail it someplace." "Where could we mail it? They regularly go through my stuff. We have to assume that your apartment is bugged or worse also." Mulder decided to at least consider it, it did make a certain amount of sense. "I don't know," Scully shrugged. She didn't want to involve her family in this, she didn't just happen to have a p.o. box just sitting around either. "What about Mr. Skinner," Rae offered softly from the front seat. "He seems like a really nice man." Scully caught Mulder's eyes in surprise, a small smile spread across both their faces. Perfect. "I take it this is settled?" Rae said. At Mulder's nod, "there's a post office a few blocks to the right at the next light." {Gffa} Coruscant, Imperial Palace, War Room "What do we have here?" Luke said, as he stepped around Artoo. The corner was dim, but a pale flicker of light blinked steadily, on and off. Luke reached out a finger and touched the area, to his surprise, the panel extended outwards. Inside, a small terminal appeared. A coded message scrolled rapidly across the screen. "Threepio, what do you make of that?" Luke asked, looking up over his shoulder at the golden protocol droid. "Master Luke, I am fluent in over six million forms of communication, but, I must say, this is most foreign to me." Artoo made a sharp whistling. Rocking side to side, he twirled his 'head' in Threepio's direction beeping and warbling excitedly. "Yes, Artoo, yes, I see," Threepio seemed caught up in Artoo's excitement as well. "What is it?" Luke asked placing a hand on Artoo, but looking at Threepio. He wanted to hear it in plain Basic. "Master Luke, there appear to be coordinates within the message. Artoo think it's a distress call of some kind," Threepio started. "The coordinates point to a particularly distant sector of the outer rim." "Is there a time stamp on the message?" Luke asked. He hoped it wasn't too late. If the message had travel so far, it could have been days or weeks since the message was sent out. "I'm afraid, we can not determine that, Master Luke. But Artoo does not believe this message reached Coruscant by ordinary measures. It seems that there is no receiver actually connected to this panel at all." Threepio seemed to consider what he'd said for a moment before turning to his counterpart. "Artoo, what sort of nonsense is this? How can we receive a message, with no receiver?" Threepio continued his berating of his little friend. Luke considered what he'd just heard. Was there a way to send a message without a receiver? An organic transmitter...? Luke went back to the box for a closer inspection. Whatever powered that thing, he should be able to feel it with the force... Closing his eyes, Luke drew on the force. He felt the presence of the two droids who were in the room with him and all the minute signs of life nearby. He focused in on the little panel, it's flashing lights, it's display, and beyond that to the inner workings. Suddenly, he felt himself drug. His consciousness was yanked into the vast expanse of space itself. The beacon vibrated through the very fabric of the universe. A broad panorama of color and space-song danced before his sense, for the briefest moment and then, in the next instant, he saw it. A ship, a mere wisp against the star light. He was sure it would have been barely visible to the unaided eye. But, not to the force. He felt something on the ship. Something dark, malevolent, but...sleeping? Then, he felt something more. Children. Fear. Hunger. Confusion. Voices...whispering, "Luke, wake up now, Luke, please Luke..." "Leia...?" Luke looked up into the worried gaze of his sister. He heard running footsteps and then saw Chewbacca round the corner followed by Han. He was lying flat on the floor of the War room. What had happened? "What happened?" he asked, sitting up. He was fine, if only slightly light headed. Leia held onto his arm. "We were getting ready to have lunch, when I felt you...fall...away from me. I thought you were dying, Luke." Leia said on a whisper. "It was so fast, what happened?" Luke looked towards the panel. "I don't know." {MW} Earth, North Carolina "Rae, we need you to tell us everything you can about what happened in the past couple of days. Sort of give us an idea of what we may be up against." The trio had found a motel on the outskirts of Concord, North Carolina. They'd gotten two adjoining rooms. Scully and Rae shared a double. They had all gathered in Scully and Rae's room after checking in. "I just hope it isn't those guys in the dark van," Rae spoke from a corner chair. She was exhausted, though for her, the day had just begun. "There were guys in a dark van?" Scully asked. She wondered if Rae knew just how much trouble she might be in. She doubted it. She remembered her and Mulder's experience with a dark van. It had lead to the sudden demise of Mulder's informant, the one he'd referred to as Deep Throat. "Yeah, I saw it twice." "Did you get a look at who was inside?" Mulder asked. If she could I.D. them, her danger tripled. "Nah, it was always from a distance. But, if you want my opinion, I think it was those guys with the dark suits and shades, who showed up at Acme last night. I mean, dark suits, dark glasses, dark van, right?" Scully blinked at the odd logic, and wondered why it made sense. 'Okay assume we're in BIG trouble' Scully thought to herself. "Dark suits and dark glasses...?" Mulder prompted her for more info. His mind returned an image from his own past, of men dressed in dark suits and glasses, in the middle of the night, chasing him away from a warehouse containing humans infused with alien DNA. "It was strange, because the offices are closed at night. I generally work in the lab, but I had to go up front to make copies, one second I was alone and then the next they were...just there. Three of them. Scared me so bad, I spilled all my papers. "One of them helped me pick them up. I could almost swear he looked at every paper. And when he was done he gave me this smile...really slow, you know, and it just gave me the creeps and then they just walked off. Never said a single word. I think I must have been on edge the rest of the night. That's probably how I ended up spilling that bag with those metal tubes in it." "Did you say there was a *bag* of those cylinders?" Mulder asked, his eyes rising to meet Scully's. Was she getting all this? "There were...hundreds, they spilled and fell on my head," she nodded," I'm pretty sure that that's how they got in my purse." Scully had wrapped her arms about herself. She remembered what had happened to her shortly after she'd run a metal object, much like those cylinders over an ordinary grocery scanner. If there were 'hundreds'... "Had you ever seen them before last night?" Mulder asked. "Are they similar to anything else Acme designed?" "Not any design I'm familiar with. At first I thought they were maybe some sort of machined part, but, there are no threads, so that leaves me with no ideas, without studying it some more. " "Listen," Rae added changing the subject slightly. "There's something else. Mike. He's missing. Or he was before I called Mr. Skinner. That's mostly why I called, see. I think something really bad happened to him." Scully's eyes widened. "Let's take it from the top," he said. "So we can have the correct order of events." Rae took a deep breath and started from the beginning. {Gffa} Coruscant "Hey Luke," Han Solo spoke from the bottom of the Falcon's ramp. "ten minutes." The group of friends were headed out to the coordinates stated in the message to see what was going on. Leia had after much discussion been unable to convince Han that she should be along. Her job was to make ready for whatever they might find out there. Besides some one would have to explain this all to the council anyway. Han couldn't think of a better candidate. He himself, didn't have a clue, he was just the pilot. Let Luke, and that force of his, figure that part. So Luke, Han, Chewie, and the two droids, done packing the ship with extra food supplies and medical equipment headed out for the rim. "Course set Chewie?" Han asked from the pilots seat, after they had reached sufficient altitude. Chewie growled an affirmative reply. Luke sat just behind Han, "How long before we reach the set coordinates?" "Looks like about fourteen hours, kid." Han said. "Nothing to do now but wait till we get there." Luke disagreed. "I think, I'll do some meditating," he said as he got up and left. Han watched him go. Chewie growled a question towards him. "I don't know, pal. Guess we'll just find out when he tells us." Luke sat in one of the more private areas of the Millennium Falcon, a rather large storage closet off a sleeping area. Closing his eyes, he reached out through the force. He focused on the panel. He remembered it in even minute detail. It, in fact, was now stowed in an auxiliary panel of the Falcon's aft terminals. He focused cautiously on the workings. The materials used were common enough. The plasteel enclosure encased the display, which had standard display workings. The flashing light; however, was another story. On closer inspection he saw that it was a cylindrical object that appeared to glow on one end. It sat within the plasteel enclosure, but there was no electrical connection. He focused on other areas of the enclosure. It was a hollow space. There was nothing else there. Nothing. The area was a vacuum. That in itself was not so unusual, many pieces of equipment were in vacuum to protect inner workings from corrosive influence. But, here there was nothing really to protect. Display's were the simplest of devices, no vacuum would be needed for that. Turning his mind, he refocused on the signal itself. Very carefully, he reached out. Again he felt his sense yanked out into the expanse of space. His mind was drowned in thousands of sensations. Struggling against the fierce tide, he focused on the origins of the signals and in the next instant found that the ship was again there. The same as it was before. Again he felt the sleeping dark presence's from before, but also the others. Their minds all seemed to wear the quietness of sleep. Except one. Somewhere in space {Gffa} The young woman felt that she'd sat here long enough. Just debating what to do would get them nowhere. The younger ones would need food. Carefully, she extracted herself from one, especially young, little girl. Getting up a little stiffly, she wondered if the temperature had dropped. Passing back into the dirty corridor, she felt along the rock formations, that made up the corridor 'walls'. Though they appeared rough and cool to look at, there was a definite pulsing warmth to the surface. Some of the warmth had faded since her previous exploration. That bothered her. If the walls were cooler, that meant it actually was getting cooler, as she'd feared. She wondered how long it might be before it got really cold. Continuing along the dim corridors, she came, again, to the wall. This one wasn't constructed of the warm rock, like the rest of the walls. It was a gleaming metal wall, that seemed to have slid into place. The wall was cool to touch. She strained to push it up. Nothing happened. She tried again, pushing with all her might. In the midst of her pushing, she felt something. Immediately, she let go of the wall. She stood completely still. An eerie sensation crept up her spine. She felt as if someone was standing behind her. Heart pounding, she forced herself to turn around and face whoever would be there. A transparent image of a man dressed in black clothing stood before her. His hair was sandy blonde and his eyes were closed. She gasped in her shock. The eyes opened to reveal their pale blue color. The young woman froze in terror. Where had he come from? The image of the man reached a hand in her direction, while taking a step closer. She backed herself as close to the wall as she could, squeezing herself into a corner. But, the image, relentlessly, continued forward. His hand reached for her shoulder. When he touched her, a change came over her. Her chest convulsed briefly and then she crumpled to the floor beside the doors. Luke Skywalker sat deep in meditation. In his minds eye, he saw the interior of the ship. He felt himself glide through the halls of the vessel. He was looking for the one he'd felt. The one with the power of the force, so strong, that even though she was unaware of it, he could feel it. He saw her then, standing against a plasteel barrier. He opened his eyes, not seeing the many backup parts and such stored around him on the Falcon, but the young woman who stood before him. He reached a hand out towards her. She was frightened, he wanted to reassure her. He tried to send good will and friendship towards her mind. But, she didn't feel it, it didn't reach her. She backed away from him until she was pressed against the wall. Perhaps, if he touched her, she would understand that he meant no harm. He stepped closer to her. His hand touched her shoulder. and passed right through. He felt her heart lurch in her chest. She'd had a brief glimpse of his sense before a barrier of cold white light, shot up in her mind. He felt a memory come screaming towards him, as if from a long distance. A strange word. It hit his sense as if he'd been branded, searing across his consciousness, before he lost all thought... Millennium Falcon "Luke! Luke! Come on, kid..." Han yelled at his friend who lay prone half out of a storage locker. Luke had turned several shades of blue, before color flooded his face and he sat up with a yell. A word echoed through his brain, "Fox...!" Then the memory was gone. He tried to reach out and get it back. But it wouldn't come, a blinding white wall of light erected itself it it's place. He grabbed at the massive hammer banging away in his head. "Kid!" Han grabbed his arm. "You all right?" Luke looked at the anxious faces of Han and Chewie. The droids stood in the background. Threepio, howling worriedly like a mother hen and Artoo beeping and twittering anxiously. "I'm fine," he said, "just a Galaxy-sized headache," he massaged at his temples. That was one memory he wouldn't touch again. "What happened back here?" Han demanded seeing that his friend was now, apparently, all right. "I was just meditating." Luke said, lamely. "You know, trying to get a sense of what we're headed for." "Listen, I don't know much about the force, but what I do know is that it just ain't normal for you to wake up screaming from 'just meditating'. You were turning all blue on us. How do you expect me to go home and explain that to your sister?" "Han," Luke said, sitting up, trying to calm his brother-in-law down, "I was just taken by surprise that's all. Listen, I think I've found all I can for now anyway. So no more meditating on the box." Han seemed mildly appeased. "Well, all right," he grumbled. Luke hadn't ever lied to him, that he could remember. But, he was still tempted to have Chewbacca stand guard over him. He wasn't even surprised when Chewie suggested just that with a growl. {MW} Earth, Charlotte North Carolina, USA "So what are we going to do, now?" Rae asked looking from one agent to the other. She'd just finished telling them her story. Scully had taken notes, while Mulder had interjected a question here and there. Scully glanced at the little clock that sat on the table near the bedside. Five-thirty two. She heard the television come on. "News," said Rae. "I want to see if they have anything to say about Acme." "Well, are you guys hungry?" Mulder asked. "I could pick up dinner," he knew he was starved. With women, who knew? Scully looked at Rae, who was starring transfixed, at the screen. Her own face was plastered across the screen along with a phone number for Crimestoppers. She was wanted for arson and questioning concerning the disappearance of a co-worker. A Mike Ashton. {MW} Earth, Interstate 85, North Carolina The white Corsica shot along I-85 just above the speed limit. "You guys I'm so sorry I got you involved in this mess," Rae apologized for the third time since they'd left the motel. "This little mess?" Mulder questioned distractedly looking at the sky, "it's nothing." It was a full moon. The car crested a slight hill, near exit 46, then went back down a slight decline. "Mulder take this exit," Scully spoke up suddenly. Mulder cut the wheel sharply across another lane in order to make the exit. An irritated driver laid into his horn in disgust at Mulder's technique. At the end of the exit ramp, Mulder halted the car. "What's going on?" "I think I saw a road block when we crested that last hill," Scully supplied, looking around to see if they were followed off of the exit. "I think we should keep moving." "Yeah," Mulder said, making a right turn onto the darkened road. "Rae, you wouldn't happen to have any idea where we are would you?" Rae leaned over from the back seat. She took in the dark country road with a few houses set back off a bit. After a few minutes, she seemed to get her bearings. "I think I've been back here before. I don't think anyone really goes this way anymore." "'Cept us chickens. Then, there's probably a good chance that there isn't a road block back this way. Let's see if we can get around it." Scully's cellular began to chirp in her pocket. All eyes went to her overcoat. She took it from across the seat and answered the phone. "Sir...uhh yes. Okay. Understood." She clicked off the phone and replaced it in her coat. "That was Skinner," he said unnecessarily. "We are to hold position here until further notice. The big I is not involved in this case." Mulder raised an eyebrow in false amusement. "Well, the absolute last place they'd expect us to be is at Acme. I for one would like to get a look at that building. We might be able to find some sort of clue to where Mike Ashton is. Rae, you think you're up to it?" "As ready as I'll ever be," he said. "This is where the basement entrance was," Rae was saying as they trudged across the rubbish, that was once Acme. The door that had led to the storage area was no longer existent, only a gaping hole was left. Mulder shone his flashlight down into the hole. The charred and dirty floor was about ten feet down. The sickly smelled of burned electronics and plastics still clung to the remains of the building. Flashing the beam around the area, Mulder was able to find a metal cart that still had one of four wheels. The cart was shelved and stood easily six feet. "If we could get that cart down in the hole, we could climb down and see what treasures await." It was charred and soot covered. In no time Mulder's hands and face were covered with black smudges. He did; however, manage to get the cart above the hole. The tough part would be getting it down into the hole. Scully stood back and held the flashlight, Rae offered suggestions, Mulder managed to cover himself head to toe in soot by the time the cart crashed upright to the basement floor. Mulder carefully lowered himself the distance to the top shelf of the cart. Scully handed him the flashlight. Rae followed him into the hole. Scully would stand guard. "The tubes were over this way," Rae was saying heading about in the scattered remains. She knew they were near the rear wall, but just where was hard to judge in the darkness and destruction. They'd covered the back wall several times before she saw the remains of a giant DC generator. "Oh, I remember this. The boxes were a couple of piles away. Walking over, she found the spot. Mulder shone the light to the floor where the boxes had been. Of course, there was nothing there now but rubbish. Rae looked up a Mulder. She didn't want to disappoint him, she'd hoped they'd be able to find something at least here, since they'd found nothing near where she'd last seen Mike's car or in the other parts of the ruin. A memory returned to her, "let me borrow the flashlight for a sec." Mulder handed her the light. She shone it around the floor. Stooping near the ground she shone it some more. As her beam swept across the big generator, a flash of something shiny reached them. Going over, she peaked underneath the device. There, underneath was another of the cylinders, hidden behind one of the generators', still bolted down, legs. "Eureka!" she exclaimed, handing it triumphantly to Mulder. Before Mulder could respond, Scully's whistle reached their ears. "Mulder!" she whispered urgently. "Get up here, now!" {Gffa} Somewhere in space. Millennium Falcon. Han Solo was almost upon the ship before Luke alerted him to it's presence. The Falcon's sensors hadn't picked up a single thing. When he focused on the area to which Luke pointed, he could barely make out the image of a ship, ten times the size of the Falcon. "Okay, we're here now," Han said, "Any ideas how to get inside of something we can barely see?" "Might I make a suggestion," Threepio spoke up from the entrance way. "Why not?" Han allowed. "Artoo's circuits are impervious to vacuum as are my own. I am visually aware of the location of the ship, although only as an anomaly. I could guide Artoo to the ship and perhaps he could interface with it's computer." Luke looked towards Han, who shrugged. Chewie growled a questioned in Han's direction. "Do you sense any sort of danger from over there?" Han asked Luke. Luke thought for a second. "No, it's just as it was before. The danger appears to be sleeping." "Well, we're gonna have to be sure you don't wake it up." Han pointed in Threepio's direction. "I want your vocals off, until we say different." "I say, sir, I'll have to keep in touch with you in some manner. How else will I alert you to any dangers that may be lurking there?" Threepio answered, chastened. He found this particular human most irritating, not at all like Master Luke. "Vocoder," Han supplied. "Artoo will send us the coded information over the vocoder and the Falcon can translate it to the terminal," he hoped. That system did work, last time he'd checked it. Months ago. Chewie growled Han's thoughts aloud. Luke didn't seem to pick up on what the Wookiee had said, so Han simply answered, "Right. Let's get started." The droids drifted up to the shadowy form of the mysterious vessel, the life-link harnessed to them like some sort of metallic umbilical. From the Falcon's viewer, the hulking form appeared near. But, against the literal backdrop of space, it took 15 minutes for the droids to drift across. All eyes within the Falcon were focused on one of the forward terminals. A constant stream of Threepio's opinions flowed across the screen. To Han, reading it was almost as irritating as hearing it. Almost. Now, a different message scrolled across the terminal: Have now Reached Interlock. Access Terminal Located. Artoo is now Attempting Link up. Link up Successful, Sirs!!! Heading Back. Step one complete, thought Luke. Now for the hard part. "Han," Luke started. "when the droids get back, I think I should go over alone first." "Oh yeah?" Han said conversationally, "And why's that?" Luke Skywalker was always running off and getting himself into trouble. Must have been the Skywalker flaw, Leia had a knack for it too. "I sensed a woman over there. She's terrified. But, I think she's seen me before, when I was meditating. I don't think she realizes where she is, Han. I'll go over and try to ease her into it. One person, unarmed, might not frighten her as much. Might make it a little easier for her to take." "What about that sleeping trouble over there, Luke? What if it wakes up? You need some back up. Chewie can stay here and man the ship. I'm going with you, like it or not." Han wouldn't be moved. Luke took in his stubborn glare. Nope he wouldn't be moved. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave your weapons, then." Luke said confidently. He hoped. He'd promised Han a long time ago, not to use the force on him. "What weapons?" Han asked innocently. Luke sighed. Well, he couldn't see the weapons, he was sure Han had on him. Maybe no one else would either. "All right," he surrendered. Chewie maneuvered the Falcon's hatch alongside the Hinderer's, as the droids had informed them it was called, airlock. A pocket of atmosphere was initiated between the two ships. Luke and Han, drifted across the expanse to the adjoining airlock. Han keyed in the command Artoo had given them. The airlock of the Hinderer cycled open. A multitude of smells poured over them. "Life support is failing," Han commented. The smell of stagnant air was unmistakable. The fact that they could see their breath in front of them, made it even more abundantly clear that they had better hurry and do whatever it was that they were going to do. "Time is running out, here. Why don't I go on and see if I can figue out what's wrong with this bucket, while you find the kids?" Han suggested. Luke agreed. The sensory information he'd picked up hadn't given him any idea that things had deteriorated this far. Han headed off down the dimly lit rock corridors in the direction, he hoped, was aft. That was generally the typical location of the engine room. Fortunately, the ship's design seemed pretty straight forward. The corridor he was on, led directly to a room, made differently than the rest of the ship. The walls were durasteel painted to match the corridor's dark hue. This room seemed to take up an extremely large portion of the ship. A completely unfamiliar bank of readouts stood against a wall. Rows of consoles led deeper into the compartment. No red lights seemed to be flashing on the mysterious banks, so Han left them alone. The familiar sight of the hyperspace drive and a rather ancient set of engines sat in the far back of the room. Not bothering to look around anymore, Han set to work. Here was likely to be the problem. Red lights flashed all over the place. He didn't even need to know the language on the readouts to figure that one. Off to another side, stood a doorway. Glancing inside, he paused at what he saw. It appeared to be some sort of medical bay. It appeared very sterile and efficient, medical tools hang over the bed-like platforms. The white walls gleamed even in the dim gloominess. It gave Han the creeps. Taking out a portable analyzer, he scanned one of the rather large circular shells built near a back corner. A sound behind him, made him spin fast on his heel, blaster at the ready. Before him stood, a 'man' about a meter and a half tall, with long willowy arms and an elongated head with huge black eyes and a small silted mouth. The dim light reflected off the metallic sheen of it's skin, and off of the tiny cylindrical blaster it held in a long fingered hand. It clattered away in some strange sounding language. The mouth movements didn't seem to quite fit the sounds it emitted. Han got off a shot before rolling out of the way of the laser fire that charred the floor where he'd stood. "No weapons, he says," he grumbled under his breath, tweaking up the setting on his miniblaster. Low stun had been woefully ineffective; he was sure he'd hit the thing squarely in the chest and it hadn't even been fazed. His dive landed him behind a power console. He heard the clink of it's footsteps as it headed around the table. He also heard the unmistakable sound of more reinforcements. Where were they coming from? And why hadn't they showed up when they'd entered the airlock? Dashing out from around the console, he headed for one of the big engine casings that he'd been scanning. Albeit, a circuitous route, by way of another console and a dividing wall. He fired at maximum power in the general area of the things back. His mouth gaped when he saw the sparks fly. A droid?! It had moved in a very much organic manner, if a bit slow. The rest were getting closer. The sound came from the direction of that medical bay. Han grasped the fallen droid's weapon from where it had fallen, he had a feeling it was more powerful than his own. When three more droids rounded the corner he was ready. Firing both weapons he took down two of them. The third managed to get off a shot that whistled past his ear. Ducking behind the another of the casings, he waited the droid out. It knew nothing of stealth. Han waited until it's steps were almost around the casing, and fired both weapons on it from behind. It went down in a shower of sparks. He heard no more steps approaching. He went back to his job of diagnosing the ships troubles. To Luke, droids like those would be candy. Luke, meanwhile, had a different kind of trouble. He'd found the children, against the plasteel barrier he'd seen in his meditation. They were crying over the unconscious form of the young woman. He wanted to calm them, but was afraid to touch their minds in any way, because of what had happened when he'd touched hers. He approached them cautiously. They looked tearfully up at him. None approached. He smiled reassuringly at them, hoping that would suffice. He spoke soft crooning words, telling them it would be okay. No one tried to stop him when he bent over the young woman. When she didn't respond to his gentle tapping of her cheeks or the rubbing of her arms he began to worry. Her body was too cool. Too still. He'd have to use the force. He'd be careful. Perhaps since she was unconscious the barrier would not throw itself up at him. Delicately, he probed for damage. He could feel the barrier on the horizon of her subconscious. It was deeply ingrained. He saw the damage that had been caused. He set to work repairing it, slowly, carefully. It took all of his concentration to block the waves emanating from the cold white brilliance of the barrier. He felt when she was about to regain consciousness, the barrier began to bear down upon him with lightning speed. He pulled his sense away, but not before the fringes of it caught him. The headache was back. A small price to pay, considering he felt responsible for her condition in the first place. When he opened his eyes, it was to look into the confusion of her hazel ones. He was breathing heavily. The cool breath showed white in front of him. He reached a hand to his brow, he was sweating. "Are you all right?" he asked her. She looked surprised that he'd spoken. But, she said nothing. All of the children, he noticed had stopped crying. They all appeared to be looking at him with smiles on their faces. She spoke to one of the children, who smiled and pointed to him before answering her. She looked back to him with new eyes. She drew herself up to stand. She was surprised to find someone she stood eye to eye with. The Other's were much shorter, and all of the children were. The group as a whole seemed startled as a sound came over Luke's comlink. "Yeah, Han," Luke spoke into it. He'd forgotten about the life support. The air was actually starting to smell better already. "Engine's all fixed up as good as new, or as new as these ancient engines are gonna get." Han's voice sounded over the link. "How are things on your end?" "Just fine, I've found the children. I don't recognize the language they spoke though. I think we better get Threepio over here to translate." Luke had caught the tone in Han's voice. There was more. "I ran into a few friends in the engine room," Han continued. "Droids. Probably to protect something down here. I haven't seen anything else moving down here. You sure you don't feel anything else around here?" "Nothing else." Luke said. "Whoever's sleeping is still asleep. I'll meet you at the airlock with the kids." Luke reached a hand out towards the young woman. She took it. He smiled reassuringly. He led them down the corridors towards the airlock, which had been closed until he and Han should request that Chewie open it. Just in case. Han was waiting there for them. "Okay Chewie," he was saying. "Open airlock." The bright light shone from the Falcon's inner lighting. Shining brightly through the airlock. To Han and Luke's amazement, the children one and all shrank back from the light, in terror. Luke turned towards Han in amazement. "Shut the airlock, now!" he exclaimed into the comlink at Chewie. Chewie immediately closed the airlock. Han and Luke stared at each other for a full second. Luke, unsure if it was the light or the airlock itself that frightened the children, was unwilling to risk experimenting with it. "Han, I need to check on whatever's sleeping on this ship. I was close to them a minute ago. They're in an induced coma or something. I don't think they'll wake easily. But, I do need to make sure they're where I think they are." "All right," Han said, "sounds good to me. But, what about these kids? It ain't likely they're going willingly through the airlock." "Is the ship functional now?" Luke asked. "All systems are on-line. Hyperdrive is charging now." "Well, then, I think I'll just fly it back to Coruscant. These children are going to need help. If you can get some food, while I get them away from this airlock, then I'll check on our sleeping friends and we can be on our way." {MW} Earth, USA A shadowy figure drew on a cigarette in the dark. It's tip glowed red for several seconds. He slowly blew out the cloud of smoke, which joined with the rest in the hazy atmosphere of the room. The phone rang. He picked it up in the middle of the first ring. "Yes?" he spoke softly. "Area Zero, Rendezvous 9." The line went dead. The man hung up the phone. He drew once again on his cigarette before crushing it in a glass ashtray." Getting up, he stepped out of his office, and walked calmly down the office corridor towards an elevator. "Afternoon, Senator," he spoke to a gray haired gentleman. "Good evening, General," the man answered back, with a friendly smile. When the elevator opened to the helipad, the Senator had already gotten off. The man walked to the waiting helicopter. "Let's go," he said. "Area Zero." The dark helicopter lifted into the air, heading off in a southerly direction. {Gffa} Somewhere in space "Master Luke? Master Luke where are you? Oh, what a perfectly hideous vessel," Threepio was saying as he shuffled through the corridors of the Hinderer. "I'm forward, Threepio," Luke spoke back over the comlink. Threepio rounded a bend in the corridor and met up with Luke and the small group. "I say, sir, these children are desperately in need of care. Here are the food supplies you requested." Threepio handed the satchel he'd been carrying to Luke. All of the children and the young woman, Luke had to keep telling himself she was a woman, she had a solemn manner about her, but something deeper struck him as childlike as well, stood in awe of Threepio. They didn't seem afraid in the least. But then, Luke couldn't imagine any child being afraid of Threepio. He probably seemed like some big gold toy. "Threepio, I know they need baths, but I need you to see if you can communicate with them," Luke said pulling a blanket from the satchel and spreading it on a comparatively clean section on the floor in one of the forward chambers. He began to motion for the children to sit down on the blanket. They seemed to understand and did so. He stooped too and sat on the blanket. "My name is Luke Skywalker," he said, pointing a finger to himself. "What's your name?" he asked the young woman, who sat to his right. She looked confused for a moment. She knew what he wanted to know. She simply didn't remember. So, she said the only name she knew. "Fox," he said aloud and then smiled hesitantly. Luke returned her smile and gave Threepio a doubtful look. So he needed to get them talking. "What is this place?" he asked gesturing all around him. A look of fear passed over her face. Luke waited. Then she began to speak. When she was silent, Luke looked more hopefully at Threepio. He hoped it would be enough. Threepio cocked his head to one side. Luke knew he was accessing his data files. "This appears to be a very obscure language, that was built into my programming. I have no record of any known species speaking this language. This is indeed strange, sir." "Well, tell me what you think she said," Luke said. "Sir, it appears she made reference to, 'the boogey man's house'" Threepio answered. Luke was taken aback. But oddly, he could see how that could be. The place was certainly spooky. "Ask her where they come from," Luke suggested. Threepio complied. The woman's face brightened, she understood. "From Massachusetts," he said. "Threepio, are there any records of planets or systems by that name?" Luke asked. He'd certainly never heard of it. "No Master Luke, I have no record of a system or a planet by that name. I will have Artoo do a more extensive search, perhaps it is a city or an asteroid or a station of some kind. These children are in such a state of disrepair, one tends to wonder precisely what sort of misfortune befell their parents." "Yeah," Luke agreed, looking over the group. Obviously, the children could not have all belonged to the young woman. There was an extreme variety of races, but the ages seemed to range from perhaps 5 standard years to 10 at the most. She seemed protective of them, but Luke doubted she was the true mother of any of them. What were they doing here in the...'boogey man's house' a s she'd called it. Her own description had been childish. Sighing, he began to pass out the food to the hungry group. The mystery would have to wait until later. "Luke, take a look at this..." Han was saying. He stood bent over one of the consoles of the Hinderer's engine room. The two had discovered a slight problem in trying to pilot the craft. The console was locked out. It could not be manually piloted, it ran completely by a preset program. When Han had repaired the engine's malfunction, the navigational computer had reset. Artoo, was plugged into the terminal link on the other end of the engine room, attempting to learn anything. Han had been attempting to reroute the system. Difficult, when one wasn't precisely sure how this particular system worked. But, he'd discovered something in his efforts. Luke stepped over to where his friend stood and looked at the monitor to which Han pointed. His eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding...that's almost too easy," he said. A menu screen had appeared requesting program coordinates. In Basic. "Candy." Han had agreed, punching the coordinates for Coruscant. Are You Sure? the monitor prompted. "'Course I'm sure," Han said, keying in an affirmative reply. System Initializing. "What?!" Han said irritation crept into his voice. "Say yes," Luke suggested on a hunch. "It might tell us where this thing was headed. I've certainly never seen a ship like this. I'd definitely want to find out if there was more." Han keyed in the affirmative response. The screen blanked and a set of coordinates appeared: -Point of Origin Alpha Looks of confusion spread across both Han's and Luke's face. "Artoo," Luke called the domed droid from across the room. Threepio was with the children. "Can you make anything of this code grid?" A series of whistles and beeps followed, which amounted to an answer Luke could almost make out. The part he did get though was enough. Artoo couldn't tell hem where the location was. "Do you think you could convince it to go to Coruscant?" Han asked. Artoo plugged into the side of the console and accessed the navigational program. For good measure, he downloaded copies of related files. After a minute he chirped his success. Initializing Program... Sounds of the engines coming up to speed could be heard behind them. "See ya back at home, Kid" Han said, heading for the airlock to join Chewie. Artoo followed behind. He wanted to get back to the more familiar Falcon computers to analyze the data he'd downloaded. Chewie watched through the view screen as the barely there ship leapt into hyperspace. He growled a soft sound of trepidation. Something was causing the flesh on the back of his neck to prickle. "What's wrong, Buddy?" Han asked settling into the pilot's seat. Before Chewbacca could answer Artoo began warbling and rocking excitedly. Turning his extended link-up arm a quarter turn, he swiveled his 'eye' in the direction of the terminal that had the vocoder link. A translation of what he'd said appeared on the screen. The message pinpointed the spot to which the Hinderer had been heading. "Well, I'll be..," said Han. "Chewie, get a message probe off to Leia, give her these coordinates. She probably won't get it for at least a day, depending on how close the nearest track zone is. We're heading for these coordinates." Han locked the new destination into the navicompter. Within moments the Millennium Falcon leapt also into hyperspace. The didn't notice the lone barely visible ship that leapt out of hyperspace a half a million kilometers away. {MW} Earth, Southeastern United States. "General, the window is now open," The dark haired pilot yelled to his very important passenger. "Shall I alert echoes 2 and 3?" "Negative," the passenger replied, "tell them to follow us in." The passenger looked to his pilot. He'd hand picked all of the pilots in this team. All of them served with the utmost dedication. "How is our...other project going?" he asked him. "The pilot grinned, "it's going well, sir. The plan is on schedule." "Good," the man said. "I have another mission for you..." {Gffa} Somewhere in hyperspace The navicomputer's alarm sounded. The Millennium Falcon was about to come out of hyperspace. The two pilots and one droid watched as the numbers ticked down. 5...4...3...2... Just before the ship was due to come out of hyper a loud whining erupted in the cabin. Hyperspace burst into a brilliant explosion of swirling color. Han watched stunned as the nose of the Falcon seemed to stretch as if some giant rubber band being pulled by an unseen hand. A mammoth black void appeared at the edge of the swirling lights. Han thought they must have gone into a black hole. He was about to yell something to Chewie when suddenly, he realized he was once again in real space. The 'storm' or whatever had only lasted a second. The vortex had dumped them out a quarter of million kilometers from a brilliantly beautiful blue planet. It reminded him a lot of his home planet, Corelia. He sat stunned starring at the planet that was not supposed to be there. "Any idea where we are?" he asked no one in particular. Chewie and Artoo were silent. Artoo suddenly erupted into excited beeps and whistles about the same time Chewie growled a warning. The Falcon's proximity detectors went haywire. Another of the barely visible ships shot past the Falcon within 20 meters. Then slipped into hyperspace out from the moon. "What the-" Han took manual control of the Falcon. "You get any reading of any type of large armed facility down there?" Chewie replied that he didn't. "I say let's see what's down there. He was in an awful hurry to get away from something." The Falcon dove down towards the blue planet along the same trajectory of the now far away ship. {MW} Earth, Charlotte North Carolina "Mulder!" Scully whispered again as loudly as she dared. She stooped impatiently over the hole. She saw the beam of their flashlight approaching. "Cut the light!" he said. The light went out almost immediately. She heard the soft sounds of Rae and Mulder straining to climb over the cart and up out of the hole. Rae came up first. Scully grabbed her arm and helped her out. Both of them helped Mulder. "What's going on?" he asked when he was out of the hole. He looked around the perimeter of the building. He didn't see anything unusual. "Three dark helicopters just went down in those woods," Scully said pointing off into the distance. "How far?" Mulder asked heading in that direction. "Maybe a mile, it's hard to tell at night," Scully replied following him. The woods were thick and overgrown. It took nearly thirty minutes for them to go half a mile. "Are you sure this is the right direction?" Mulder whispered to his partner. The hadn't seen a single thing out of the ordinary. "You guys," Rae spoke up "look." Rae had been pointing up into the sky. A dark silvery object was descending from the sky. "Get down!" Mulder said, pulling the women to a crouched position on the ground. They all sat frozen until the object disappeared from sight. Mulder led as they crept onward towards where the object had seemed to be headed. Everyone came to an abrupt halt when a brilliant flash of light appeared in a clearing up ahead. They hid on their bellies behind the heavy undergrowth, trying not to think about what manner of critter might reside there. The clearing was perfectly circular, perhaps a hundred yards. The object hovered over the area. The helicopters sat silently by. A tall man was standing in the brilliant column of light emanating from the object. Scully's entire body jerked. Mulder stared wide-eyed at the scene before him. Rae just looked dumbfounded. The light brightened. The three secret onlookers were forced to cover their eyes. Mulder held out as long as he could. When the light dimmed and faded, the man was gone. In the next instant the object shot up into the sky at tremendous speed. Mulder turned and looked at Scully. Emotion brimmed in his eyes. Scully was still starring ahead transfixed. "Scully did you see that?" he asked. When she didn't reply, he grabbed her arm, "Scully, are you all right?" he wondered if she were beginning to remember some of the things that had happened to her when she was abducted. "Scully," he whispered again. Rae touched her other hand, worried as well. "M-Mulder," she stammered turning wide frightened eyes in his direction. "That man...the one in the light...I know him." "From where?" Mulder asked, his heart began to pound a little harder. Scully raised a stunned eyebrow, "He was my date for Friday night. Ben... Benjamin Adams." "Your date?" Mulder blinked. Scully nodded wide-eyed. "You sure know how to pick 'em," Rae whispered in the background despite the strangeness of whatever was going on here. The three ducked their heads as the helicopters started up their engines and took to the air. The sound of their choppy retreat was fading when the three got to their feet and headed cautiously out into the clearing. Mulder eyed Scully, she was still a bit pale, but the professional mask had taken the place of the shock he'd seen there before. Suddenly a strange sort of whine began to be heard over the trees. Looking up they saw an oddly shaped object with flashing lights heading directly toward the clearing. It hovered above the small group, as they all stared up with a feeling of impending doom. "I don't like this one bit, Chewie," Han was saying as the Falcon hovered over the clearing. There were three people standing directly below his ship. They really didn't look dangerous and he didn't read any weapons on them. In fact they looked more like they were afraid of him. If they would just move he could set down and introduce himself proper like. Probably be a good idea not to use his real name until he figured out where their sympathies laid. It could get awful uncomfortable married to New Republic Hierarchy if these were sympathetic to the empire. Chewie growled a question concerning their intelligence in standing beneath a ship which so obviously was wanting to land. "Yeah pal, I need some answers about that ship one way or another. Since they are the only people around, what say we land, huh?" Han grinned wickedly at his co-pilot. Chewie rewarded him with a deep Wookiee chuckle. Han lowered the Falcon ever so slightly, but enough for the three standing beneath him to realize they were running out of space. They still remained transfixed where they were. "Go figure that..." he spoke under his breath and lowered the ship some more. He was almost right on top of them. They suddenly scurried out from beneath his ship. Setting the craft down he drew himself up from the pilots seat. "You stay here, Chewie, until I figure out what's going on," Han told his friend. "You too Artoo," he added. Turning, he felt his small blaster and the one he'd taken from that droid on the Hinderer. They were still well hidden. He lowered the ramp. Scully and Mulder and Rae stood beneath the craft, frozen. Knowing in the next instant the bright lights would shine on the three of them. When the hull began closing in on them they stayed. When it dipped again, it was Rae who grabbed the two agents by the elbows sparking them into moving themselves from beneath it. "I think it wants to land," he said by way of explanation. They all watched as the ship sat down on the ground, and a gangway opened downward. A man stood at the top. The ships lighting was at his back, thus obscuring his features. He was tall and solidly built. He seemed to be dressed casually with something thrown across his shoulders. He began to walk slowly down the ramp. "He's human," Scully spoke from Mulder's left, not removing her eyes from the approaching figure. When the man reached the bottom of the ramp his face became visible. He began speaking. Neither of them understood what he'd said. They stared blankly back at him. He began waving his arms as if gesturing to the woods. "You know, first contact is not at all like this on popular scifi tv. What I wouldn't do for a universal translator," Mulder muttered under his breath. Rae giggled. The situation was really getting to her. A second later, amazingly, Scully started also. It was contagious, Mulder grinned and the strange man's eyes widened and he grinned too. Just then the sound of the helicopters reached the ears of all four humans. All eyes turned skyward. A flood light began scanning the area. The lights gleamed across the surface of the ship pausing on the man at the bottom of the ramp. He raised his hands to block the light. A shot rang out and the man went down. "Behind the ramp!" Mulder shouted to the women, as he tried to drag the man with him. He'd taken a hit in the right shoulder and was already trying to pull himself to his knees. He shook his head to clear it. What sort of blaster was that?! He felt his blood pouring out. The man from the group was trying to drag him behind the Falcon's entry ramp. He tried to tell them to get inside, but it was no use. They didn't understand a word he'd said. His world began to dim. Rae screamed as a large form barreled down the ramp with a growl, bodily taking the injured man into his arms. He'd just stepped back on the ramp when another volley from the helicopter got him in the back. It was a dart. His steps slowed as he neared the top. The three watched in amazement as the bullet's just deflected off the hull of the ship. "Inside!" Mulder yelled, half dragging a stunned and uncooperative Rae. Scully knew the men in the helicopter wouldn't stop until they were dead. She ran inside. They scuttled around the now, still, hairy creature that appeared to stand over seven feet tall. Mulder pushed Rae into the interior of the vessel. Then, turned back to the creature. He look up into the intelligent eyes and reached out for the now unconscious man. The creature's gaze was growing more distant by the second, but he held on ferociously to his cargo. Mulder continued to wait. Finally the creature's arms seemed to sag. Mulder stepped in to take him. Carrying a woman like a baby was one thing. Carrying a fully grown man of Mulder's own height was quite another. He staggered under the weight. Quickly and as carefully as he could, he lowered him to the floor. The ramp began to lift. He rushed around the man to help the creature. The ramp had nearly reached the top when he heard voices yelling orders. A pair of arms grabbed the creature from the ramp just before it slammed shut. Mulder could hear the gunfire bouncing off the outer hull growing more and more distant. Suddenly it dawned on him what was happening. "We're moving," he whispered in disbelief. {Gffa} Coruscant, Imperial Palace Leia Organa Solo paced her chambers. It was late in the evening. She'd dined that evening with the Chief-of-State, Mon Mothma. She'd discussed the strange beacon Luke had found in greater detail with her the day before. Tonight, she'd been too worried to be much of an asset in the last minute details of preparation for whatever her husband and brother found. She looked down at her empty hands. Her children had only recently gone into seclusion for their own safety. They would be great Jedi someday, like Luke. But, for now, she was alone. Her arms were empty. She wrapped them around herself. Something felt terribly wrong. Forcing herself to sit, she did a Jedi calming exercise that Luke had taught her. Her hands gradually unclenched and her anxiety faded. She felt the force flowing all around her, calming. She touched the presence of her brother. Luke. Luke was near. She felt him acknowledge her with a returned feeling of warmth and love. She smiled and hurried to the space dock to meet her brother. Not at all worried that she hadn't felt Han. If Luke wasn't worried, then, she shouldn't be either. Luke sat in a corner of the chamber they'd eaten in. All of the children spoke softly to the woman in a corner of the room. It appeared that she was teaching them lessons of some kind. He wasn't sure exactly what it was. The Hinderer would be coming out of hyperspace soon, and he hadn't a clue as to how to dock the thing. Artoo had left with Han so, the Coruscant Traffic Control would have to tractor them in. He was about to send a mental message to his sister when he felt her presence reach out to him. He smiled. She seemed tense and worried, he sent her a feeling of the warmth and love he felt for her. She would be ready for them. He sent her an image of the ship and it's limitations as far as being seen by instrumentation. The Hinderer had taken on a slate gray tone as soon as it touched atmosphere. It was no longer the nearly unseeable cloak. New Republic Scientist who had been a part of a preparatory team were chomping at the bit to see exactly what made that possible. It would be to their tactical advantage if their ships were unseeable by instrumentation and the human eye. A deck droid interfaced with the airlock uplink to open a boarding ramp. Luke Skywalker stepped out walking beside a dark-haired young woman surrounded by a group of a dozen or so young children. Threepio followed behind. Luke carried the smallest of them and one dark eyed little boy clung to his hand. The young woman's eyes followed his movements closely. The small group of engineers and the medical team stood waiting for Leia. Leia stepped up to her brother waiting to be introduced to the grimy band accompanying him. {MW} Earth...? Scully hurried to examine the wounded man as soon as Mulder sat him down. His shoulder was bleeding profusely. Pulling back his shirt she examined the wound. This was no ordinary bullet, it was intended to shatter on impact. Her jaw set in fury at the inhumanity involved. Her eyes searched the immediate area, she saw no evidence of anything she could use to stop the bleeding. Rae seeing her search, removed the thin sleeveless jacket she wore. She handed it over Scully's shoulder. Scully conveyed her thanks with a look. At Mulder's words, "We're moving," she looked sharply up at him. Focusing her mind on the external sounds and subtle motion, she realized he was right. She raised her eyes back to his to find he had taken out his cellular. "Mulder, what are you doing?" she asked her confusion clearly evident. "Making a phone call," Mulder said as he watched the roam light illuminate as the phone tracked. "I'll bet the roaming charges are going to be astronomical," he commented dryly when the phone was ready. Scully decided to tend her patient and ignore the fact. The phone was picked up on the first ring. "Skinner," a voice spoke. "Uh...Sir," Mulder started. What did one tell one's boss in a situation like this? Sir, I'm making a cellular call from an alien spacecraft that's heading for who knew where. "Yes, Agent, spit it out," Skinner said after Mulder stalled. Mulder took a deep breath and blew it out. He remembered Skinner's almost calm acceptance when he'd explained that an alien bounty hunter was after his recently returned 'sister.' This shouldn't be so bad. "Sir...We're not in Kansas anymore." "What are you babbling about, Agent Mulder?" Skinner snapped. "Where are you?" Mulder closed his eyes, "Sir, we're on an alien spacecraft headed for the final frontier." There was a second of silence. "Put Agent Scully on the phone." "But, sir--" Mulder got out before the connection broke. A second later the ship made a violent jerk of acceleration, followed almost immediately by a high pitched whine that seemed to come from everywhere at once. {Gffa} Coruscant, Imperial Palace "What's on that ship, Luke?" Leia asked her brother. Luke had requested that the ship be sealed and that no one be allowed inside it. "There are sleeping Jedi aboard. Dark Jedi." Luke answered his sister seriously. He knew what her reaction would be. The insane Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth had nearly killed them both. "What?!" she exclaimed. "Luke you're kidding me. I can't believe Han let you do this. Speaking of Han, where is he anyway?" "He should be here by now. Maybe he had trouble with the Falcon. We both got ready to leave at the same time." Leia seemed to accept that. She'd worry later, for now there was the potential problem of dark Jedi. Sleeping or not. "Leia, these Jedithey can't be awakened by any ordinary means. They are also behind a plasteel barrier. I can't touch their minds really while they are under. They are for all intents and purposes...dead. But on an extremely low level they are alive. I can only slightly even feel them through the force." "So how did you know they were there?" "It was the beacon. Somehow it operates within the force on a different level. It enhances it. Exponentially." "Exponentially?" Luke nodded, going back in his mind. "When I focus on the cylinder in the beacon, I was able to sense every individual on that ship 14 hours away in hyperspace. I was able to project myself on board that ship, Leia. It felt as if I were really there." Then, he remembered something else. "When I touched the young woman's mind, there was a...barrier. Very strong, painful. I've never experienced anything like it. What ever it is, it's blocking her memory of who she is, I suspect the same has been done to all of the children. Their minds need to be repaired." Leia nodded in agreement with her brother's assessment of the children. But the Jedi, she couldn't find her way to agreeing. "So what are we going to do with these dark Jedi of yours?" Luke smiled knowingly at her. Even though she was opposed to them even being there, she knew that there were things he was driven to do. She trusted him to not bring them into danger. "Nothing. I think that leaving them where they are would be the safest thing we could do. The ship should be impounded and unapproachable by anyone except for you or I." "Alright," Leia sighed. "I'll let you take care of that, I'll talk to Mon Mothma. I do have an idea for the kids though, We could send them to the planet Cestallia. The Cestallians are a peace loving telepathic race of humanoids. They are said to be great healers of the mind and couldn't resist a challenge like this." "Okay, sounds good, I'll see if I can get them ready. Threepio is working on a translator program for our comlinks. Hopefully he's done." Leia watched her brother leave the room. Ever the optimist. Always ready to help. Anybody. She remembered him wanting to save evil Darth Vader. He'd done it too. Then, the insane clone Joruus C'baoth, he'd wanted to save him too. She was proud to have him as her brother and not because he was a Jedi knight. Even if he couldn't touch the force, Luke would still be the same gentle easy going guy that he was. Though all he'd been through he still retained an innocence of sorts. She hoped he never lost it. End Vol. 1 End notes: I couldn't resist. Hopefully, by the time you reach this point. Vol. 2 is out there. I went ahead and divided into volumes because I suspected that it would be Looong and I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't want to devote all this time if you guys felt I was making a mistake. So give a yell would ya? -----------------//You know, I've recently begun to take notice of the news. Parts of this story are from actual news stories on the radio here in Charlotte. The warehouse that burned to the ground one night actually happened, and it was a storehouse for military surveillance equipment. The owner did a sound bite where he said the building burned from the roof down. I found it strange that the fire marshal wasn't the spokesperson. On the same day a woman who had been missing for three days reappeared, disoriented nearly a hundred miles away. Nothing else was ever mentioned about these two stories. Are these possible X-Files? Just today, I heard on the news that a meteor fell on a mobile home in the Northern US burning it to the ground. Hmmm... Keep an eye out, you may see this coming in a story on a net near you. Jackee C. 08/25/95 Part 7 Volume 2 Xjedi Breaking the WAY Gffa Cestallian System Luke Skywalker piloted the small V-Eiker luxury craft into the misty upper atmosphere of Cestallia, marveling at the hazy blue fog that seemed to cling to the ship. Cestallia had few natural resources that would have been in demand by the Empire. Luke supposed that was why it had been left alone, aside from the taxes, of course. The geological make up of the planet was unlike any Luke had ever visited. It was a dual star system, yet the suns didn't appear to burn away the heavy mists in the upper atmosphere. When the craft broke through the mists, a beautiful panorama opened before him. There were waterfalls everywhere, shining like glimmering steps among islands of land. The effect was beautiful. Some of the falls stood nearly into the mist of the upper atmosphere. The suns served to give the world a softly lit haziness. Immediately upon breaking through the blanket of mist, Luke felt a profound peacefulness. He wondered if the telepathic race below were projecting these feelings for the benefit of the children; they could certainly use it, judging by their fear and disorientation when he'd first met them. A tracking beam directed the ship to the side of the larger of the falls within Luke's view. Curious as to the reaction of the children, Luke activated the ship's internal monitors. Two New Republic doctors had accompanied Luke on the trip due to slight variances in human and Cestallian physiology as well as to examine the odd scars the children had received. Threepio was also along. The children were all watching the planet through the external monitors, awed. Luke smiled at that; he was awed himself. He wouldn't have been surprised to see unicorns dancing around the pools beneath the falls. "Cestallian to V-Eiker," sounded over the comm system. Luke activated the channel for a reply, "Cestallian," he returned, "this is V-Eiker, receiving you loud and clear," he replied in the same manner as the speaker had spoken. But, he didn't know why the person had said 'Cestallian' instead of 'Cestallia'. He filed it away. "A delegation will meet you once you are in the landing port. Welcome to our World, honored one." Honored one? Luke thought. What had Leia told these people? They had taken no interest in the Empire as far as he knew, and even less in the rebellion. The information package that Leia had provided told him that this planet was ruled by a council, and tended to keep matters within its society personal, and felt that others should do the same. It was rare for a Cestallian to leave the home system, rarer still for them to take sides in any battle or skirmish. The package had gone back 500 years. It seemed that before that time there was little information regarding this mysterious race. For the past one hundred years, though, people had brought their mentally damaged to Cestallia. The Cestallians prided themselves on their understanding of the mind. Not only humanoid, but an extreme variety of other species as well. The holo-images provided with the package showed the Cestallians to be human in appearance, except for the unusual gray eyes they all possessed. There also seemed to have a deep affinity for their planet, since the Cestallians didn't wish to die or be buried elsewhere. The space port itself, though carved out of the rock of the falls, was thoroughly modern. Its walls were molded with gleaming plasteel, and had serveral dozen landing stations and a transparent transport tube system built into the molding. The transports' running lights could be seen as they shot along their individual courses. Threepio was ordered to remain with the ship due to the Cestallians' aversion to off world droids, even with a restraining bolt. Threepio's services as a translator would not be needed, anyway, since the comlinks he'd programmed as translators were working fine. Each person wore their own personal link on their lapels, including the New Republic doctors and Luke. Threepio had taken care that a Cestallian language program was installed as well as Basic. As the group exited the ship, they found that an honor guard waited beyond the docking doors. The children's eyes widened even more when a gold walkway shimmered into appearance through the middle of the guard. A man dressed in flowing robes stepped around the guard and approached. "Welcome," he said in accented Basic, arms spread wide to encompass all of the group. "I am Arric of Council Cestallian. I will be your escort. If you will follow me," he turned and led the group through the guard and into one of the transport tubes. Once they were inside the tube, Arric focused shimmering gray eyes on Luke. The doctors and the children faded to the background of Luke's perception as Arric spoke softly to him. The Matriarch wishes to speak privately with you. A meeting has been arranged and you will join her for refreshments after the children and your associates are settled. The Matriarch wishes that this meeting be kept confidential. You will comply. Arric then turned away from Luke and pressed a button in the wall. Luke blinked, feeling almost as if he had been let go. He looked at his traveling companions, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Luke didn't sense any deception from the man, only a quiet sense of duty and professionalism. He would go when they came for him, if for no other reason than curiosity. The transport tube settled on a level that seemed only slightly lower than the docking bay. Arric lead the group out of the lift, down a hall and into the suite of rooms reserved for the children. To Luke's surprise, they all adjoined. There were fourteen rooms, one for each of the children and the young woman. The rooms met in a large semi-circle. The central room contained toys that put more sparkles, if that were possible, in the children's eyes. The rooms that filled the other half of the circle were an eating area, rooms for the New Republic doctors and a room that Luke couldn't quite figure out the purpose of. It was just a big empty room. On a whim, he sent a mental question to Arric, What's this room for? Arric looked vaguely surprised for a second before answering him, again mentally. This is the imaging room. What you would call an operating room. This is where we will heal their minds. Luke's quarters were separate from those of the children and the doctors'. He'd asked Arric the reason for this on the way to his quarters and had received the reply that he was not a part of their circle of recovery. Had Luke been placed within their circle, the children would see his departure as an empty hole in their world. Arric said that it was vital for their circle to remain intact. Now, Luke waited. Arric had left him nearly twenty minutes earlier. So he decided to do some meditating. Since he wasn't sure what to expect from the Matriarch that Arric had mentioned, he felt it was best to at least be calm and relaxed when the time came. Closing his eyes, Luke reached out to the force and allowed his mind to drift among those who'd arrived with him. The doctors were in conversation with one of the Cestallian doctors. The children were being entertained; Luke couldn't help but to smile at that. Then, he reached further, trying to get a deeper feel of the place. "Stop!" Luke's eyes flew open. Who had said that? He looked around the room. There was no one there, only silence. A door chime broke the silence. "Enter," Luke called after a final once over of the room. A pair of guards stepped into the room. "You will come with us," one of them announced. Somewhere in space, Millennium Falcon Scully, Mulder and Rae all stared at one another in shock as the whine died down outside the ship. "If I click my heels three times do you think we'd be home?" Mulder asked, slipping into Mulder-mode. "Couldn't hurt." Rae said from the spot on the floor on which she'd landed after Mulder had pushed her onto this vessel. "We need to stabilize this man," Scully told the two of them, looking again at her patient. He was looking alarmingly pale. "I'm going to look around to see if I can find some first aid." "I'll help you," Rae said, getting up from the floor. Mulder looked around the room, taking in the various panels and odds and ends. "This must be the hooptie of spaceships," he murmured. "But, somebody has to be flying this thing," he didn't see anything that, to him, even remotely, resembled first aid. He wandered along a white walled corridor into a large open room, eyes scanning the various panels and unidentified mechanisms, seeing nothing at all familiar. The corridor continued on the other side of the room, Mulder followed it. This corridor was not nearly as bright as the other had been. He debated drawing his weapon from its holster, then dismissed it. He was the invader here, after all. The corridor opened into another room, smaller than the one that led to the ramp. Mulder's eyes passed over the many objects, some vaguely familiar, some downright strange. A bunk with a locker beneath it gave him pause. It somehow seemed a likely place for supplies. Mulder opened the locker. At a glance the contents looked useful. He pulled the locker out from beneath the bed and through the corridor and back to the ramp room. "Scully, I think I've found something," he called to his partner, who was back at her patient's side. The words were barely out of his mouth before a beeping sounded and a strange rolling sound came from the doorway he'd just passed through. The round barrel shaped body of a white and blue robot rolled into the room. It focused its huge red light...eye? from Mulder to Scully. All the humans in the room froze; Mulder was half bent over the locker. The robot continued to make the strange squawks and beeps, that to the humans sounded disturbingly menacing. When its squawks grew in intensity, Scully instinctively huddled closer to her patient. The robot began to rock agitatedly back and forth. A panel in its body slid open, from which a three pronged appendage slowly extended. Scully's eyes widened in alarm as she looked at Mulder. The robot continued to roll threatningly forward. She saw Mulder slowly ease into a standing position behind the robot, who continued to make the strange squawks and beeps at her. Scully looked back at the robot, careful not to make any sudden moves. She didn't want to upset the thing any more than it already was. Suddenly an electric charge shot out of its arm and struck Scully's shoulder. "Oww!" she shrieked, jumping back and rubbing her shoulder. "It shocked me!" Mulder pulled his gun and aimed it at the thing. "Stay back!" he yelled at the robot as he stepped around to face it. Rae ducked behind him. The robot's barrel shaped body rolled forward, throwing another bolt of electricity at Mulder's hand. He dropped the gun. The robot continued to roll forward, beeping and squawking nastily. Mulder pushed the two women behind him and continued to back away from the thing. He noticed that there was what appeared to be a doorway behind them. If they could slip inside maybe they could find a weapon of some kind. Scully steered Rae toward the doorway, her thoughts echoing Mulder's. When the door slid open behind them, they immediately ducked inside. Scully and Mulder hid along each side of the door. Rae ducked behind Mulder's side. Scully held her gun aloft in the ready position, while Mulder searched for anything he might use as a weapon as they waited for the robot to enter the doorway. All were stunned when the door slid shut with a gentle swish. A span of a few seconds passed and the door didn't open. Scully and Mulder looked at one another, realization dawning. They had been trapped! Outsmarted by a robot! "I can't believe it!" Mulder exclaimed, as he tried stepping before the door that refused to open. He tried to push it open, and Rae and Scully joined in. It didn't work. After a minute Rae gave up and leaned against the door. Her hands were on her knees and her head bowed, hair blocking her face. Both Scully and Mulder eyed each other uncomfortably as Rae's shoulders began to shake. Scully accepted the responsibility of dealing with crying clients...witnesses...whatever Rae was. Stooping over, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rae, honey, it's okay. We're going to get out of this. I know it looks a little bleak right now, but you've got to have faith." Rae's shoulders shook even more. Scully gave Mulder a desperate look; this wasn't working. Just then, Rae stood up. Tears streamed down her face, but she wasn't crying. She was laughing, so hard that she was choking. "You guys," she got out between giggles, "I'm so sorry," she covered her face with her hands. "When I get really nervous or scared...I laugh," she continued to laugh hysterically leaning against the door. "I mean," she tried to talk again, "look at us." She waved her arms around the room, "We're stuck on a runaway space ship, trapped in a...a closet, by a little white robot!" "Are you smacking her or am I?" Mulder asked. Scully looked over at Rae still giggling against the door as if considering her partner's proposal. Then, coming to the realization that Mulder was seriously awaiting her reply, her brows went up in surprise. "Mulder-" she started warningly, but she never got a chance to finish her statement. Because suddenly, the entire ship shuddered with a sickening Bang! Both Agents' eyes widened. Rae, whose laughter had calmed to the occasional giggle, froze for a full second before bursting out again. Scully and Mulder sighed and turned away. What else could possible go wrong today? An hour later they could still hear the occasional mournful beep and whistle coming from the other room. Rae, who had managed to calm herself, now sat in a corner, asleep, arms propped on her upraised knees. Mulder and Scully mirrored Rae's position, having thoroughly checked the room for anything that might help to get the door open. The search had been fruitless, save for something that resembled a towel. Mulder had taken the opportunity to clean what he could of the soot off of his face and hands. He had a feeling his shirt was a total loss. The smell of burnt warehouse now clung to the air in the small room. "You think our friend out there is a doctor?" Mulder asked, head still down on his knees. "Dunno," Scully shrugged, even though no one was looking. "Think he has any food? I'm really hungry." "What?" Scully taunted in an exhausted voice. "No seeds?" "Oh yeah.," Mulder said, searching through his pockets. Scully looked up with interest. When Mulder pulled the half filled zip lock from his pocket, she scooted near him. She placed her open palm before him. "You, Scully?" Mulder spoke, pretending shock. "I'm starving Mulder; don't make me wrestle you for those," Scully replied, only half serious. "Oooh, don't tempt me," Mulder said as he grinned and dumped some seeds into his hand and then handed the bag to Scully. "What do you think they do for a trash can around here?" Mulder asked around a mouthful of seeds. Scully shrugged. "I was gonna use your pockets..." "Oh no," Rae spoke from the corner, raising her head from her knees. "I was really counting on this being a really bad dream. No offense to you guys," she added. Then she saw what they were doing. "Food!" she exclaimed, scooting closer. Scully passed the bag to Rae. "Where are you guys putting the shells?" Rae asked. "Mulder's pockets.," Scully said gesturing toward him. "Hey, I object!" Mulder said, trying to defend himself. "Shhh.," Scully said suddenly, "Do you hear that?" They listened for a second. Then they heard...voices. Seeds forgotten, all three sprang to their feet and immediately began to pound on the door and yell. Coruscant, Imperial Palace Leia Organa Solo was back to worrying. Luke had been gone for hours and still there was no sign of Han. Of course, it wasn't unlike Han to be off doing something and then to forget the time. Yet... A soft chime sounded at the message center of her desk. "Yes," she answered it, after pressing a button in the panel in an upper corner of her desk. "Madame Organa Solo, there is an incoming urgent personal message for you. Do you wish it delivered to your home computer or your office?" the mechanized voice of the message delivery droid ended with a soft click, which indicated the call was being recorded. "Send it through to my office computer," Leia said, hope stirring. Perhaps this was word from Han. "Very well," the voice responded before breaking the connection. Leia chewed her lip as she waited anxiously for the file to make its way through the complex mail system of New Republic Headquarters. Because of the very real possibility of files being contaminated with virus bombs, each piece of incoming mail was thoroughly scanned. Before the computer could completely flash 'message ready', Leia punched the open file switch. It was a brief message from Han and Chewbacca. It read: -Point of Origin Alpha Immediately following were a standard set of coordinates for their heading. There was no further information. The time read twenty four hours earlier. Twenty four hours and no word. Something was wrong--Leia could feel it. Still hopeful, Leia searched the data base for the location the coordinates represented. The information proved to be less than helpful. It was a point in space, not a planet or star for light years. Leia toyed with the idea of going out to those coordinates herself, but then decided to talk to Luke first. His stronger force ability would reach past the anxiety she was feeling. Clearing the screen, she pulled rank and put in the very expensive Interstellar call to the Cestallian system. Cestallia, somewhere in Central City. Luke was led to the outside of a room with a plain, white, manually operated door. The guards led him there and then left without a word. They walked to the end of the long hall and stationed themselves there near the transport tube. Open the door, young man. It won't bite you, a voice said to Luke. He looked up at the door. It seemed to be made of wood, a very ancient practice. Grasping the knob, he turned it and pushed. Nothing happened. The knob turned but the door wouldn't budge. A small chuckle sounded, No, *open* the door. See what's inside. Luke frowned. What was going on in this place? Who was it that was speaking to him? Use the force, young Skywalker. the voice whispered. Luke gave up on understanding the game, closed his eyes and reached out to the force... A gentle breeze ruffled his hair and the soft scent of delicate flowers drifted over him. I am Cestallia, Matriarch of Cestallian, come in, young man. Luke opened his eyes. He was still outside the door. When he turned the knob this time the door opened. Cautiously, he stepped across the threshold. A small featured woman with long shimmering silver hair stood near an open window. A gentle breeze blew into the room bringing with it the smell of the delicately scented flowers that grew along the fall. The woman sat staring directly at Luke as he stepped fully into the room. Her eyes were the same shimmering silver gray as her hair. There was no dark pupil. In one moment, she looked ancient, the next like a young girl. Her skin looked as young and full as an infant's. Luke had absolutely no idea how old this woman might be. Young Skywalker, Yoda has told me of you, I knew that someday we would meet. Luke looked at her in stunned amazement, "You knew Y- " he got out before she silenced him with a hand. These are things we must not speak of aloud. One never knows when the ears of the enemy are listening. Luke nodded. "Come," he said aloud, "let's have some tea." It will tell you the story that I have kept for so long she added. "It's probably not what you're used to at home, Cestallian tea is unique. You will feel dizzy for a second, but it will pass quickly. Luke took the tea she offered and sipped it. The warm, fruity smelling steam tickled his nose. "Why don't we sit near the windows and enjoy the view?" Cestallia suggested. Two lounge chairs sat near another window. As Luke approached, the room began to slowly tilt. The tea cup slipped from Luke's hand in what to his mind was slow motion; it seemed an eternity before the cup reached the floor. Sorry dear, one has to guess at the constitution of certain humanoids. Let me help you. He heard Cestallia's apology clearly. If Luke hadn't been concentrating so hard on standing up, he would have wondered if that was some sort of insult. He felt Cestallia grasp him about the waist and help him to sit gently down. He turned to thank her, but found he couldn't keep his eyes open. There, that's right, close your eyes. Millennium Falcon "Wait a minute, you guys," Rae said, breaking off from her part in trying to get the attention of whoever was speaking on the other side of the door. "Look at this." She pointed to a faint edge in the wall near the door. Both Scully and Mulder quickly lost interest in what was proving to be a futile effort, anyway. The voices simply continued as their cries went unheard. "It looks like a panel of some kind," Scully said, stepping in for a closer examination. The edges faintly formed a rectangular outline. "Well, let's open it," Rae said, reaching into her pocket. She smiled in satisfaction as she pulled out her multitool. She'd always figured that one day the little gadget would come in handy. Scully raised an eyebrow when she saw what Rae had in her hand. She kept one just like it in her purse. Rae pried at the faint edges of the panel with the knife section. She was only able to get up an edge, just enough to see faint green and red light flickering beyond. "Hey! I think this is some kind of control panel," Rae said, excited. "I just can't seem to get it all the way up," she gritted as the panel popped back into place. "Let me try it," Mulder said, reaching for the knife. Rae handed it over reluctantly. She'd wanted to be the one to open it. After all, things like this had been part of her job. 'Had been was right' and inner voice replied. Rae forcefully pushed the thoughts of work away. It only reminded her of how turned upside down her life had become in the course of 24 hours. She was not ready to deal with that. Mulder examined the area that Rae had worked on. He placed a hand on the rectangular surface for leverage and placed the knife in the bottom outline. Beneath his palm the panel gave slightly. He drew his hand back in surprise at the movement. The panel slid up and open. "What'd you do?" Rae asked. She could have sworn that he'd barely even touched the knife to the wall. Mulder shrugged. "I guess I've just got that Midas touch," he said, preoccupied with what had been hidden by the panel. Rae and Scully leaned in for a better look. Red and green lights were illuminated within the enclosure. Several bundles ran through the enclosed space. Beside and beneath the bundles was a square control pad containing back-lit buttons. To one corner of the enclosure were two valves with color markings. "On T.V. there's always a manual override placed conveniently near the locked door," Mulder said, already pondering which button to push first. "Yeah," Rae said, leaning in. "How about this one?" she pushed one of the green buttons on the panel. The color of the button seemed to darken. She pushed it again and held it for a few seconds. Everyone looked expectantly in the direction of the door. Nothing happened. "Hmm. Maybe I should try one of the red ones," Rae mused aloud as the two agents looked on. There was a soft hissing sound and the red button went completely dark. Everyone looked at one another for a second. Nothing else happened. "How about that valve?" Mulder asked, pointing toward the object in question. Rae made a face, "Dunno. It's worth a try." She stepped back slightly for leverage. It wasn't easy to turn. She moved further back to allow Mulder access after he made a gesture to help. Scully frowned thoughtfully. In her opinion, if something was difficult to turn, there was a reason. That hissing sound that the red button had made hadn't filled her with confidence, either. "We don't know what we could do by indiscriminately pushing buttons," she spoke up. "These can't be all that important," Mulder reasoned. "Since they're in this...." he gestured vaguely about the room, "closet, we could probably assume these controls belong to some of this door's mechanisms or maybe some minor system for just this room." "Like what, Mulder?" Scully asked. "For all we know this could be an auto-destruct switch." Mulder shook his head. "The self destruct is always in the engine room or on the bridge." "But how can you know that? For all we know this could be the bridge," Scully said, exasperated, rubbing a hand over her brow. She was getting warm. And Mulder watched way too much T.V. Mulder turned the valve before answering. Nothing happened. "It's perfectly logical. Think about it, Scully..." he turned to face her. Rae tuned their debate out as she stepped closer to the door. The voices outside were still going on but there was another sound. "Uh-Ohh," she whispered. Both Scully and Mulder froze at her softly spoken word. Han Solo opened his eyes to the sound of voices. The blurry vision of white light focused into the corridor ceiling of the Falcon's entry hall. Han couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten there, but he knew continuing to lie there would get him nowhere. He made ready to get up from the floor. The tightness in his right shoulder stopped him--that and the way the room tilted disarmingly. He immediately squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, though it was very slowly, it still took several seconds before the room would settled down to one single image, instead of three. The voices, however, didn't go away. Han took in a breath and tried again. This time he leaned heavily into a side panel, and hoped that the pounding in his head would abate. No such luck. When Han was finally to his feet, he tried to access the damage to his person. He grimaced when he saw what had become of his favorite shirt; the one Leia had given him on their last anniversary. Blood covered fully half of it and what wasn't blood-covered was cut to shreds. "Wonderful..." he muttered under his breath, pushing unsteadily off from the wall. He had to find Chewie. But first he needed something to steady his head. The med. locker, for some reason, wasn't in the main galley, but sat near where he'd only just picked himself up from. He figured Chewie had left it there. Han slapped a small stabilizer patch behind his ear and at his temple. He felt relief from the headache and dizziness almost immediately. The voices sounded much clearer than they had before, if a bit fast. Han wondered where the voices were coming from. It sounded as if they were being piped over the Falcon's comm system--but from where? "Chewie?" he called out as he headed toward the front of the ship. Along the way, his foot splattered into something wet. He looked down to find a growing puddle of a yellow liquid being released from a valve near a storage room. "Chewie!" Mulder jumped back toward the panel to try to shut off the valve. The puddle beneath the door seemed to grow steadily larger despite his efforts. And, unless it was his imagination, it was getting downright warm. He could feel perspiration beading on his brow. Rae looked at the switch pad and tried to remember exactly which button she'd pushed first. Maybe pushing it again would shut whatever was leaking off. Scully kept her 'I-told-you-sos' to herself. She did step back against the wall, arms folded, to watch Mulder and Rae try to figure out what they'd done, though. Then a sound caught her attention. A sound other than the voices that were still speaking. "Listen," he said, holding a silencing hand up to the two working at the panel. The sound came again. The panel was again forgotten. "Help us! Open the door! Help..." the three of them again, returned to banging on the door hoping someone would hear and take mercy on them. They were all stunned when the door slid open, much slower than it had slid shut, to reveal the man who had been shot, standing before them wearing a mutinous expression. It didn't matter that they didn't understand a word of the angry torrent that followed; they got the message loud and clear: He was not happy to see them. The sounds of the little droid rolling their direction didn't make them feel anymore at ease. They'd all jerked to attention at the sound. "What now, Mulder," Scully asked. "Are we going to be thrown out the airlock?" Mulder was about to respond when a voice, sounding very much like Scully, began to speak in a different language. The man looked up and about him in surprise. "Well I'll be..." Han started then looked back to the trio. "And that isn't totally out of the question," he said pointing a finger in their general direction. Mulder, Scully and Rae were surprised to hear what he'd said translated over the comm system. They were even more surprised when the meaning sunk in. The sounds of the little droid were rolling closer. Rae glanced at the two agents and at the man who'd just threatened to throw them out of the airlock. Scully had taken off her jacket, exposing her holster--and her gun. In a split second decision, Rae dived for Scully's gun and swung it on Han. "Alright!" she squeaked out. "You're taking us back to Earth!" She had meant to be a little more forceful, but her hands trembled and her voice was a little less than steady. It didn't help at all that the translator mimicked the shakiness in her voice. Han looked at her as if she were a complete idiot. Scully sighed and rolled her eyes. Mulder raised a hand to his brow squeezing his temple. "What do you think you're doing?" Han asked. The translator tracked his words over the comm system. "Put that thing down!" That was when Artoo rolled into the room. He let out a rude sounding series of squawks and chirps. His extension arm came up and ready. "Rae," Mulder said quietly, "I think you should give that back to Scully now." Rae glanced at Mulder uncertainly. "You sure?" she asked. Mulder nodded ruefully. "I don't think our friend really means to harm us." Mulder raised his eyes to Han, who still carried an expression of utter disbelief. Han did nod his head, though, to confirm the statement. Scully held her hand out to Rae. After a second, Rae carefully placed the gun there. "Thank you," Scully said, none too happy. Rae looked contritely around her. She'd been trying to save everyone and now they were all mad at her. "I'm sorry I broke your ship," he said, a giggle worked its way to the back of her throat. Her eyes watered and she blinked rapidly with the effort of holding it back. "Uh...it's...nothing," Han said. "Just a fluid leak," he didn't want her crying all over his ship. It was probably better to tell her later that the fluid that was leaking all over the floor was coolant fluid. "It'll be okay," he added when she still looked close to tears. The fact that Han was trying to be nice pushed Rae over the edge. From his expression alone, she suspected that the yellow fluid was more important than he was letting on. The giggles won. "Here we go again," Scully said. Coruscant, Imperial Palace "I'm very sorry, Madame Organa Solo. We are unable to locate your party. Perhaps he is exploring," the voice responded wearily to Leia's inquiry. At first the operator had acted as if there were no Luke Skywalker on Cestallia. Leia had finally convinced her of her credentials. "Could you please just check one more time?" Leia requested politely. She would have asked that someone go and personally check his room, but that would probably be pushing it. She didn't want to become 'accidentally' disconnected. Besides, Luke wouldn't ignore a page. But she really felt the need to talk to him. Tapping a nervous finger against her desktop helped a little. "Madame," the voice returned. "Once again, I'm sorry. I'll be sure to inform him of your urgent inquiry as soon as he returns to his rooms. Cestallian Out." The operator disconnected, more than a little irritated. Leia rested her head in her hands, fighting the urge to scream. Where could Luke be that they couldn't locate him? Where was Han and Chewie? What was going on?! Leia, unable to sit behind her desk any longer, shut down her office systems and headed for her quarters. She wouldn't be able to get anything done, anyway. She needed to clear her head. She would do what Luke did. Millennium Falcon Han sat on the bunk across from his stowaways. Rae had finally managed to calm herself and he'd gotten the valve shut off and had recharged the hydraulics for the door before it had bleed off completely. He'd allowed the red-haired woman to look at his shoulder wound, reluctantly, after she'd said she was a doctor. And now that she was done, he had questions. Lots of questions. Han stared steadily across at Mulder, Scully and Rae. He still didn't know what to make of them. But, at least Artoo had managed to activate the Falcon's old translator program. It had come in quite handy on several occasions in his former line of work. In the business of buying and selling, however illegally, it was good to be able to communicate in something other than Basic. But, he really hadn't had occasion to use it since he'd met Leia. He was actually surprised it still worked. It basically had the same programming as Threepio, only in a less portable and less flexible form. It was capable of accessing only a handful of languages at a time. It was currently tracking his words, and replayed them in the language Artoo had programmed it for--whatever that was. The voices he'd heard must have been the translator on audible scan. "Alright," he said. "Let's take it from the top. Where's Chewie?" Han's expression did not falter as he waited for the translator to track. "They took him," Mulder said as if that explained everything. "Really?" Han asked sarcastically. "I sort of figured that. Who took him? Where?" Mulder glanced at Scully. 'They' had always been explanation enough on Earth. How could he explain who 'they' were to an outsider? He didn't think calling them 'the bad men' would quite do it. So, he cleared his throat and tried again. "The men who shot you have him." So much for dramatic effect. "Was he hurt?" Han asked in a carefully neutral tone. He'd been afraid they would be the 'they' Mulder was talking about. Whoever they were, they had weapons, primitive, but deadly nonetheless. He would need help getting Chewie back; especially with a hurt shoulder that he wasn't sure would make it back to Coruscant, much less survive a rescue. If Artoo had found it necessary to pull out of there, they must have been in serious trouble. "They shot him with a tranquilizer dart. It just slowed him down," Mulder replied. "Do you know where they took him?" "No," Mulder shook his head. "No idea." Han sighed. For the briefest second, he wished he'd told Luke where he was going. But, there was no time for that kind of thinking. The Falcon wasn't going to fix herself. Mulder found himself knee deep in dirty machinery. A foreign looking tool of some sort fell from an overhead railing, narrowly missing him. "Sorry," Han said. "Shoulder's not what it used to be." He stood, balanced precariously atop coolant piping. He worked one-handedly, his back propped against the lower paneling for the landing controls. He'd tried to explain to Mulder what needed to be done, but telling him what to do hadn't worked out so well. Since the translator had turned simple words like 'hammer' into 'hand held impacting device'; instructional terms had become indecipherable. In the end, he'd taught Mulder the name of the tools in Basic and did the work himself, while Mulder passed him the tools. Mulder handed the tool back to him. "So, there's been interstellar travel for centuries?" "Yeah," Han answered. "Far as I can tell. Where I come from, we don't much think about it. It's a way of life. Back in my smuggling days..." "You were a smuggler?" Mulder asked, awed. "Smuggling what?" "This and that," Han replied. "I'm civilized now, just don't ask my wife." Mulder chuckled. Scully had told him to keep an eye on Han. With his wound there was the very real possibility of infection or shock. Mulder found that talking to Han was like talking to a long lost friend. He didn't mind his assignment at all. Scully and Rae were busy refilling the coolant system with whatever spare fluid Han had been able to dig up. It hadn't been nearly enough. It was going to be nothing short of a miracle if they could keep the engine temperature within spec. Of course, Han didn't tell his passengers that. "Do you think the temperature's going to come down in here?" Mulder asked, running a sleeve over his brow. "Dunno." Han said, checking over his handiwork before slamming a panel shut. "That oughtta do it," he murmured. There was a slight twinge in his shoulder. He gingerly peeked under the jacket he'd pulled on over the bloody shirt. He didn't want to know what it was going to feel like if he didn't get back to Coruscant soon. There weren't many pain blockers left. "I wouldn't count on it though," he added, "had to reroute most of the coolant fluid to the engines." Han stepped slowly down from the piping. While Mulder replaced the tools, he activated the comlink. "Artoo, you done clamping that linkage?" A series of beeps and whistles sounded over the link. "I take it that was a 'yes'?" Mulder asked, looking up from the tool box. Han nodded following his train of thought. The translator had not bothered trying to simulate a voice for Artoo. The only way to truly know what he was saying was to read it from the tracking screen in the cockpit. Artoo had probably done that on purpose. "So where are we headed?" Mulder asked as they went up the corridor toward the front of the ship. "Home. For reinforcements." {MW} Earth Chewie awoke to find himself in a brilliantly lit room. The walls were made of a white padded material and extremely bright lights shone from a ceiling that was perhaps 15 meters tall. The bed that he lay on was made of the same soft padded material as the walls. There was a fountain in the corner with water constantly circling down a drain, there was a tray of a strange fruit near the water. Chewie let out a mournful cry. He'd been separated from his honor family. He took seriously the life debt he'd made to Han Solo for saving him from slavery. That bond had long ago transferred to Leia and their children. They were his family now. Chewie remembered that Han had been hurt and the other human had taken him. He didn't remember much else. Chewie had one objective at the moment--escape and somehow find his friend, because he had a really bad feeling about this planet. {Gffa} Benjamin Adams was on a mission--a most secret one. The small Karamac Cruiser that he piloted was said to be one of the fastest, most maneuverable ships in the MW Galaxy. Ben knew this was true in both galaxies. They'd tested the thing with the Earth pilots, but they'd been too weak. The stress had made them ill. In the end, only those strong in the force could handle this one and he could handle it well. The carrier ship had dropped him at the Auxillary Station in the Milky Way. The Cruisers had been moved there after that incident at Ellens when that F.B.I. Agent had managed to get inside. The Group had been convinced by the incident that the 'aircraft' was incompatible with human physiology and not worth the risk of exposure. But, of course, they knew nothing about the force. Few did. They had killed the Project, which had fit quite well into the plan of the Inner Circle. The 'aircraft' had been ordered disassembled. The Inner Circle had acquired it and put it on a private carrier and delivered it to an auxilary base hidden in the Milky Way. There, it had been fitted with hyperdrive engines. The true nature of the ship had remained secret to the Group and only the Inner Circle, an even smaller group within the Group knew of it. And only the General, the true Leader, knew everything. Even his own son, a much respected member of the Inner Circle in his own right, didn't have the complete picture. But, he was beginning to figure it out. Now, he piloted the ship toward a hidden clinic on a secret planet, in the heart of territory that few knew the Emperor had held. Precise coordinates had to be used if the ship was to go undetected by planetary scans. He'd committed the coordinates and names and places of each doctor to memory. He was due to collect the first member of the team. The Emperor had prepared for every contingency. Even his death. Millennium Falcon Dana Scully wiped her brow with the back of her hand. The thin blouse she wore clung to her back like a very irritating second skin. The yellow liquid in the coolant compartment gurgled and spewed as it sank slowly throughout the system. The fluid was meant to be added at a regulated pace by a pumping system, on the ground, in a well equipped hanger. But since they were hanging in space with engines off-line and no power to speak of to spare for a pump, Scully and Rae were given the unenviable task of refilling the coolant drum--by hand, using buckets. The two were forced to fill the drum and then wait while the liquid seeped into all of the necessary systems. The job had long since grown old. But, there was no way Scully was going to allow Han to do it. In fact, to Scully's way of thinking it would have been absolute justice if Mulder and Rae had been the ones to pull this particular task. Han had explained that the engines needed to be repaired, but could not be restarted until the coolant level was high enough. So, she'd volunteered Rae and herself for refill duty while Han and Mulder worked on the engines. The sooner they got Han to a medical facility, the better she'd feel. Judging from the amount of blood-loss he'd suffered, she was surprised he was still upright. Those medical patches must contain a pretty powerful stimulant. But, even a strong stimulant couldn't last forever. His body would eventually demand rest. At least Mulder was with him, helping with the engine repair, where he, and by extension, she, could keep an eye on him. Han had, at least allowed her to check his wound. Once. The area was completely covered over with what appeared to be a patch of human skin. It had sealed the wound nicely. Han had called it synthflesh. Artoo had done wonders. Her contribution to his care had been to convince him to wear a sling to immobilize his shoulder somewhat. Glancing over at Rae, she saw that her head was nodding. Scully elbowed her softly. They both needed to be awake, if not alert. Sleep was currently not an option. There was more coolant fluid to tote...whenever it worked itself down sufficiently. Scully had come to find that the fluid compartment was a bit temperamental. She glanced at the face of her watch. It was 0507. Friday. Well, one thing was for sure, there would be no date tonight. Han eyed the gauge of the Falcon's backup panel. It wasn't going to hold. Mulder, with a pair of Han's overalls pulled over the once white T-shirt and dark dress slacks, was trying to work a pair of hydrospanners. Han pushed himself wearily away from the panel on which he'd been leaning. Han's lightheadedness was turning into outright dizziness. They'd been in hyperspace for quite a while, and were still hours out from Coruscant. But the Falcon, in true form, was limping her way home. None of the ship's systems had appreciated two rough rides through that vortex; no matter how short they'd been. And the 'experiments' with the coolant system hadn't helped. "Come on, we gotta get this level up if we don't want these babies to burn up under us. That'll have to wait." Mulder's bloodshot eyes looked to Han's equally exhausted ones, "Sure," he said. This flying around in outer space was not all it was cracked up to be. He followed Han to the engine chamber. Again. {MW} Earth The General puffed away on the ever present cigarette. The meeting would convene soon. He waited at the head of the table, pleased with himself. He had captured the Wookiee from that renegade ship. It could be the tool he needed to press his advantage. That traitor, One, would be punished for his failure. Someone had gotten through the Gate. That someone had to have had a key. There were no more keys in the home Galaxy, except for the keys One and his people possessed. The General had made sure that no one else on Earth, save himself, had access to the keys in this Galaxy. The General's mouth twisted with distaste when he thought of the way that One had broken the news to him. He had been shocked. Worse than the shock of it, was that his father, Palpatine, had been betrayed by Vader himself! The General remembered vividly the occasion when his father had informed him that Vader would be his right hand. He had been bitter. But it was with a bit of grim satisfaction that he considered his father's reaction when he returned. Palpatine would have to admit that his son had been correct. Blood ties could be stronger than force ties. Palpatine had sent him to this place when he had first began to acquire power. To scout out this Galaxy, to organize, to prepare, to conquer from within, to restart the work that had been left off so many years before by the ancient ones. It had taken time for him to build his Circle and acquire the needed materials for the ships. He had not needed his father's presence for the taking of this Galaxy. The force was useful for some things. But, not for all. The General's own hard work had gained him his power in this place. This Galaxy would be his. But, he had much more work to do. There were other *visitors* to contend with, now. He didn't have the time or manpower to retake the Empire. If he were to leave, the other *visitors* would gain the upper hand in this Galaxy. He had one option. He would implement the plan his father had set in place so many years ago. The curtains rustled and four robed figures entered the darkened room. They glided across the floor to the table, standing to one side of itthey chose not to sit. The hoods of the robes fully obscured their features. Anyone looking on might have thought they were a group of monks, for, these little ones projected an image of height that they didn't have. "Report," The General ordered disinterestedly. One of the elfin men stepped forward and removed his hood. The gray skin was slightly mottled green, showing that he was still 'young' among his kind. "Why are you here?" the general demanded in a softly ominous voice. The elfin man held his ground. He was not afraid of the General. He disliked him as intensely as One did. But, the deal had been made. "He attends other matters," the elfin man said. The general blew his smoke down the length of the table. He liked it better when he didn't have to see these creatures, only the evidence of their work. Perhaps he should have kept better tabs on them over the years, so that this situation might have been avoided. But, he knew, they only told him what he directly asked. He suspected that One had found other 'matters to attend to' because he did not wish to be punished. Perhaps One had chosen not to inform him of Palpatine's death because he wanted the other Galaxy for himself. The General smiled a humorless smile. One did not know what he did. If he did, he would not have revealed his duplicity. One would be punished for that indiscretion. "Continue," he told the little man. The little man's eyes narrowed. He would have to warn One. The General was too used to the humans inability to sense the emotions of others; humans ignorant to the power of the force. The General was far too satisfied with himself. He was hiding a secret knowledge. It was vital to survival for the little man and his kind to know the General's secrets. "Someone else has taken the Hinderer. The probe ship recorded it and a Correllian freighter jumping into hyperspace." "Where did it go?" the General asked. "We are not sure, we believe it may have gone to the capital city of Coruscant." "Why did you not follow?" "You forget, we cannot enter the Galaxy proper. you have not lived up to that part of the deal. You have not found a way to remove this... impediment." Only the slightest amount of bitterness crept into his voice. "I do not forget." The General smiled. "Patience. Have you devised a plan to retrieve your companions and any...cargo?" "One is working on that." "I have devised a plan of my own." The General said dismissing One's work. Then, "there is another matter. The Correllian freighter came here. I wonder how they gained a key to the Gate? Surely, there is not a leak in your association?" The elfin man's color deepened dramatically. The General continued, "I have captured one of them. A Wookiee, find out who he is, and bring the information back to me, he is a bit...uncooperative." There were ways to make a Wookiee talk. But, none easily available on this planet. "A Wookiee?" the elfin man asked surprised. "You have a Wookiee here?" The General looked icily at the little man. He would not stoop to repeat himself. "Do you know something of it?" was all he asked. "There is a certain Han Solo, husband to Leia Organa Solo, who is a member of the New Republic Council. He possesses a Correllian Freighter and a Wookiee associate, Chewbacca. They are most influential people, known across the Galaxy as heroes. If they have the Hinderer, matters are worse." "Why is that?" the General asked, growing more irritated. One had warned of rough times ahead. "Leia Organa Solo is sister to Luke Skywalker son of...yes," the little man nodded as the General began to catch on. "Son of Anakin," he finished. Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader, the one who had betrayed his father. His children had stolen the Empire?! He remembered what his father had told him so long ago: 'The Skywalker's will leave a great mark on the Galaxy. Remember, son, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.' The General forced the hardness from his face. The anger would strengthen him, but he didn't want to give these ones the pleasure of seeing that they had affected him. A smile spread again. They would all pay. They didn't know what he knew. His father would avenge himself on the remaining Skywalkers. {Gffa} Cestallia, somewhere in Central City Luke Skywalker lay stretched out on the lounge. Cestallia sat over him, watching him. He had known instinctively to trust her. Yoda had promised that he would when the time came. She had kept an eye on him in her meditations; he could still be trusted. His difficult time remained in his future. Cestallia closed her eyes and joined him. Luke found himself standing on a path, the sound of running waters not far in the distance. He could smell the delicate aroma of the flowers that peppered the nearby rock walls. Cestallia's double suns shone hazily through the treetops. What was in that tea? he wondered. This would be a perfect place for meditation. The very atmosphere of the place inspired calmness, tranquillity. A moment later, Cestallia appeared. "What is this--," he began to speak, but his voice echoed distorted and unnaturally loud. Cestallia placed a finger over her lips, your mind, young Skywalker. I will hear you. What is this place? Luke asked, gesturing at the beautiful surroundings. It feels as if I'm really here. I can feel the wind, smell the flowers... Cestalllia reached out a hand and plucked a berry. Handing it to Luke, she added, and taste the fruit. Luke popped the berry into his mouth. Lifting his brows he added, and taste the fruit. This is a True Place. This planet is very special. It holds many secrets. Secrets that will remain secret. She gave him a look full of meaning. The tea contained an herb that grows out of the living rock. It has a...strange effect on the mind of a Jedi. It enhances sensory perception for a time. This place, is a garden near my home. Here, our thoughts can only be true. In your words, this is, she raised her arms gesturing at all that surrounded them, a dream. Luke's eyes widened. a dream...but how...? True Cestallia provides it, I speak for her. Seeing that Luke's questioning look only deepened, she continued. She is the essence of our world. Cestallia lives, she's alive. Those native to Cestallia are a part of her, are truly Cestallian. There is only one true Cestallia and I am her spokesperson. But, our time grows short and I have much to tell you. Come, let's be comfortable. She led him to a rocky outgrowth that was just the right height for sitting and began her story. a very long time ago, a type of Gate was created by my ancestors. It was made of the living rock of this world. They were trying to find a way to speed up interstellar travel. The Gates were made to simulate nature. Wormholes, to be precise. Wormholes connect two points of space, but they are, by nature, unpredictable. But our Gates were meant to be stable. They were placed at seven precise points within our Galaxy. These Gates are tapped into the Galactic Infinity, or Subspace as it's now referred to. The project was plagued by many problems. One of them being the need of a mind, a living Jedi mind to make the Gates work. The chosen mind did not have to be willing. Within the Infinity the power of a force wielding mind is amplified to an unreadable degree. The project was eventually shut down do to certain unforeseeable...complications. Also there was danger involved in placing that much power in the hands of a single Jedi mind for any extended period of time. a Jedi leader, one Domar Topeth a man very strong in the ways of the force, did not wish the project to end. He felt that with the help of the Gate technology he could create a 'Super Jedi' one capable of teleporting from one point in the Galaxy to another. He felt that it exists naturally in our minds, the knowledge to do so and that we only need to tap into it. Most disregarded him and his work as ludicrous. Until he proposed a demonstration. He used children in his experiments. He felt that their minds were still open to the possibilities. He was able to train them, through the use of focusing cylinders, to teleport from room to room. And it worked. He tried to expand their range. Unfortunately, they lost themselves. They could not focus against the infinity. Their life...left them. Cestallia paused to release a heavy sigh as she recalled a painful memory. Pushing it aside, she continued. Domar, unable to handle the horror of what he had done, left in a self imposed exile. No one ever saw him again. That was more than a thousand years ago. Only a handful of Jedi Masters knew of the location of the Gates. I, alone knew on this world. Yoda was also aware of the location as he and I saw fit to use them. a group of young Jedi, led by a descendent of Domar, also called Domar, discovered the family secret and sought to revive the Super Jedi experiments. He found Topeth's hidden laboratory in his family's old ancestral home. The young Jedi followed him willingly. Since, they were young and inexperienced, they easily fell to the dark side. They captured the minds of Jedi children, and imprisoned them to do their bidding. We were unable to stop them, since barriers had been erected in the children's minds and the leaders used them against us. What had originally been a small band of outlaw Jedi, was becoming a threat to the Galaxy. They were preparing to take control. Had they been properly trained, we might not have been able to stop them. But, the leaders were young and overly anxious. We were able to capture them. We had to act quickly because they were calling the children to them. We could not fight the children. So, for the first time in over 900 years a Gate was activated. We exiled them there, within the infinity, on a small world ship. No prison would hold them for long if they still possessed the power to call to the children. So, you see, there was no other choice. The Gates, which had given them their power, became their prison. With the dark Jedi leaders out of the way, the children returned to normal and we were able to repair the damage that had been done. The dark Jedi had placed cylinders in their bodies, containing the living rock I spoke of earlier. It allowed them to call to the children from anywhere in the Galaxy. To control them. Your children, the ones you brought here, contain cylinders that are very similar to the ones used by Topeth. We can repair your children, but, I fear, someone is again using Gate technology. This time, the Gates must be destroyed. Luke had listened intently to Cestallia's tale; he'd had no idea. Yoda had made no mention of such things. He again wondered just how old this woman was. Yoda would not have told you of these things. They were difficult times. He had to imprison many of his own. And as for the question of my age, I am as old as True Cestallia. Each Matriarch at the time of her death, chooses her successor. Her knowledge is passed on to the next. I have the knowledge of all those who have been Matriarch of Cestallia. But, you have information that I need. These children, where did they come from? Luke told her of finding the beacon in the Palace and of his experiences with the young woman they'd found with the children. He told of the great distance across which he'd been able to reach her in hyperspace and of the brilliant white hot barrier in her mind. Cestallia nodded Yes, then it's true. That which you described is a focusing cylinder such as Domar used. You must take care in future, your mind could have been lost. The Galactic Infinity is dangerous. Beautiful, seductive and unrelenting, it will steal your mind. The beacon itself must have saved you. It must have provided a path for your mind. Luke nodded, listening intently. It had been a fantastic story. He wanted to know more about these people. The Cestallians were so mysterious. Such a major technology...hidden. A sudden thought occurred to him. Was Emperor Palpatine one of the Jedi Masters who knew of the location of the Gates? He had to have known, how else would the beacon have been in the War room? He was not. I have heard that he had a way of gaining knowledge once secret. I did not have cause to meet him. If Palpatine knew of the Gates, there could be a whole fleet over there to make sure no one tries to take it. Luke said. If he knew, I'm surprised he didn't come here to steal your world so no one else could have it. No one can live within the Gate for any long period of time. The exiled ones were altered so that they could survive it. Cestallia will not allow the dark side to harm her children. She has been my haven during the storm that nearly caused our extinction. She watches and protects. She has decided that the Gate must be silenced. And you are to be the one to do it. Cestallia got to her feet and began walking in the direction of the running water. Luke paused. Silenced? That had been an odd word to use. He got up to follow Cestallia's retreating form. Wait a minute... I know you have questions and I will answer them, but our time here grows short. She turned to face him. Will you help us? Will you destroy the Gates? Luke looked at her. She was waiting for his answer as if she already knew what it would be, but was allowing him to say it for himself. You already know that I will. Never mind that he had never even seen a Gate much less had a clue how to go about destroying one. She gave Luke an almost seductive smile before turning back toward the waters. Good, Jedi, now we can go. Go? Go where? Luke was both stunned and mystified. An odd sensation had come over him when she'd smiled; he'd lost his train of thought. Cestallia sighed, pausing but turning only her head. To destroy the Gate, of course. {MW} Earth, Silver Springs, Maryland Asst. Director Walter Skinner dialed the very familiar cellular number of Agent Scully for the fifth time in the past hour. Strange things tended to happen to Agent Mulder's phone, on an oddly regular basis. But, for him to be unable to reach them at Scully's number was quite irregular. In light of his last communication with Agent Mulder, Skinner was beginning to feel more than a little uneasy. "...your party has either turned off the unit or is out of range. Recording C-12." The all too familiar recording echoed in Skinner's ear. With a sharp jab, Skinner shut off the cordless. Running a hand over his head, he tried to figure what he should do. There weren't many options open to him. Who was he kidding? There weren't any options. There was literally no one he could call to assist in a search. The local authorities might not appreciate his interference should they find out he'd sent his agents to aid a, now, wanted woman out of the state. Of course, he could always use the excuse that Ms. Manning had requested his assistance before the bulletin had gone out. But now, his agents were missing, Ms. Manning was missing, and his hands were effectively tied. So, unless he wanted to cast more suspicion on Ms. Manning he'd have to move forward on his own. Quietly. That decision made, Skinner dressed quickly in shorts and a sweatshirt. He grabbed a small bundle that he'd prepared and headed out into the brisk night air, hoping that any watching eyes would assume that he was out for a late evening run along his usual route. When Skinner reached the lights of a small shopping center, he strayed from his routine. Instead of heading back toward home, he went into the shopping plaza. The glass front of an all night deli provided excellent rear surveillance while he pretended to monitor his heart rate. No one appeared too curious about his movements. Skinner continued along the street at a walk and stepped into the dim confines of a video store. A minute later, he slipped out the back door, his wallet minus twenty dollars, and a quarter for the phone call to the cab company. Thirty minutes later, he slipped behind the wheel of a deep green Pontiac. Skinner paused only to pull the sweat pants over his shorts before he started the car. A sense of urgency had come over him, it had taken longer than expected to get to through the formalities without using his F.B.I. credentials. A knock came at the window of his passenger side door. Hiding his surprise was a futile effort. The figure of the man he saw there did not fill him with happy thoughts or lessen his feeling of urgency. If anything, the bearded man increased them. Skinner sighed, resigned. He deactivated the lock to allow the bearded man entry, and waited for the man to speak. "Drive," the bearded man spoke. Skinner swallowed the urge to just say no and started the car. He drove casually through the lot, heading for the freeway. "Were you contacted?" the bearded man asked. "Yes." "Something has gone wrong?" "I don't know." "I'm going with you." Skinner pulled over to the side of the freeway and slammed on the brakes. "No thanks." "She's my daughter. Who's she with?" "Take a guess." The bearded man looked stonily ahead. "I'm going. You owe me." Skinner looked down with a sigh. He took his foot off the break and continued down the freeway. Millennium Falcon "Any idea how to fly one of these?" Han asked from the pilot's seat of the Millennium Falcon. With Mulder's help he'd managed to get the Falcon mostly stabilized. But, because propping himself against walls was no longer working, Han had decided that they'd done all they could do for the still over-heating engines. Unfortunately, sitting was having its problems, too. The room was beginning to turn in a a slow spin. Mulder had taken the co-pilots seat and, though he was exhausted, was looking over all the instrumentation with a childish gaze of wonder. The urge to start pushing buttons and flipping switches was almost too much, even considering the potential disaster with the storage room control pad. "Not a clue..." Mulder's voice trailed off and his grin faded at seeing his new friend's features start to go lax. "Han, are you all right?" he asked, worried. "I... don't think I'm gonna make it, friend," Han's words slurred as he leaned back into the seat. He knew they should be coming out of hyperspace near Coruscant soon. Han fought to just hold on until they were due to pull out of hyperspace... Mulder grabbed the comlink lying on the side console. "Scully, get up here." The computer's count-down started. Han saw the numbers counting down from thirty and beginning to blur. He wasn't going to make it. That lever," he whispered, trying to point with his good arm. "Push it when you hear the countdown get to two, those levers...translator track...del...ay..." Han's voice was determined, but faded as the drugs gave up their fight for consciousness. "It's all right." Mulder nodded, patting Han's arm to reassure him, before he punched the button. Immediately the translator tracked the audible countdown of the navigational computer. Seconds later, the approaching sounds of Scully and Artoo could be heard as they came through the cockpit's rear door. The voice continued to count, first in Basic and then in English. "Seventeen...Sixteen...Fifteen." Mulder watched the unfamiliar symbols changing. Scully saw Han and knew right away what had happened. His body's natural processes had finally taken over. Unfortunately, those natural processes could not save him. Immediate medical attention was his only hope. These were the things that went through Scully's mind as she took the vital signs Han hadn't allowed her to take earlier. "Seven...Six...Five..." She pushed the sound of the translator counting backward from her mind as she peeked under Han's jacket to examine the wound. "Mulder!" Scully exclaimed. "Just a sec," Mulder responded distractedly. "Three...Two..." He pulled the levers. The whirling tunnel of the vortex that was hyperspace dissipated and returned to the star field of normal space. "This man is infected!" Scully exclaimed. Mulder left the ship's levers and leaned over beside his partner as she examined the man they'd come to know as Han Solo. {MW} Earth, USA A young medical technician stood outside the chamber that held the creature. He had been brought here the night before, during her off shift. This was curious because this ward was generally reserved for the criminally insane. The man had been here. Mandy would know that even if she hadn't passed him on her way out of her most recent disciplinary hearing with Dr. Brunswick, who, friend of the family or not, had it in for her. The smell of the man's particularly strong brand of cigarettes lingered in the air, hearalding his presence like a noxious cologne. The man always visited Brunswick whenever a John or Jane Doe appeared on the insane ward. Just like clockwork, when this poor creature had arrived, so had the man. According to office gossip, this poor creature was cursed with a genetic illness that caused him to grow excessive hair. He even went as far as actually believing he was an ape man. He didn't even speak. Looking at him, she could see why. He looked like a Big Foot to her. The man had only just left 'Big Foot's' chamber. If 'Big Foot' followed the pattern of other patients the man had talked to, he'd be transferred as suddenly as he'd appeared. Now, she stood in the door and watched the creature. It was time for her to deliver his meal. Usually meal delivery was timed shortly after a dose of sedative, but the man had interrupted his scheduled dosage. And so Big Foot's meds had lapsed. Big Foot's head rested forlornly in his hands. He seemed more lost than anything else. Looking down at the food tray in her hands, she knew she should just put it on the slot and push the button that would ferry the tray into the chamber, but something held her back. Her father, who worked for the state department and had gotten her this job, had told her to mind her own business. But she couldn't help it, she had inherited her mother's curious nature. She simply had to find out more about this creature. Finally, she put the tray in the slot and sent it on its way into the chamber. Turning, she headed off to do some digging. {Gffa} Cestallia, Somewhere in Central City Luke Skywalker opened his eyes and found himself again on a lounge chair in Cestallia's chambers. He sat up and looked around. One sun seemed to have set; it was noticeably dimmer outside. The wind still billowed through the delicate curtains, but there was a slight chill to the air. He could see Cestallia standing out on the deck. Luke pushed himself up from the chair and stepped out after her. The deck was built directly into the rock of the fall. Nothing but air hung between the deck and the foam covered rock at the bottom of the falls. A fine mist sprayed the deck and its inhabitants, yet footing was not awkward or slippery. The rock out here appeared to have sponginess that gently held ones feet to the ground. "Is all of Cestallia this densely covered with falls?" Luke asked, noting that he hadn't had to raise his voice to be heard. Cestallia shook her head, "No. Only Central City is this way. Of course there are other falls, but not like this. This is the heart of Cestallia. You were privileged with a very special view of our world. Most arrivals to Central City from off world are scheduled at night or at least half dusk." Luke looked out over the darkening landscape. "It's very beautiful here, peaceful. Is that intentional?" Cestallia looked at him and then smiled, "You've stumbled on our secret. The rest of the planet is like most any other planet. But, here, there is more peacefulness, as you say, than usual. It's very helpful to those we treat." The second sun dipped almost out of sight now. Luke had let the tranquillity of the place relax him. But now, a thought suddenly returned to him. Aren't we supposed to be going someplace? he asked, as the memories of the...dream? began to wash over him. Cestallia continued to stare ahead at the second sun. Yes, I needed to know that you would be ready whenever it became necessary. The second sun slipped the last millimeter, the brilliant colors of the sunset fading as the moons took prominence in the night. Cestallia turned away from the view, distracted. Finally, she refocused gray eyes on him. "You should return to your rooms." Coruscant "Millennium Falcon, please transmit authorization code," an official sounding voice said over the ship's intercom. Mulder and Scully looked at each other. Authorization code? Mulder turned to Artoo, "You wouldn't happen to have a spare authorization code would you?" Artoo responded with a barrage of beeps and whistles that the translator, as usual, completely ignored. Mulder sighed heavily and looked at the control panels before and around him. "All right," he said and began flipping switches, "Hello..," he called between buttons. "Hello...is anyone out there? Take me to your leader..." Artoo spun his eye toward the strange human. Deciding this was getting them nowhere, he linked into the Falcon's computer to initiate the return audio. Unfortunately, droids weren't given authorization codes. "What was that Falcon?" the voice replied. "Hello?!" Mulder replied, looking back at Scully with a self-satisfied grin. Without much of a clue, he'd managed to contact this planet. What luck. Scully raised a sarcastic brow and gestured her head in Artoo's direction. Mulder shrugged. Can't win 'em all. "Falcon, transmit authorization code, please." "Uhh...We don't know what it is. Captain...?" Mulder paused, that's what everyone who had their own ship in the movies was called, "Captain Solo has been injured. He needs medical attention." "Falcon, stand by," the voice replied. "Soon, would be better, Mulder," Scully said from her patient's side. "Uh...Planet...?" Mulder called out again. "Go ahead, Falcon." "It's urgent." Luke Skywalker's Exercise Room, Imperial Palace Leia Organa Solo was attempting to relieve some of the tension that had built up over the past few days. It had begun with that strange beacon that had the strange effect on Luke. Then, those poor children... And Han and Chewie were still missing. Now, she couldn't even get in touch with Luke. So, here she stood, in Luke's exercise room, dressed in a dark tunic much like the one Luke wore under his Jedi robe. Luke was always urging her to practice her Jedi skills, anyway. She ignited her lightsaber after Luke's practice remote came to life. Immediately the sphere shaped remote shot a beam at her, which she blocked with the blade of her saber. Sparks flashed and disintegrated into the air. As the remote whirred around to her left, Leia changed her stance and managed to block the beam that shot in her direction. But just when her confidence was starting to rise, the remote whirlled to her other side, shooting off beams all along its path and dropping to floor level. Moving the saber in an arc, she caught most of the beams--except the one that got through and stung her on the thigh. "Ow!" she exclaimed, before making a hasty lunge to duck the next volley of beams that bore down on her previous location. What was that thing set for? Luke must have taught it some new tricks. Determined, she took her stance as it spun to track her position. Again, she only deflected some of the beams--two got her in the ribs. She gritted her teeth, tightening her grip on the saber. This floating ball was not going to get the best of her. Three stings and a minute later, she realized that the angrier she grew, the more hits she took from the ball. Closing her eyes, she focused her mind on the force. She could feel its energy flowing through her. The room vanished. Calm settled over her. Her eyes were still closed when the remote's beams shot in toward her with lightning speeds and almost unconsciously she blocked it, and every one that followed... She was surprised when twenty minutes later and covered with sweat, she noticed that the door chimes were ringing for the third time. Shutting down the remote, she turned toward the door. "Come in." "Madame," a messenger droid spoke, "your presence is requested urgently in the Palace Control Towers." Cestallia The guard completely ignored Luke as he left Cestallia's quarters. He wondered if he'd passed some test and was now allowed to wander on his own. As much as he would have liked to look around, Cestallia had sent him to his quarters for a reason. Perhaps later... Luke stepped into the lift he'd arrived on earlier. But, before he could enter a destination, it took off of its own accord. Luke chuckled softly to himself. So much for being allowed to wander. When the lift's doors opened, he stepped out into the familiar surroundings of his assigned suite. The doors slid shut behind him. What? There had been no lift in his room! Luke turned to find that the entrance into the lift was now a seamless wall. There was no evidence that there had ever been a doorway there. He ran a hand over the surface of the wall. Nothing. Reaching out with the force, he probed at it. "Stop!" Again, the voice. "Who was that?" Luke wondered to himself, eyes searching for a presence. That voice was disconcerting, but there was no one there. With a calming breath, he turned away from the wall. The secret would have to remain secret for now. The sight of the blinking light at the message center was no surprise. Luke went to see who had needed to contact him; maybe there was news from Han and Chewie. Coruscant, Imperial Control Towers Leia didn't take time to change before going to the Control Towers, since the droid had said the summons was urgent. But, that didn't keep some of the controllers from giving her dark tunic and lightsaber odd looks. She brushed a few damp tendrils of dark hair from her forehead and got down to business. She'd worn stranger outfits than this one. "What is it, Controller?" she asked, approaching the control panel. "Madame, a ship, whose identification carrier suggests that it's the Falcon, is approaching. But, it has not submitted an authorization code and insists that it can't." The Controller was obviously young and diligent, and didn't want to make any mistakes. Recently, Grand Admiral Thrawn had gone through the trouble of using a replica of the Falcon to trick them. The Controller had no doubt heard the story. "Is the channel open?" Leia asked. "Yes, Ma'am," the young Controller replied. Leia flipped the switch to send. Not knowing what to expect, she decided it was best not to identify herself. "Falcon, please report, why are you unable to transmit authorization?" "We don't know what it is, and since the Captain is unconscious, it doesn't appear that he's likely to tell us," a male voice responded after a pause. Leia thought she detected a hint of impatience. Also, she caught the sound of Artoo's excited beeping, but couldn't make out anything he'd said. "Do we have a visual?" Leia asked the Controller. "Just coming into range," he nodded, directing her to a screen to the right. The image of the Falcon appeared. The visual of the internals of the ship faded into view. Leia paused when she saw the man on the other side. His face was smudged and dirty. A couple of days growth of beard showed on his jaw and he wasn't looking into the viewer pickup, but off to the side. "Falcon," Leia said, "Stand by." She saw him roll his eyes in frustration. "Red tape...a universal invariant," he spoke meaningfully to someone out of the range of the pickup. His words appeared to be delayed from the visual feed as if he spoke through a translator. Turning away from the viewer, Leia reached out to the force. She could feel Han's presence. But something was wrong. His mind was quiet. Too quiet. "Falcon," Leia spoke again, forcing the anxiety out of her voice, "where's Chewie?" she couldn't decide if this were a trap. But the force never lied: it was true, something was wrong with Han. And this man, certainly didn't look like any of the Empire's agents that she'd ever seen. But, she had a responsibility. She had to be sure. "They took him," the man said. "We barely got out of there, ourselves." Leia stood silent for a second thinking. What would Luke do? The man seemed to have found the correct video pickup spot. He was staring directly at it. Leia looked at his eyes. He didn't look dangerous, he simply looked tired. "Let them through," she told the Controller, still staring at the man. "Yes, Ma'am," he replied. He turned to the console to implement the necessary commands... "Artoo, can you land on the Security deck?" Leia asked, speaking to the droid. Artoo beeped a short whistled response. Leia sighed deeply, only partly relieved; the Falcon and Han were home, but the difficult issues of Han's injuries and Chewie's whereabouts and the strangers on the Falcon remained. Leia sighed again, collecting herself. Briskly, she arranged for a medical team to meet her on the Security deck. {MW} Earth The young medical technician slipped into the records office. A stern looking woman sat before a terminal, glasses half down her nose. "Whatcha doing Maggie?" the young technician asked, peeping over the woman's shoulder. The monitor screen showed the prescribed medications for the patients in the wing. "Same thing you should be doing, Mandy," the woman spoke dryly, not turning around. "Working." "I'm on break," the girl declared, leaning onto the woman's shoulder, making little pretense of not reading the screen. "Whoa! Look at how much Cordicorinal they're giving Big Foot," he said, spoiling what pretense there had been. "That should be enough to put down an elephant." Maggie turned in her chair, eying the girl. "Don't let them hear you saying that if you want to keep your job." The woman spoke softly, hoping Mandy would take the hint and do the same. "Why?" Mandy asked, speaking barely above a whisper. "What does it matter what I call him?" Maggie eyed her for a minute, then suggestively directed her toward a side terminal with her eyes. At Mandy's wink of acknowledgment, Maggie went back to work. "Watch yourself, kiddo," she shot over her shoulder. Five minutes later Mandy sat before the monitor pretending to read a journal. She 'accidentally' hit a key, deactivating the screen blanker. Her eyes slowly rose to the information on the screen. Her mouth dropped, magazine forgotten, as she saw the blood work results on the strange man she'd called 'Big Foot'. Her eyes tracked down the screen. She reached out a hand to page down for additional information, jerking back when she heard the sound of voices entering the office. "What are you doing in my chair?" a disapproving voice asked. "Reading. What does it look like?" Mandy replied lightly, moving away from the monitor, making a point of dropping the magazine on the keyboard. "Have your chair. I've got meals to deliver anyway." Mandy rolled the meal cart down the corridor toward her ward. The meals were prepared for each patient. The dinner label for the man she'd come to think of as 'Big Foot' was marked 'John Doe 2'. She frowned at that, she couldn't remember ever having two John Doe's simultaneously on the criminal insane ward. At least, not two who'd arrived under mysterious circumstances. She shrugged it off. The other did look a bit loony. A short man in his late forties or early fifties with a shock of dark hair that stood at all angles. The rumor was that he'd arrived with a pocket protector. Not, in her estimation, the sign of a criminal mind. Peeking under the tray lid, she saw that Big Foot would be dining on Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, green beans and an apple. When Mandy reached Big Foot's room, it was to find that he was sitting despondently against a wall. The doctors must have given him another dose of Cordicorinal to make him manageable. She put the tray in the slot opening and watched as it was ferried into the room. Big Foot looked up with dull eyes as the tray appeared through the food slot. The spoon the staff allowed was engulfed by his hand, causing his fur to drag through his plate as he ate. A low mournful sound escaped his mouth before he set the tray aside, unfinished. Mandy stood outside the glass looking sadly at him. She wondered what his crime had been to cause him to be labeled criminally insane. He'd been heavily medicated since the moment he'd arrived. Where had he come from? Why wasn't he wearing any clothes? Logically, if they were trying to convince him he was human, clothes would have only served to enforce that point. To leave a human without clothing was demeaning. Why did he look like he didn't belong here? Something did not fit. A shocking thought occurred to Mandy. What if he really was Big Foot? She immediately dismissed the idea. Then, she allowed it to settle again in her mind. She watched him more closely. He was so tall, so very *un-human*... Mandy stood up straight as if shocked. He was Big Foot! It all began to add up. His lack of clothing, along with the heavy medication and security all proved the point in her mind. The government had found him and brought him here. This was, after all, a government owned facility. Her mind began to race as the idea took hold. They were probably going to do experiments on him and had separated him from his family and the only home he knew. 'Normandy Diane Newman, ' she said to herself, 'you have to *save* him.' {Gffa} Ben settled into the pilot's seat of the Cruiser. He'd delivered the last doctor of the team to the planet. The last phase of the plan was in place. His grandfather, the great Emperor Palpatine, would live again. Now, he had one other thing to do before he returned to his father. The signal was still coming in clearly. He adjusted the ship's navicomputer to the coordinates displayed. Coruscant Leia stood watching as the Falcon's repulser engines cut in and the Falcon settled gently to the floor of the landing bay. She forced herself to stand still as the ramp lowered. A medical team stood by with a deactivated hoverbed. Mulder stood at the top of the ramp gazing at the small group of people in the hangar. Three of the group looked human, but one was definitely alien. Artoo had been by Mulder's side. Now, the little droid rolled jauntily down the ramp and out of the bay. Leia watched him go, he was probably looking for Luke. Mulder began to descend the Falcon's ramp. Leia recognized him as the man who'd contacted Coruscant Control. She also noticed that he was dressed in what looked like Han's old overalls. Leia stepped toward him without hesitation. "Where's Han?" she asked anxiously. Mulder looked down at her, the voice was familiar. And he recognized Han's name, but he wasn't really sure of the rest of her words. The range of the translator didn't seem to extend to the bottom of the ramp. So he just gestured that she follow him and lead her back the way he'd come. "My partner didn't think it was wise for me to try to carry him," Mulder turned to informed Leia on the way to the front of the ship. Leia looked at him for a second, trying to figure out why he wasn't making any sense. When his voice came out of the com system, in Basic, she realized Han still hadn't told her everything about the Falcon. "Thank you, for bringing him home," he said distractedly still gazing into the air. Then she pushed on past him toward the front of the ship, not pausing to see if the medical team followed. The medical team, consisting of two humans and a Gamorrean, took Leia's entry into the ship as their cue. The Gamorrean hung back to activate the hoverbed's air pocket, while the rest of the team went ahead to assess the patient. Mulder hesitated in the corridor near the ramp. The woman seemed to know where she was going. And he had a feeling she knew Han quite well and thus his ship. He'd seen this planet's version of EMT's standing at the bottom of the ramp. So out of ingrained procedure, he waited to direct them toward their patient. "This way," he gestured to the human who entered the rampway first. Rae sat on a bunk in a room off the main corridor. She'd seen a dark haired woman rush pass. Now, she watched as Mulder passed along also toward the front of the ship. She figured if she just sat there, the entire situation would go away--or perhaps she'd wake up with this nightmare behind her. Rae closed her eyes and pinched herself. When she opened them, not only was she still on the ship, but a white bed was floating along the corridor followed by a green humanoid with pig like facial features and large hooked fangs spilling over his bottom lip. So, she did the only logical thing she could do under the circumstances. She screamed. Mulder spun toward the sound to see what had happened. The medical team came to a full stop. The young tech operating the floating bed forgot to direct its remote mechanism to halt and so it continued on its path toward Mulder's midsection. The technician caught himself and managed to halt the bed before it actually hit Mulder. But still, the shock of seeing a floating bed was a bit unexpected. Alien bounty hunters he'd dealt with. Giant sucking sewer creatures he'd faced. Interstellar travel he'd believed. But the floating bed... Suddenly the absolute bizzareness of their situation fell upon him. Everything he'd believed in, hoped in, had been affirmed. This ship and this planet were absolute, living proof that he'd been right. He had to sit. He sank to the floor where he'd stood. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting..." Rae said apologetically to one of the human techs. Realization dawned on him and he directed the team forward. One of the team members stopped to examine Mulder who was now sitting, stunned, on the floor. Scully stood back to allow the dark haired woman, who'd launched herself into the close quarters of the cockpit, access to her patient. She had a feeling this was the wife or girlfriend. Leia bent over Han and placed a hand on his face. His skin was pale and clammy. "Don't you even think about leaving me, Nerf herder," she whispered softly. Scully took in the scene silently. The translator had given her the gist of what the woman had said. The term of endearment, though, was lost on her. Scully's entire body jerked when she heard Rae's scream. She scooted through the doorway that led from the cockpit. There, she saw Rae sitting on the bed, now calm. And what appeared to be a human-alien medical team approaching the cockpit, a floating bed trailing between the two of them. That was when Scully realized that she was going to have to do a *lot* of creative arranging of the facts on her field report if she didn't want to be laughed out of the Hoover building. She followed Rae's gaze and found Mulder sitting on the floor behind her. Another of the medical techs was bent over him, apparently gauging his vital signs. At least, that's what she hoped he was doing with the flat instrument he was waving over Mulder's head. She stooped beside him and informed the tech that she was a doctor and would look after him. The tech shrugged and went off after his companions. Dana Scully turned toward her partner. He was flushed and glassy eyed. "Mulder, are you all right?" she asked, brushing bangs back off his damp forehead. A grin spread across his face as he looked at her, a slight giggle slipping past his lips. "Scully," he said, "We're on another planet!" Dana Scully swallowed. The unreality of the situation was sinking in. She'd dealt with her own feelings during her time with the coolant fluid and had decided just to move forward and not think too hard on it. But, she knew Mulder, she would need to ground him before he did something she would regret. But, how did you ground someone when you really were on another planet? Mulder began speaking before she could come up with a proper response. "Scully, do you realize *we're aliens*?" Dana Scully looked into her partner's wide, excited gaze and slowly nodded. It was too late. It was already time for damage control. "Mulder, we've got to get home," she stated as calmly and rationally as she could. A confused expression crossed Mulder's face. Why would he want to go home? There was an entire world to explore and there were aliens, nice aliens from the look of it. "But, Scully," he began, gesturing around them, "this opportunity..." He couldn't find words to encompass it all. "Mulder," Scully insisted trying to catch his eyes, "people are going to be looking for us. We would be missed. Rae would be missed. Our duty is clear, Mulder." Scully watched her partner as a little of the light died in his eyes. "Not for me, Scully. Those duties were left on a planet far away. They don't apply here. But, don't worry. I'll make sure you and Rae get home." Mulder saw Scully's mouth clamp shut. This discussion wasn't finished, but she needed time to regroup. He knew she hadn't seen that one coming. Honestly, he hadn't either. But, it was true, he did want to stay here. Nothing waited for him back home. Scully, he would miss, but she'd be better off without him, anyway. He looked down the corridor, toward the open ramp. This place called to him in a way he couldn't explain. Working and talking with Han had felt so natural. Here, he felt that he could fit in. Scully was stunned by Mulder's admission. She knew that he really didn't have any family to speak of and his life was his work. Here, all of his beliefs were affirmed. But, she couldn't let him be so reckless. "Mulder," she started reasonably, "you haven't even set foot off this ship. How can you know what it's really like? How do you know that they don't have secrets to hide, too?" Mulder looked back at his partner. She had folded her arms and set herself firmly in her position. How could he explain what he could feel in his bones? He gave her a soft smile, knowing what she was trying to do. He didn't want to fight with her about it. "Everyone has secrets, Scully," he said softly, pushing himself up from the floor. The hoverbed floated out of the room behind them and off down the ramp where two uniformed men stood. When the group from Earth exited they gestured that they follow them. Alpha Point Base One, also known as Domar, stood silently staring out into the void. There were no stars here. He missed the stars. The world ship was a poor imitation of his home world. If he closed his eyes he could smell the deep, pungent odor of the marshes. But when he opened them again, he only smelled recycled air. One hated what his brother, Yoda, had done to him. They were part of the most ancient race in the Galaxy. They were it's rightful rulers. Yoda, though, had rejected that idea and thus had also rejected One. When Palpatine had come so long ago promising to return them to their rightful places, they'd readily made the deal. Palpatine had taken in their knowledge, ancient knowledge of which precious few even knew existed. The portal between the two galaxies had been labeled a myth. One had known it to be true, his people had once traveled freely between the sister galaxies. That had been millennia ago, long before the Great War. Palpatine had also learned of the truth. When he'd found the location of the Gates, he knew he could restart the work of the ancients. The ancients spoke of one who would control the fate of both galaxies. One felt that he was that individual. One closed his eyes in meditation. He felt the deep, rich tones of the dark side flow through him. It made him feel powerful, invincible. But, there was trouble ahead. One had seen it in his meditations before. There was an ending coming for him. An ending brought by a Skywalker. He had to make sure that Skywalker came to his own end. {MW} Earth, Charlotte, North Carolina Walter Skinner drove in silence along darkened streets. He and his traveling companion had driven to Richmond and caught a flight to Charlotte. He'd kept his companion in sight at all times during their journey and was fairly certain that they hadn't been followed. But then, considering the presence of his passenger, they might not need to be. Skinner had mulled the possibilities during the flight and had come to the conclusion that he didn't know if his passenger's reasons were as simple as he had claimed. Was his daughter's safety the main objective here? Skinner's destination and his mission were dangerous. The city itself wasn't dangerous and unless renting cars and taking flights had become classed as deviant behavior, he had no fear of prosecution. No, the nature of the danger involved was less than obvious. Skinner was beginning to wonder if he were becoming as paranoid as Agent Mulder. The sign of the Doubletree Inn flashed invitingly in the night. It had been a long, silent journey. Stopping for a rest was tempting. The digital display of the radio read 10:07. "What can you tell me?" Skinner asked, turning to his passenger. They were here, now. It was time to begin. He knew his passenger would not give him everything, but slightly armed was better than not armed at all. "She worked for a company called Acme Industrials Warehouse. They did some specialized government work in the past. Acme burned down early Thursday morning and the local authorities want to know if she knows anything." The bearded man spoke calmly, in a detached voice, as if it wasn't his daughter they were speaking of, but some unknown individual or case file. Skinner looked at his passenger for a second, then returned his eyes to the deserted road. He felt something strangely akin to sympathy for the man. He'd given up a lot; his life, his name, his daughter and for what? To protect someone elses idea of national security? Skinner knew a little of how this type of position was set up. He also knew that their security program was impartial. Yes, he knew about 'deny everything'. Destroy everything in opposition. He knew what would happen if they got a hold on this man's daughter. They would get all of the information they could out of her. If she knew nothing, perhaps she would go home feeling a little less secure. If she knew anything, she would disappear. If they found out who her father was, she would die. The battle lines in this little war were indiscriminate. There was no time for rest. Skinner and his passenger had to find them first. "Do you have an address on Acme?" Skinner asked, reaching into the back seat for the convenience store bag containing a Charlotte map. The bearded man gave him a look as if he were kidding. He handed the map back to him. "Turn here," he said. Skinner looked at his passenger wonderingly. He wasn't surprised that he knew where the company was. But why hadn't he asked why they were going there? Then, it occurred to Skinner that this man knew Agent Mulder and his gift for being precisely where he shouldn't be just as well as he did. Cestallia Luke Skywalker waited while the operator connected the interstellar link. He'd received several messages from Leia, all insisting that she needed to speak with him urgently. There was a soft click on the other end before audio reached him. The symbol for Coruscant Communications was emblazoned across the screen. "Coruscant Communications, how may I direct your call?" a pleasant voice asked. Luke gave her the authorization code for the palace and waited while the operator switched the line. He'd tried to get her at her office and at home, but there had been no answer. "Imperial Palace, how may I direct your call?" another pleasant voice asked. "I'm trying to contact Leia Organa Solo," Luke said, relaxing back into his chair. He wondered when it was that he had gotten tense. Surely, it must have had something to do with the fact that he'd been trying to reach his sister for the past twenty minutes. "I'm sorry, sir, but Madame Organa Solo is unavailable." "What?" Luke asked. "Is something wrong? This is Luke Skywalker, her brother. Is she on Coruscant?" "Oh, Commander, she's still here. She did state that you are allowed to override the block. Just a moment." The operator's voice was kindly. Luke's alertness had heightened. There was something going on at home. He felt a sudden urgency that he get back as soon as possible. It was with the patience of a Jedi that he waited for his sister to answer the page. {MW} Charlotte, North Carolina "Cut the lights," the bearded man said, as Skinner pulled the rental car onto the darkened road that lead to what used to be Acme Industrials Warehouse. The path ahead was plunged in sudden darkness. Only the sounds of the car's tires crunching along the roadway could be heard above the soft purr of the engine. Skinner's eyes adjusted to the sudden change, and aided by the glow of the full moon, they continued to roll forward. Almost unexpectedly the trees alongside the road ceased, revealing the stunning wreckage of Acme Industrials Warehouse. Skinner figured that Acme must once have been a pretty impressive looking building, judging by the size of the rubble. But now, there wasn't much left; a few shadows cast by some large burnt out hull of machinery or a fire-proof cabinet here or there. Skinner parked the car in what had once been a back parking area. It was odd to see the marked off spots behind the rubble. He didn't have much hope of finding anything here. But this was the only other place he could reasonably think to look. Rae's apartment was currently not an option, the local law enforcement would no doubt be keeping an eye on it. The longer he was out of touch with his agents and their protectee, the greater his worry became. Yet, his cellular had remained maddeningly quiet. Skinner grabbed a flashlight from the back of the car and set out toward the building. {Gffa} Coruscant Luke Skywalker put the V-Eiker luxury craft down in the security bay of the Imperial Palace. He eyed the Falcon with a bit of trepidation. Leia had been very upset when he'd spoken to her four hours earlier. Han had only arrived minutes prior on Coruscant, unconscious and she'd wanted to speak with the doctors. Luke had left Cestallia immediately. Luke's passenger, seated in the co-pilot's seat, watched him openly. She saw the tenseness in him, though he hid it well beneath a mask of Jedi calm. She had trained many Jedi Knights, or at least a previous Matriarch had. But, she could not tell Luke that; it was too dangerous. He had a difficult path ahead of him. Cestallia had seen it. Luke looked up when Cestallia placed a gentle hand on his arm. "That's the Falcon over there," he said, gesturing toward the old Corellian freighter. It sat alone to one side of the bay. "A very interesting ship," Cestallia said. She would have picked it out even if he hadn't pointed it out to her. "It has survived much and will survive much more," she continued, "So will her owners." Her statement gave Luke pause. "Have you seen this?" he asked. "Yoda said the future is always in motion." She gave Luke another of her mysterious smiles. "Cestallia has seen it," she told him. Luke found himself again bemused. He would definitely have to find out about that someday. "Cestallia the planet or the woman?" he asked, half amused. Cestallia shrugged. "They are one and the same." Luke reactivated Threepio on the way to the exit ramp. The lights behind the droid's eyes illuminated and its body assumed its usual uprightness. "Master Luke, so good of you to reactivate me, I feel absolutely refreshed..." Threepio's audio circuits were off and running when he was back on-line. Luke couldn't help smiling at the talkative droid. He'd actually missed Threepio's banter. He turned to Cestallia and gestured that they proceed off the ship. As the trio stepped down the ramp into the bay, Luke was unsurprised to find his sister running across the bay toward him. He caught her in a brotherly hug, sensing that her worry had relaxed, but something was still wrong. "Oh Luke, I'm so glad you're here," Leia said, relief evident in her voice. Then, she noticed the petite woman who stood beside her brother and wondered why she hadn't seen her before. She took a step away from Luke and turned to formally meet the woman. "Hello," Leia said politely to the woman, waiting for Luke to introduce them. "Leia, this is Cestallia, there is something she wishes to discuss with us." Luke said, omitting that she was Matriarch of Cestallia. He knew he could trust Leia with the information, but for some reason it didn't come out, though he was thinking it. Luke turned to Cestallia. "Cestallia, this is Leia Organa Solo," he said. He didn't add her Title. If Cestallia kept up with interstellar news she'd know already, anyway. Leia shook the woman's hand warmly. "Welcome to Coruscant, Cestallia. Allow me to show you to a place where you can relax." Leia turned and directed the group toward guest quarters. She wanted to get rid of Cestallia so that she could have a word with her brother--privately. Medical Wing, Imperial Palace Dana Scully stood before a large clear enclosure, gazing at the man suspended in a translucent red solution. There was some sort of breathing apparatus covering his face and he wore nothing else, save a pair of boxers. He'd been in there now for 3 hours. One of the doctors, Two-one-bee, a droid, had said that he should be coming out of it anytime now. Dana had almost seen his wound healing. Mulder and Rae had remained in the suite that they'd been assigned. Dana had wanted to see the outcome of her one-time patient. This reddish fluid, bacta Leia had called it, had been placed in the tank with Han. It was some sort of curing agent. It looked horribly sticky and uncomfortable, but it was working. Leia had just been notified that someone important had arrived. And so Dana had promised to stay with Han until she came back. Dana took another opportunity to look around the medical wing. Medicine here was different from anything she'd come in contact with. She had wanted to help, but here, her skills were useless. Everything was taken care of while she'd watched. Dana looked down with amazement at the outfit she now wore. She and Rae were about the same size as Leia, so she'd loaned them a couple of outfits. This particular one was body tights with a semi-sheer overshirt that clinched at the waist. Leia had given her a pair of black, flat-heeled knee boots to complete the ensemble, since her beige pumps were in no way suitable. When she'd stepped out of her bedroom into the common area of the suite, she'd given Mulder a look, daring him to comment. Mulder's eyes had spoken volumes, but he'd managed to bite back whatever he'd been about to say. She'd taken in Mulder's mostly normal outfit. He still wore Han's overalls, since he hadn't had his turn with the shower. But she had a feeling whatever Leia had sent up for him would look amazingly normal, while she, on the other hand, had gotten to look like a super hero. Rae had been still showering when Dana had left for the medical wing with a droid guide. She wished her the best in the outfit department. Scully's head snapped up at a voice over her shoulder. "Interesting take on medicine," Mulder said, looking at Han suspended in the bacta tank. Scully took in Mulder's appearance. The blue pants were baggy on him and the tunic was a bit 70's, but he could still have fit in on earth. All he needed were bushy sideburns, and he could have been..."Eyl-vis," she let the word slip out, giggling. Mulder struck a pose, "Think the bad guys'll take us seriously in these get-ups?" "What?..us?..the crime fighting duo, Electro Woman and Elvis Man?" Scully returned. "I guess we could look on the bright side. At least these aren't draw string pants or worse yet something in a white brocade," Mulder said, looking again at Scully's outfit with a wicked grin, "And you--" Han began to thrash about in the tank, capturing the attention of both agents and cutting off Mulder's remark. Scully took a step toward the tank and stopped when she noticed the medtechs taking care of the situation. She dropped the hands that she'd risen to her sides and turned to her partner, "We should probably give him some privacy while they clean him up." Mulder agreed. The two agents moved to step outside the bay. "Luke," Leia said when they were in his quarters, which were closer to the guest wing. "I'm glad you came back," she began, breathless. "Chewie has been captured on a planet called Earth. Only, no one is really sure where Earth is. Artoo gathered some data during the trip, but the scientists still aren't done analyzing it." Luke's eyes widened at what Leia was telling him. "Chewie's captured!" he asked stunned. She hadn't told him that over the stellar link. "What happened? Does Artoo know?" Leia nodded, "Artoo was on the Falcon at the time. There are three humans who arrived back with Han; they saw what happened. The external monitors also picked up some of it. The humans say that the people who shot Han are the ones who have Chewie." Luke had felt that something was still bothering her, he had at first thought it was Han's condition. He understood why she hadn't told him about Chewie and had been very unspecific about the nature of what had happened to Han during their earlier communication; the stellar link was less than secure. Aside from operators listening in, the carrier was open to anyone who wished to tap in. And this probably wasn't a good time to tell her about the Gates and what Cestallia suspected concerning the children. He would wait until he felt her worry over Han abate. "I'm sure Han will be okay and he can probably help us find the planet again." Luke said, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. Leia sighed and looked at her brother ruefully. She felt that he was holding something back. She wondered what else he had on his mind...or perhaps it was someone else. Her mind went briefly to Cestallia, who in her mind, was just plain too old for Luke. But, Leia knew that he'd tell her what it was when he was ready. "I thought it would be easier for everyone if we discussed it after you had gotten home. Right now, I'd like to go check on Han. I left him with one of the humans when I got the message that you'd arrived. So you'll meet her first and then we can arrange the meeting with the other two." Luke was curious. Why had Leia done that? Why would she leave a woman she'd only just met to look over her husband? And why would the woman want to? Leia continued, inadvertently answering Luke's unasked questions, "She's a doctor where she comes from. She tried to take care of him when he was hurt. She just wanted to see it through." Luke mouthed, "Ohh," and nodded. "Oh, and by the way," Leia started again, as they entered a lift. "The humans don't speak Basic. Artoo was able to activate some old translation program on the Falcon, that Han forgot to tell us about. The scientists were able to download it into a lapel-link like the ones the children have." Scully and Mulder were exiting the medical bay when they spotted Leia approaching with a sandy haired young man dressed in a brown cloak. Mulder noticed the hood that hung at the back. Privately, he was hoping for an outfit like it. "Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, meet Luke Skywalker," Leia said introducing the agents to her brother. Her eyes kept returning to the medical bay behind them, though. Luke didn't need the force to know where her thoughts were. Luke gave both Scully and Mulder a slight bow, before sending his sister off to see her husband. Luke already knew Han would be okay; Cestallia had seen it. Turning back to the two agents, he gestured that they walk. He looked sideways at them from the corner of his eye. These two were an interesting pair. There was something about them... "Mr. Skywalker," Scully started, "is it possible for us to be returned home to Earth soon?" Scully did not look in Mulder's direction. But, she knew he was looking at her. Luke caught the undercurrent of unfinished business. "Call me Luke," he said. At Scully's nod he continued, "I don't know how much Leia has told you, but we don't know where Earth is. Could either of you find it if we provided you with star charts?" "Afraid they didn't cover star charts in GS training," Mulder said. "We sort of figured that since Han got there one time, he could get there again." Luke nodded. "Well, when Han comes out of that tank he isn't going to be very coherent. Our people are working with the data Artoo recorded. Maybe that will give us something." "Dana?" Luke spoke to Scully, testing her name. "Yes," she responded. Luke smiled. "Leia said that you are a doctor and that you helped Han, I want to thank you for that." Luke had sensed her feeling of intense uselessness, even as he and Leia had approached the bay. "I want to thank both of you for getting him home," Luke added, encompassing Mulder. "He means a lot to me." Scully smiled back at Luke. "You're welcome," he said. "But, Artoo is really the one who did the most for him." Scully felt an instant liking for Luke. He seemed amazingly calm and yet there was something about him that struck a chord in her. Mulder looked curiously at his partner and then back to Luke. "Sure," he had muttered softly, along with Scully's 'You're welcome'. Luke looked up at Mulder suddenly. "Are either of you hungry?" he asked. They were. The trio headed back to the room to get Rae. She would surely be starved too. When they reached the room it was to find Cestallia coming out of Rae's bedroom door. "What are you doing here?" Scully questioned. The little gray-haired woman didn't look like a maid. Besides, that was a duty generally assigned to a droid around here. Cestallia looked up and smiled calmly at the group, her eyes settling on the men. "She was hysterical. I calmed her, poor child. She was going on about being unemployed now or something." Mulder threw Scully a glance but she was still looking suspiciously at Cestallia. "Dana," Luke said calmly. "This is Cestallia. She's a friend of mine and you can trust her," he gestured for Cestallia to come nearer. Dana's eyes darted to Luke's and then to Mulder's. They were both looking at her as if they were waiting for her to realize that she was being silly. Slowly, her eyes tracked back to Cestallia. She looked like somebody's grandma. She wondered why she hadn't noticed that before. Fox Mulder sat in the common area of the suite they were assigned. He couldn't sleep and hoped it wasn't due to an intergalactic case of Montezuma's revenge. He smiled grimly at his own joke. Where were the televisions in this place? How did they sleep without one? Perhaps it was sign of progress. Mulder got up from his seat on the thing, that must have passed for a couch, and left the room. He didn't want to wake Scully and Rae. It had been decided that the meeting would be held in the morning, after everyone was rested and Han was better able to offer an opinion. That plan of action also gave the scientists more time to study Artoo's data. At the end of the hall, Mulder boarded the lift he'd seen someone use earlier. He looked at the mysterious symbols and recognized an arrow pointing in the upward direction. "Must be universal," he mused aloud. Mulder chose the symbol at the top of the list. If it was at the top it had to be good. The ride had lasted only a couple of minutes when Mulder began to feel uncomfortable. A green up arrow was still flashing and something was scrolling across a readout. He assumed that meant that everything was all right. A small bell chimed and the doors slid open. A cool breeze of night air blew through Mulder's bangs. Night smells accosted his nostrils as a smile spread across his lips. He stepped out onto the roof of the Imperial Palace. Mulder remembered seeing pictures of city scapes on postcards. Generally, the photos had been taken at night, while the lights were shining brightly from multilevelled skyscrapers. Even the largest of them didn't approach this place. As far as Mulder could see, from his considerable height, was city. Tall brightly lit buildings were everywhere. Atop many of the buildings were brightly lit advertisements...at least that was what Mulder thought they were. Ships could be seen flying here and there as people commuted from place to place. This city was busy. Mulder was so engrossed that he didn't notice the form which silently crept up to his side. "Couldn't sleep?" Luke asked, gazing out across the city. He often came up here to think. These signs of bustling life grounded him. The universe was a big place, but it was made up of just people. 'Just people' bustled all over Coruscant's Capital City. Mulder started at Luke's voice. He turned to see that Luke was leaning against the stone railing in much the same way he was. Mulder also noticed that Luke was no longer wearing his cloak, but a snug fitting black outfit and black knee boots. There was a long cylindrical object hanging from a utility belt 'a cape and he could definitely be a super hero, ' Mulder thought as he turned back toward the city's lights. "Probably a galactic case of jet-lag," Mulder said. "I haven't slept in..." Mulder glanced down at his watch calculating, it was just approaching midnight back home, "2 days," he finished. Luke laughed, "I know the feeling; seems like there's always something." "Yeah," Mulder agreed, distractedly. "I like it here," he said suddenly. "I've told Scully I want to stay and as you can probably guess she disagrees." Luke's brow furrowed momentarily. His head turned toward the night sky, obviously looking for something. Mulder's words faded away as he tried to figure what Luke was doing. Luke pulled his light saber from his utility belt, holding it in a guard position at his side. "Uh...excuse me," Mulder said, "mind filling me in?" he didn't like the looks of this. That cylindrical object that Luke had taken from his belt was beginning to look ominously like a weapon. He wondered how it worked. Did it shoot like or gun or did he just throw it? "There is an intruder in the palace," Luke said calmly. Mulder accepted that, but he did have a question. "How do you know that?" he was sure that a place like this would have plenty of guests. So, how could one person just know when someone was crashing. "I can feel it." Luke said suddenly running toward a door Mulder hadn't seen before. Mulder ran after him. Vol. one was: "Leave taking" (you can surely guess why) These vols. are rated PG, btw as are the first two, for anyone who cares. In the epilogue there will be more info as well as the order listing. Once again, the characters of Mulder, Scully, Skinner, CM (the General), and Mr. X (the passenger) all belong to CC and 1013/FOX. Luke and Leia, Han, Chewie the droids, the entire Galaxy in fact belongs to George Lucas and/or Lucasarts The Cestallians are mine but, they are leasing space in the Lucas Galaxy so... No copyright infringement is intended, no profit is gained, this was all for fun. So, relax. Enjoy. Additional Note: Those lovely little translators that you all now know Mulder, Scully, Rae and the children wear on their lapels, are always tracking. It's a small thing, but I didn't want to write it every time. Except where necessary, of course. And a word of gratitude to Calliesky for aiding and abetting and all around urging me onward. Thanks a plenty! :) Going Home Ben finally reached the point of origin of the signal. He had to admit surprise at the location. The Imperial Palace was an excellent place for what he needed to do. His father had taught him secrets about the palace...secrets that allowed one to enter undetected. He smiled and began his descent along the secret co-ordinates of Coruscant's electronic blind spot. This was almost going to be too easy. Leia Organa Solo sat bolt upright in bed. She'd gone home to sleep only after she had been convinced that Han was going to be fine. The doctors had promised that he'd be back on his feet in no time. In fact, by the time she had left he was already complaining about having to stay the night in the infirmary. But now, she looked around the room nervously. Something had awakened her. In the next instant she felt Luke's presence in the force. He was speaking to her, mind to mind. Contact the guards in the security bay, she heard. There is an intruder in the palace. Leia pushed back the covers and activated the hidden security panel beneath the surface of the night stand. She threw the switch that would open the communications feed to the chief guard on duty. "Security bay, please respond..." Benjamin Adams slipped into the rear of the Imperial Palace via a hidden entry panel. The General had implanted this information on his consciousness earlier. Ben now knew every secret entrance his father had known. The tunnel was dark and musty from obvious years of disuse. But glow rods still functioned along some of the walls nearer in to the central part of the palace. Ben crept stealthily along the meter wide corridors toward the uppermost landing bay. It was easy for Ben to understand the logic behind placing the Hinderer in that bay, it was simply the most easily secured landing bay in the palace. According to his father, it was where the Emperor's personal craft had been kept. The tunnel Ben was in ended suddenly. 'What?' he thought confused. There was not supposed to be a dead end here. This stretch of tunnel should have lead to the more elite living quarters. Perhaps the rebel scum that had taken the palace had found this particular section and closed it off. That was the most reasonable explanation. Ben banged his fist on the side of the wall in frustration as he back-tracked to find another route. Fox Mulder found himself in a dimly lit corridor, chasing the fleeting form of Luke Skywalker. Tubes hung high on the walls gave off faint blue light that reflected off his face as he ran. Always having had long legs, Mulder was used to slowing down for people. But, though he was a head taller than Luke, he was having considerable difficulty keeping up. He could hear himself loudly in the confines of the small space. Luke though, barely made any sound at all as he slid quickly and gracefully through the corridor. The corridor made a sharp 90 degree angle and Mulder lost sight of Luke altogether. Pushing harder, he picked up his pace. Mulder rounded the corner only to be greeted by another empty corridor. An eerie hum rose in the distance. Mulder pushed ahead. The sight that greeted him around the next corner stopped him dead in his tracks. The cylindrical object Luke had pulled from his belt was still in his hand, but a glowing blade now extended from one end of it. Luke quickly cut an arc in the wall of the corridor from as high as he could reach to the floor. He then cut another and a connector between the two. Mulder realized that he was cutting a doorway out of the wall. Luke made a movement with his hand and the blade closed down; disappearing back into its cylindrical container. With a side kick, he knocked the cut piece of the wall out into the brightly lit room beyond. Mulder stood frozen in his tracks. When Luke stepped through the new 'door', he followed. The room on the other side of the 'door' wasn't one that Mulder had been in before. It was a large room with bits of strange equipment stacked neatly. There was a shelf in one corner containing metal globes. Mulder was vaguely reminded of a gym. "My exercise room," Luke said answering Mulder's unspoken question. Mulder raised his brows at Luke's back. That wasn't the first time he'd done that. 'And they call me spooky, ' Mulder thought. Luke ran to a storage locker and pulled out a blaster and handed it to Mulder. It wasn't quite F.B.I. issue, but the principle was the same; just point and shoot. Mulder nodded and they were up and running again. Dana Scully woke suddenly. She listened to the silence of the dark, still room. Something propelled her out of the bed and into the common area. The lights were still on and Mulder's door was open and his room was empty. Scully stood before the door leading into the outer corridors of the guest wing, debating whether she should be worried. Mulder was a big boy and he often wandered off. But, something had woke her. She looked down at the long gown she wore. It brushed against her bare feet. She went back to her room and pulled on the knee boots. The gown was made of a heavy material and had long flowing sleeves. Dana felt that she could get away with it in the corridors. They didn't seem to believe in robes on this planet. Dana decided to go down to the medical bay and see how Han was. If she ran into Mulder along the way, then all the better. The door slid open as she stepped toward it. In the hallway a noise to her right caught her attention. She took an uncertain step in the direction of the sound, the medical bay was the opposite direction. Scully made up her mind, since trouble had a way of finding Mulder, she'd feel better if she checked it out. Ben was thoroughly frustrated. Someone had systematically been cutting off the entry panels from the tunnel passage. The tunnel he'd entered originally had been dusty and heavily populated by cobwebs. The tunnels he now followed were clear of cobwebs and the glow rods were new. There was no access to the upper landing bay by means of the tunnels. He'd have to find another way. Ben was glad he'd brought the lightsaber along. He unclipped it from his utility belt and cut a hole in the wall. According to his calculations, this wall should be near the lift in the guest wing. Ben figured that if he acted as if he belonged, there would be no problem. Done making the hole in the wall, Ben stuffed the lightsaber into a compartment in his boot and moved his blaster to the holster beneath his jacket. After straightening his clothing, Ben stepped through the hole and turned to inspect the damage. There was no way to conceal that. Ben felt it more prudent to evacuate the scene. Ben hurried around the corner in the direction of the upper level bay. Since it was the middle of the night Capital City time, he didn't expect to meet anyone on this level. That was why it was a complete shock when he all but ran into Dana Scully dressed in her night gown. The shock was mutual. Ben recovered first. "What are you doing here, Dana? I thought I was supposed to pick you up at your place," Ben asked, sounding as if genuinely curious. At first, Dana just gaped at the man. Then she blinked a slow blink of disbelief, taking in the outfit he wore. She saw the bulk in the side of one boot and wondered if he had a holster under that jacket. Dana opened her mouth as if to speak, then pointed vaguely back down the hall, taking a jerky step backwards. "Excuse me," he said and turned to go back to her room--for her gun. She wished she had been paranoid enough to bring it. The folds of her gown would have easily hidden it. Unfortunately though, she didn't get very far. Ben grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back. "Not so fast, little one," he said softly. "We've got work to do." Dana kicked back hard with the heel of one boot. When she felt Ben's grip loosen in surprise, she elbowed him in the belly. Ben stumbled back away from her as his breath went out in a whoosh. Dana spun to deliver another elbow blow to whatever part of his anatomy was closest. Before she was halfway through the spin though, Ben, in anger, delivered a force-blow that knocked her across the corridor into a very solid wall. Mulder followed Luke as they ran through the brightly lit corridors of the palace. Luke stopped running as the entrance to the security post came into view. The guards stood stationed as they should have been. The chief guard acknowledged Luke with a smart salute and gave Mulder a nod. He didn't seem at all surprised that Luke's saber was drawn, if not ignited, or that Mulder was carrying a blaster. "Evening, sir," the guard said. "There's been no activity all evening. Madame Organa Solo informed us to go to level red a few minutes ago." Luke nodded and peered into the bay at the ship that sat across the room, behind a force field. He knew it was a matter of time before the intruder showed up here. Why else would this Jedi be inside the palace? Something tickled in the back of Luke's mind. In an effort to find the source, he turned to the two guards and then to Mulder. The Agent stood against the wall, his expression still, as if he were thinking about something. Luke realized that this man was using the force and didn't even realize it. He was broadcasting all over the place. Luke could feel his sudden tension and it had nothing to do with their recent mad dash through secret passageways. Dana was in trouble. "This way," Luke said. They both felt it when Ben used the force on her. Ben heard running footsteps approaching his position. He had wanted to take the girl with him; the General would have loved that. But, he didn't have time for that now. He needed to get on with his mission. The lift was his best option. While they were busy with her, he'd get on with his other plans. Mulder saw a crumpled form lying on the floor in the distance, knowing instinctively who it was. He also knew there was a cross corridor up ahead separating him from Scully. He skidded to a stop on one side of the corridor, just as the soft hiss of the lift's doors being opened sounded. Mulder threw himself out into the corridor, blaster ready to get off a shot at whoever might or might not be standing there. Ben stood in the lift with his blaster trained on the cross corridor. Mulder froze in shock as he recognized Scully's would-be date. His mind vaguely registered a shadow crossing over his head. His momentary hesitation should have cost him his life. But, from nowhere, Luke was there in front of him, weapon up and ready. Ben's blaster bolts deflected harmlessly off the blade of Luke's lightsaber before the lift's doors closed. Mulder's head jerked momentarily in Luke's direction as he tried to come to terms with what his eyes were telling him. Aside from the fact that Luke had been behind him before, how had Luke done what he'd done with that sword of his? Mulder pushed the questions aside for now, Scully needed him. "Dana...," he called her name, gently cradling her face in his hands. Automatically he went through the emergency medical assessment that had been ingrained in him at the academy and because he'd watched Dana do it so often. To his relief, she was still breathing, if shallowly. And her color was pale and her skin clammy. Luke looked at them and back to the lift. The intruder would have to take a longer route to the security deck if he took that lift. Helping Dana was important and it should only take a minute. He clipped his lightsaber back to his utility belt and stepped over. Luke touched Mulder's shoulder. "Let me help her," he said softly. Mulder's eyes met his. Luke could feel the misery emanating from the man. Mulder sighed deeply and moved away to allow Luke access to his partner. Luke placed his hands on Dana's face and closed his eyes, reaching into the force. He focused on the damage and healed it. She would be fine. "She's sleeping now," he told Mulder. "Get her back to bed. I've got to stop this guy." "His name is Benjamin Adams," Mulder said, lifting Scully into his arms. "He was supposed to be her date last night." Mulder's bitterness was not lost on Luke. Luke blinked in amazement at what Mulder had just revealed. There was a lot more here than met the eye. Drawing his lightsaber once again, he ran off down the hall. Ben emerged from the lift on the operations level. The guest wing's lift wasn't programmed to stop there, but the General had provided him with override codes for all of the lifts. Ben used the force to project an image that the rest of the technicians would see as a trusted work mate. Once in the Ops control center, it was a small thing for him to deactivate all functional force fields in the upper landing bay. That done, he simply walked out the access door to the upper landing bay's catwalk. The catwalk extended between sub-bays a through E. Ben could see a Corellian freighter docked in sub-bay B along with a sleek luxury craft. The Hinderer sat beyond the freighter in bay a. It was necessary for Ben to descend to floor level to accomplish his mission. He covered the distance to sub-bay a with no trouble. Ben checked out the bay floor beneath him for guards. Sensing none, he threw himself into the air, somersaulted and landed noiselessly on the landing bay floor. When his feet touched the ground, he ran for the Hinderer's airlock. He knew his time was growing shorter; the Jedi Skywalker could be here any minute now. Ben didn't need to take care of him; his grandfather would be more than happy to take care of that particular piece of rebel scum...later. The Hinderer's airlock opened immediately to Ben's command input. The interior of the ship was dim, but the air smelled 'clean', as recycled air went. That meant life support was functioning normally. Ben quickly made his way toward the command center. He was happy to find the plasteel barrier still in place. Ben pushed at the intersection of rock and plasteel that formed a dimple, causing a control panel to appear. Quickly, he punched in the entry code. Life pods sat against the wall of the control room. Ben reached into a pocket and retrieved a small pouch. He then dumped the contents onto a table near the pods. Several crudely made bracelets clattered to the surface of the table. The stones strung along the pieces of string were not ordinary stone. They were carefully selected from an artifact, at a secret site on Earth. These rocks were the precise geological opposites of that of the Gates. It would cancel out the effects of the particles that were fused into the genetic structure of One's people. Ben didn't have all of the information, but he did know they had been banned from the Galaxy for some crime or another before the days of the Empire. The infusion of the particles had made it impossible for One and his people to function consciously in this Galaxy. The General had carefully hidden the secret of the rocks for a very long time. Ben wasn't about to share the secret with the little creatures in the pods, either. But, he did need their help right now. And there was no other way they could function consciously outside of the Infinity. Their knowledge would do them no good, anyway. There was no room in Ben's plan for them to live long enough to share the information with the rest of their kind. Ben began the stasis recovery process. The indicator flashed green; all was well. He placed a bracelet on the arm of each Jedi. The process would take several minutes, after which, they'd have several more minutes of disorientation. Several crucial minutes. Ben thought it best to activate the Karamac cruiser's automatic homing circuits and send it to the Milky Way auxillary base. That way he wouldn't have to risk another trip through the palace and back to his ship. Ben input the commands into the remote controller on his wrist. The readout indicated that the Karamac was responding and would be ready to make the hyperspace jump just after Hinderer. Leia Organa Solo hurried out of her quarters. It wouldn't do to show up in the security bay in her night gown and bare feet, so she'd slipped into a white ship suit she'd pilfered from Luke at some point in the past. As it was, her hair hung loose down her back. She drew in her breath sharply when she came face to face with Cestallia. Leia had to bite back the undiplomatic words that bubbled forth in her mind. When Cestallia's expression registered shock, Leia remembered that her race was telepathic. "Stay out of my head!" Leia exclaimed. Most civilized telepaths would not snoop on the thoughts of others. In her estimation, this only added to her distrust of the woman. Cestallia drew herself up. "I wasn't trying to get in your head as you put it," he said. "You felt those words so strongly, that you may as well have screamed them at me. You did direct them to me." Leia sighed, remembering that she had indeed directed the words to Cestallia in her mind. But, they hadn't been meant for her to hear. She apologized. "Look, Cestallia, I'm very sorry. I didn't mean for you to hear the words. It's just that I'm feeling very stressed at the moment." "Yes," Cestallia nodded comfortingly. "I feel the tension in the air. I came to ask if I could help. I thought I felt an...out of place presence nearby." "Help...?" Leia asked, confused. Cestallia pulled back the shawl to reveal her lightsaber. It was different from Luke and Leia's, which were purely utilitarian. Its handle was inlaid with precious stones, set in an odd geometric design. It was beautiful. "You're a Jedi?" Leia whispered in astonishment. "So they tell me," Cestallia nodded with a grin. Leia smiled back at her. Luke trusted this woman and there was an intruder in the palace. They could use an extra set of force sensitive eyes in the search. Leia was about to thank her and accept her offer, when Cestallia's expression changed to one of surprise and then horror. "What's wrong?" Leia asked, a feeling of fear wormed its way into her chest. Cestallia refocused on Leia, she'd come to a decision. "I'm really sorry to have to do this to you, my dear. You'll just have to forgive me later." With that, Cestallia waved an open hand before Leia's eyes and then closed it. Leia looked at her in confused expectancy for a few moments before she wilted to the floor in a dead faint. Cestallia's attention was diverted elsewhere before Leia had even hit the floor. After quickly searching the area with the force, Cestallia closed her eyes and clapped her hands sharply together. The soft tingle began in her hands and worked its way through her body. When she opened her eyes again, she was onboard the Hinderer. Luke Skywalker approached the upper level bay, where the Hinderer was currently docked, at a run. The security team was still in place. "Stay here!" Luke yelled as he passed them. "Yes sir!" the chief guard answered, not unaccustomed to strange behavior. The rest simply flattened themselves against the side of the guard station, out of Luke's path. The Hinderer sat in the middle of the bay. Luke crossed the distance in the blink of an eye. His memory delivered up the code Artoo had given them earlier. The doors slid open obediently as he punched the last key. Luke slipped quietly into the ship's dim confines and immediately felt a slight rumbling; the engines were being initialized. That bit of information did not surprise him as he could feel the presence of someone on the ship--someone who wasn't sleeping. Wait...was that two...no six people? Luke broke into a run. When Cestallia teleported onto the Hinderer, she was happy to find Ben's back to her as he worked at one of the control panels. She only had a few moments before he'd feel her presence. She was determined to make the best of it. The figure in the nearest life pod was beginning to stir. Cestallia thrust a hand out, drawing the bracelet from the creature's wrist with the force. She grasped it in her hand just as she was found out. Ben blinked in amazement at the gray-haired, gray-eyed woman standing before him. Where had she come from? He pulled his blaster to him from the side table with the force. He was firing it at her almost before she got her lightsaber up to block. "A Jedi, eh?" Ben drawled in an unfriendly tone. She would make a nice prize. In about a minute he'd have backup from the Jedi now stirring in their pods. They wouldn't be at full alertness of course, but combined they would be more than a match for this little lady. He was confident he could keep her busy until then. And of course, there was also the fact that the ships co-ordinates were already set. As soon as those engines were on-line, she would be along for the ride. Cestallia's eyes darted to the pods. Her worst fears were confirmed and then some. These little creatures were of the exiles she and Yoda had confined to the Infinity so many years ago. And they wore the Stones. How had they found them? They did not exist yet. Ben shot another wave of blaster fire in her direction. Cestallia easily caught and deflected it. Surely, he knew she could block his blaster fire from here to eternity and those Jedi would not be ready to function for another minute or two. What he didn't know was that the little creatures in the pods would recognize her...and panic. But Cestallia had to do something first. She had to reverse the process on the pod containing the Jedi who no longer wore the bracelet. It would mean a horrible death for the little creature if she didn't. Luke heard the sound of blaster fire coming from the direction of the plasteel barrier. The barrier was now half open. He could see Cestallia standing a few feet from the door with a lightsaber up and blocking blaster bolts. He flattened himself against the outside wall and tried to think of what to do. An idea came to him. The portion of the room that Luke could see contained various control panels and pieces of equipment all bolted to the plasteel floor. Luke needed a distraction; perhaps something he could throw. A hard edge of the rock walls jabbed at his back. His eyes brightened with inspiration before he turned to take a closer look at the rock walls. In one swift, easy motion, he drew back his lightsaber and cut a large chunk of the rock away. A loud screech of mortal pain rang through the air. The rock Luke had severed glowed red-hot. It hung in the air glowing in time to the screams of agony that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The sound grew in intensity, blocking even thought. Luke covered his ears with his hands, his idea forgotten. Cestallia cast around the control room frantically trying to figure out what had happened. Ben looked around, just as confused as she. He didn't know what was going on. Cestallia, however, knew that the little Jedi in the pod was dying. What she wasn't sure of was why. The process in the pod was not complete; she was sure of it. Then, she saw Luke in the corridor along with the broken chunk of rock that was now vibrating. She gasped. Luke squeezed his eyes tight, trying to block the sounds that seemed to assault him mentally and physically. His heart pounded and contracted at the sounds. Suddenly, something hit him from the side, propelling him down the corridor. Luke wasn't conscious to find out his destination. Ben saw the woman dash out of the door of the control room. He struggled to hit the button that would slam the plasteel barrier shut, but he couldn't find the strength. The horrible sounds were robbing him of his power. The last thing he remembered before the darkness was a green three-fingered hand pushing the button he couldn't. Fox Mulder stood watching his partner sleeping. She looked so peaceful, at ease. Her red hair stood out against the paleness of the sheets. His eyes drifted to the door. Now that he was sure Scully would be okay, he wanted to be out there, helping get the guy who had done this to her. He knew that she had looked forward to her date with that man. Her job with The X-Files allowed her little time to meet eligible men who weren't suspects. And now, Mulder felt sure, because she was his partner 'they' were now interfering in her personal life. He had to find out who had sent Benjamin Adams to Dana. Mulder picked up Luke's blaster and left the room. His eidetic memory guided him back to the Security bay. "Sir, you can't go in there," the guard told Mulder as he moved to pass. His body blocked Mulder's entry. "But Luke's in there," Mulder said. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Mulder stared back at the guard. He was prepared to face him down; pull his blaster if need be. The man that had hurt his partner was here, too. "I'm sorry, sir. You don't have authorization." The chief guard was firm. He'd already sized this skinny man up. He figured he could take him easily without hurting him if he had to. The situation resolved itself, however, when the airlock opened to release a loud screaming. Two figures launched from the Hinderer at speed, landing in a heap on the floor. The airlock slid closed, again blocking the sound. Mulder pushed past the guard and dashed into the bay. Not that Mulder hadn't been as stunned as the guard, but he'd half decided to dash past the guard in the first place. The guard was right behind him, calling for medical assistance. Mulder ran toward Luke, who was nearer the doorway, but Cestallia had reached a hand toward him. So he changed course and went to her side. She struggled to push a stone bracelet into his hand. Take care of it...until I ask, a soft voice whispered directly into his mind. Mulder nodded at the woman, allowing her to place the bracelet in his hand. He looked down at the coarse stones strung along a string. Suddenly, the Hinderer came to life. Her repulser lifts kicked in, pushing the ship gracefully into the air. Alarm klaxons went off all over the bay. Mulder saw that the guards had removed Luke from the bay floor and were carrying him out of the area. He turned to do the same with Cestallia. Only, she wasn't there. The spot that she'd occupied was empty. All he had was a bracelet of stone. {MW} Earth, North Carolina Mandy's shift was ending, and she wanted to check on Big Foot before she left. She didn't know as yet how she would save him, but she would think of something. Jacket and badge in hand, she made the trip to the insanity ward. On a hunch, she glanced into John Doe 1's room. It was empty, the bed was made up as if no one had ever been there. Vanished, like so many others. She could not let that happen to Big Foot. She had to get him out of here...if he wasn't already gone. Mandy ran, in a brief moment of panic, the distance to Big Foot's room. He was still there, gazing at the observation window before which she stood. He seemed to look directly at her. There was intelligence in his eyes. Mandy glanced sideways down the hall, suddenly mindful of the guard at the end of the hall. She couldn't just break the window; it was Plexiglas anyway. The locks on the doors were completely computerized. The only way in or out was with a computerized security key card. The doctors who administered the meds had them and always came in twos, in case the patient needed subduing. The guards could also enter, but only under extreme circumstances. Mandy's badge would only open the outer door to this corridor so that she could deliver food. Mandy wished she could talk to Big Foot. Maybe she could convince him to play sick or something, like they did on television. But, as things stood, she would be lucky if she could convince him to blink. "I don't think we're going to find anything here." Mr. X. said staring over the sooty ruins of Acme Industrials. "I think you're right," Skinner said, cutting the power to his flashlight. Whatever someone had wanted to destroy in this fire was indeed destroyed. Skinner and his passenger had been combing the ruins for more than two hours and had found nothing. "Well, do you have any more bright ideas?" the bearded man asked, glaring in Skinner's direction. His once immaculate attire was now sooty. "Yeah, one," Skinner said, as he turned toward the car, happy he'd worn sweats. It was a small victory. But, he took what he could get. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport Walter Skinner pulled the green rental car into short term parking. If Rae had followed his directions this shouldn't be too much trouble. He withdrew a number from memory: CYA-1497. It was Rae's license plate number on a green Dodge Shadow. He decided to began on the top level. His sister had always liked to park on the top level. Who knew, maybe it was a female thing. It wasn't. He'd done the circuit twice. Skinner directed the car to the third level of the four level parking deck. The third floor appeared to be the charm. The green Shadow sat near the end of the row, at a distance from the elevators. Skinner pulled the rental car into the, now empty, space beside the Shadow. Skinner's passenger had said nothing during the drive to the airport. He had simply glared out of the windshield. But now, he looked on with interest. Skinner reached into his sweatshirt pocket and pulled out a handy tool. Statistics said that the Dodge Shadow was the easiest car on the market to break in to. Skinner, just hoped no one saw. This was deviant behavior and could land him in jail. He didn't think he could count on his passenger to even stick around in that event, much less back his story of lost keys up. "Do you mind playing look out?" Skinner asked his passenger. The bearded man got out of the car wordlessly and stood looking around the deserted deck as his companion broke into the Dodge. After Skinner had gotten the door open. He briefly considered letting the man search his daughter's car. But, he couldn't bring himself to trust him that far. The interior light came on, exposing the cars shadowy interior. Skinner looked in the glove compartment and ashtray. Nothing unusual there. He ran a hand beneath both seats to see if he could find anything that might give a hint to where Rae and his agents had gone. His hand came across something under the passenger seat, two cylindrical objects. He pulled them out. One was chapstick, the other was...strange. It was a metallic cylinder, that looked vaguely familiar. He held it up and asked his companion if he knew what it was. The bearded man seemed to pause for a brief instant in time before he answered. "No, no idea," he said and went back to his scanning of the garage. Skinner dropped the object in his sweat suit pocket. He was missing something here... He found nothing else of interest in the car. Since Rae's car was still here at the airport, the three of them must have taken a rental. The question was: Which company and in whose name had they rented? He turned to his bearded friend. It was time for him to be more useful. {Gffa} Coruscant, Imperial Palace. Leia Organa Solo woke to find herself lying on the floor outside her rooms. She sat up, expecting to feel woozy or at least have a headache. Instead, she felt as if she'd just had a good night's sleep. She pushed herself to her feet and tried to figure out how she'd ended up on the floor. The last thing she remembered was Cestallia's hand doing something in front of her face. Leia's features tightened, she knew there was something about that woman that she didn't trust. But, there was no time to ponder it now. She had to get to the security bay. Halfway there, alarm klaxon's began to go off. Leia broke into a full run. The sight that greeted her both stunned and terrified her. The Hinderer was lifting into the night sky; headed for deep space by the looks of it. And the chief of security was fast approaching the guard station with a black-clad figure tossed over his shoulder. A figure Leia recognized as Luke. His lightsaber was on the floor of the bay, deactivated. As she rushed toward her brother, she saw Mulder pick the saber up while running from the chaotic bay, which now had security troops scrambling about, shouting orders. A small squad of fighters and a troop carrier were being scrambled to pursue the retreating ship. Trouble was, the Hinderer, once in space, would become invisible to electronic scanning. And, visual tracking was iffy at best, even without the extensive collection of space junk that still plagued Coruscant's upper atmosphere. The chief guard set Luke down with his back against the guard station desk. Luke's head slumped as another of the guard supported his back, allowing him to be eased flat onto the floor. Someone had called for a medic. Leia knelt next to her brother. She took one of his hands in hers and brushed her sense against his. She got no response; almost as if his mind had simply shut down. Her worry deepened. "What happened?" she asked looking up at the chief guard. Mulder knelt at Luke's other side. The guard shook his head, "I don't know. A few minutes ago, Skywalker came running by. He ordered us to stay here and we did. Then after a bit, he showed up," the guard pointed at Mulder, "And then the airlock on that ship opened up and out came Skywalker. I think he must have been out before he hit the floor." Mulder looked sharply in the chief guard's direction. The guard glanced back at him curiously. Leia caught the exchange. "You didn't see anything else?" Leia asked, addressing the guard. The guard shook his head. Leia sensed no deception from him. He'd been with the palace guard a very long time and she trusted him, but Mulder obviously had something on his mind. Leia didn't get the chance to ask what it was, however, because at that point the medics arrived, hover bed in tow. She gently released her brother's hand and moved away, so that the medics could lower the hover bed beside him. When she stood, Mulder handed Luke's lightsaber over to her. She clipped it to her waist, along side her blaster. Mulder then looked at the blaster he still held and handed that over, too. It was Luke's, anyway. Leia clipped that one to her waist also. Mulder wished he'd worn his own shoulder holster over his clothing. It seemed that no one was bothering to carry concealed. "Keep your post," Leia told the guard, kindly. He gave her a small smile and a brief salute before returning to his post. Leia glanced briefly at Mulder before she started up the corridor. Mulder fell into step beside her. "What was that all about?" Leia asked as they walked, a few yards behind the medteam with the hover bed. "Madame Organa Solo," he started as he'd heard others call her. "Leia," she corrected him. "Leia," he began again, "Cestallia was with Luke when he came out of that ship. I don't understand why the guard didn't see her." Leia came to a full stop in the hallway and turned toward Mulder. "She was on the ship?" she asked in disbelief. "Yes." Mulder nodded emphatically. "She went down, just like Luke." Mulder held onto the knowledge about the bracelet, though. He wasn't sure why but he just felt an urge to keep quiet about it. "Come with me," Leia said as she hurried, not after the hover bed that had turned a corner up ahead, but toward guest quarters. She came to a stop outside Cestallia's rooms. Leia rang the door chime. No one answered. Knowing that diplomacy would not allow her to invade Cestallia's personal space, Leia turned to Mulder, "You said she went down?" "Yeah, I know this sounds crazy, but, she was on the floor right in front of me one minute and the next she was gone. She looked right at me." "Not so strange as you might think," Leia murmured, running a hand over her forehead, thinking. If Cestallia had been conscious enough to get herself out of the bay, then she probably wasn't hurt. She was, after all, a Jedi. Besides, someday the Cestallians might want to join the New Republic. In which case, insulting one of their representatives by barging into her quarters unannounced might not be such a good idea. So she'd announce herself. Leia reached out with the force, feeling for the woman's mind. It wore the stillness of a deep sleep, not unlike Luke's complete inactivity. She wouldn't be able to get much out of the woman in that state. "Let's just go see Luke," she sighed. She'd deal with Cestallia later. The chief guard's smile had faded away to grim determination as soon as Leia had turned away. Someone had stolen into the security bay, while he'd been guarding it. No one unauthorized had passed his station. That someone must have gotten in some other way. And he meant to find out how. "I need the security monitor video files for every possible access way to this bay for the last 2 hours. And I want it like yesterday," the chief guard said gruffly to his younger companion. The younger guard saluted smartly and went to attend to the task. Cestallia Arric sat silently in his sleeping chambers, gazing at the stars that penetrated the atmospheric haze in the upper atmosphere. He was remembering his life; the highs and lows. Most of all, the high point of being Chief Intermediary to Cestallia, the Matriarch. The moons glimmered in the distance as they followed their course across the night sky. It was a full crossing, this night; all three moons were full. A full crossing occurred every 35 days, ten times a year. This would be Arric's last full crossing. Cestallia had already chosen her successor and tonight, her successor had chosen her own Intermediary. No Intermediary ever lived on for long after his Matriarch died. Arric had had a full and rich life to contemplate as he awaited the Time. A Matriarch knew the time of her own death, if not the circumstances; an Intermediary simply waited for it. Arric knew that he was truly no longer Intermediary. He also knew that Cestallia would never return home, to Cestallia. That, in itself, was a great sacrifice. But, until the crossing passed with the rising of the suns, he would remain at his post. Arric got up from his lounger and stepped out onto his balcony. The night air was cool and ruffled his robes. All of Central City was sleeping. There was no artificial light to be seen, only the reflection of the moons on the pools of water beneath the falls. Arric allowed his thoughts to wander to the children. Tomorrow would be a big day for them. They had been allowed one day to become used to their surroundings before the difficult task of removing the cylinders began. He wondered too, if Luke Skywalker knew what great honor he held to travel with the Matriarch on her last journey, that duty generally fell to the Intermediary. But Arric was not bitter. Cestallia had her reasons; good ones he was sure. Skywalker would become her temporary Intermediary; he would witness her passing in Arric's place. Arric's eyes drifted to the Big Fall Landing Port, where Luke Skywalker had docked his ship earlier that very day and where his Matriarch had last touched foot on Cestallia. A strange sight greeted him. A ship hovered near the top of the big fall; a ship that was barely visible. Arric gathered his staff and headed for the door. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. The bedroom was dim. The young woman sat up slowly in bed. Someone had called her. She turned her head slowly toward the window. Night light cast shadows over the furnishings. In the back of her mind she knew where she was and why she was here. She also knew who was calling her--had called her before. She got up from the bed as she was told. Moving silently through the room, she gathered her clothing and quickly dressed. When she reached the central room, the children were already there. "Come along, children," he said as she reached a hand out to them. They all drew near to her. The huddled group looked up to the ceiling as if listening. Then, they all walked out onto the balcony. The outer door to the childrens' chamber slid open. Arric rushed into the room, his staff raised. He saw the group on the balcony bathed in brilliant light. The young woman turned her head in his direction. A slight smile spread across her lips that made no effort to touch her eyes, and then she turned back toward the light. Arric ran out to get the children back. He wondered at how this ship had penetrated the barrier? Nothing foreign could penetrate Cestallia's planetary barrier undetected. A brief thought shot through his mind: Could this ship be of Cestallia, truly Cestallian? Not possible. His mind rejected that thought. When Arric reached the edge of the light, a force more brilliant than the light hit his mind. A painful wave of emotions and images flooded his mental perception, blanking his mind, his thoughts. Arric was thrown clear as though by a physical blow. He woke later, screaming. {MW} Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday. Asst. Director Walter Skinner sat behind the wheel of his rental car. His passenger stood outside, leaning against the passenger door of the car, making a phone call. Skinner watched the horizon. Though it was still dark, he could tell that the sun would be rising soon. And his agents were still missing. This assignment should have been easy. But, with agent Mulder involved was anything ever easy? Skinner turned the key to turn on the radio. Listening to the low murmur of his passenger's conversation wasn't getting him anywhere. "...our top story this morning. The missing and feared abducted Mr. Mike Ashton was found late last night wandering near an industrial park. Mr. Ashton was disoriented and has at this time no memory of what happened to him over the past 48 hours. Ms. Theraesa Manning is still at large and wanted for questioning..." Skinner started the car. Coruscant The Sun was rising over Capitol City when the chief guard finished his security investigation. He'd downloaded it all to a data crystal. Now, he sat across from the Director of the Guard, who was staring intently at the information his man had gathered. When the holo-imager faded and the scene on the chip played itself out, the Director sat back in his chair. "You've done very well," the Director said. "Intelligence was working from the viewpoint that some sort of slave system had been activated, especially in light of the fact that another ship departed into hyperspace right after it. We still don't know why we didn't pick it up before that time." "Could it have had stealth circuits, sir?" the guard asked. "It's strange, but Intelligence doesn't believe so. The vector the ship followed indicates that it was on the surface of Coruscant, right here in Capitol City." A chime rang at the Director's door. He'd put in a call to the Internal Security Council as soon as his guard had told him what he'd found. He pressed the button on his desk to tell his assistant to allow the Security representative entry. He hid his shock very well when Mon Mothma, herself, stepped through the doorway. For Han Solo the first order of business after leaving the infirmary was to get the Falcon prepped to go after Chewie. This business about not being able to *find* A planet made no sense to him. He'd sent the co-ordinates in his message to Leia. He couldn't imagine what more they needed, he'd practically drawn them a map. When Han reached the bay, there was a balding orange-haired man standing beneath his ship. He was fiddling with the Falcon's landing pods. Han strode over to the man and tapped him on a thin shoulder. "Uh, excuse me," Han said, injecting the maximum amount of sarcasm. "Need some help?" The man turned distractedly toward Han. Han noticed that the man was younger than he had at first thought. "Oh, you must be Han Solo," the man said. "I'm Gien Becter, I'm one of the scientists assigned to examining the data from your ship," he said, distractedly, before turning his attention back toward the Falcon's landing pods. Han now found himself glaring at the man's back. "Well, stay out of my way," he said to the back of Becter's head, "I've got work to do." With that he stalked up the entry ramp and into the ship. Becter barely noticed Han's words, so engrossed was he in what he'd found in the grooves within the landing pods. He placed another sample into the portable analyzer to be sure of his findings. It was true. He let out an uncontainable whoop of glee. A second later, Han rushed down the ramp to see what had happened to the odd little man under his ship. "What the--" he said upon reaching the bottom of the ramp. The man was hugging himself. When Becter saw Han, he immediately trotted over to him, waving his portable analyzer in the air. The frazzled orange hair that curled around the back of his head along with pale skin, gave him the look of a somewhat colorless clown. Han took in the man's shaking hands and glassy eyes and wondered what sort of interesting drug he might have gotten into in the past few minutes. "Solo! Solo!" he exclaimed. "You've got to look at this," he said, holding the instrument before Han. Han looked dubiously at the man and then down at the instrument's readout display. It looked like a bunch of gibberish as best as he could make out. "What? Is it broken?" Han asked, confused. "No, no, no," Becter said," look," unable to contain a goofy grin. Han looked back at the readout display reluctantly. It didn't make any more sense than it had the first time around. He looked back into Becter's expectant face. Sarcasm mode on. "Now it makes so much more sense. Do you mind translating into plain Basic? I don't have time to play guess the symbol." Becter frowned, miffed at Han's attitude. He depressed a button and an indicator began to step through a testing mode. Then, a little chamber snapped open. Barely discernible granules of a black substance sat within the chamber. "I found residue on your landing pods," Becter began, "that would have come from your most recent planetside landing, which had to have been the planet Earth, since your maintenance record shows that the pods were cleaned prior to your departure. I've found some...irregularities that are at odds with a few accepted galactic rules of physics." "What!?" Han asked, growing even more irritated. Was there a conspiracy keeping him from trying to get Chewie back? First Luke and his 'conference' with some woman from some planet...Cestallia or wherever, and then the scientists suddenly forgetting how to follow simple co-ordinates and now some idiot telling him that he was 'at odds' with accepted galactic rules of physics. They would probably want to impound his ship, the way things were going. "I don't have time for this," he muttered, shaking his head as he headed back toward the Falcon's ramp. When he'd left everything was nice and normal, as far as it went. No one was having trouble following simple co-ordinates or ranting about galactic rules being broken. Han decided that the goal of the moment was to get back to Earth to rescue Chewie. The Galaxy would do just fine without his help. "Wait, Mr. Solo, hear me out," Becter said. His voice was steadier and carried a seriousness and professional demeanor that gave Han pause. He turned and waited for the man to say something that might convince him that what he had found should matter one bit in the scheme of things. Becter took a few steps closer before he began to speak. "Until this moment intergalactic travel was thought to be impractical because of the great distances involved, that and superstition. From the rim, it would take 41 light years just to reach the nearest Galaxy. But, what I found on your ship begs to differ. You see, every particle in this Galaxy has a certain signature, a galactic...tone, if you will. Every single particle has it. And this tone cannot be changed. It's been tried. The residue we found on your ship has a different signature--much different. There is absolutely NO WAY," Becter pointed to the analyzer's collection tray, "this dirt is of our Galaxy." Han stood and looked at the man, measuring what he'd said. "Have you told anyone else about this?" he asked. Becter's expression changed to one of uncertainty. "Well...no. I'm a Jr. on the team and this was just a hunch. We don't normally run the galactic tone scan because it didn't seem reasonable since you were only gone for a day. What actually led me to do the test was the trace molecular distortion on the hull. It hasn't affected the integrity, but it was a bit strange. Besides, the team's results have already been transmitted to Madame Organa Solo." "And they are..." Han prompted. There was always the hope that they'd make more sense than what this young man had come up with. Becter shrugged, "Faulty nav system. Temporary localized spacial disturbances. Operator error--" "Okay, I get the picture," Han said, sighing. The exit ramp of the Falcon began to rise as he activated a remote lock down switch. Turning to Becter with a grimace of half resignation and half curiosity, Han said, "Not that I believe any of what you just said but if there's one thing I learned from Luke Skywalker it's that he can sometimes make sense of the most ridiculous things. Come on, I think he and Leia should hear this." Leia turned cool eyes on Cestallia. She was giving the woman a private audience only because Luke had requested it. Leia would have preferred bringing her before the Council. That morning when Luke had awakened in the infirmary, he hadn't had any answers for Leia on what had happened to him. He'd assured her that he felt fine and requested a private audience for Cestallia. Now it was Leia's turn, she had a few questions of her own before she listened to what Cestallia had to say. "How are you feeling this morning?" Leia asked. "Fox Mulder tells me that you had some difficulty last night after you left me." Cestallia returned Leia's look with a smile. "You and I," he said, "we should be allies. We have a common foe." Leia carefully concealed the fact that she was pondering over Cestallia's statement by taking a sip of her morning beverage. She decided not to become side tracked by the obvious question just now. "What happened to Luke last night?" Leia asked point blank. "And how did you get on that ship? And what did you do to me?" Luke looked up in surprise. He hadn't known that something had happened to his sister. He turned a curious eye on Cestallia. Leia's question was now his. Cestallia sat back in her seat, watching the both of them. "The dark Jedi were waking and I had to prevent that." Leia's eyes widened slightly. In her worry over Han and Luke and Chewie and the loss of the Hinderer, she'd actually forgotten that the Jedi were there. "And did you prevent it?" she asked, carefully concealing her thoughts. "No," Cestallia replied, eyes down cast. "I didn't." Luke knew that. He'd felt them waking as he'd entered the ship. Their very presences stained the force near them. Leia should have been able to feel them, too, not as strongly as he, but still...unless...? What happened? he asked his sister, silently. Leia allowed him to see what she remembered. Since mental communication was so much faster than verbal all this happened in the space of a second. "What did you do to Leia?" he asked Cestallia. He had never seen that move that she'd done with her hand. And he didn't particularly care for the fact that she'd done it to his sister. "It was for her own protection," Cestallia said, still calm, but Luke sensed a slight defensiveness. "I appreciate your concern for my well being," Leia said, diplomatically. "But there's still the question of why. And what you felt it necessary to protect me from. Not to mention how you got on the ship and what happened to you and Luke." "We don't have time for this," Cestallia said to Luke with a pleading tone. Turning to Leia, she added, "Every minute we waste is more to their advantage. There are things you need to know, Madame, and you need to know them now." Leia glanced at Luke, gauging his reaction. He raised a brow at her. The decision was hers, but, what harm would it do to hear the woman out? Leia was concerned about Cestallia's warnings, but she couldn't give up on finding out what had happened so easily. "If I hear you out, will you answer my questions?" Leia asked, enjoying the upper hand. "One condition," Cestallia said. Leia hesitated before answering, "What is it?" Cestallia wore a ghost of smile. "There is a cylinder, you found it in the palace. When this mission is over, I want it. No questions." Leia paused completely. What was so important about that cylinder? She thought back, it had made Luke's mind strange. Whatever happened on that ship had made his mind strange, as well, in a different way perhaps, but she felt sure that they were related. Her decision was which was more important, knowing what had happened to Luke or holding on to that cylinder in hope of gaining some deeper knowledge. "Why don't we let you know?" Luke answered after a few silent seconds. His knowledge of the cylinders was admittedly slim, but this was probably the only one on the planet. And he meant to keep it, for now. Leia let it rest. "All right, then," he said. "What is it that I need to know?" Cestallia began her story. Dana Scully eyed herself in the full length mirror that, she discovered, appeared on the wall next to the closet when she pressed the knob. The house keeper droid had been in minutes before and braided her hair in a wreath around her head. She hadn't been able to style it like she would have at home, but the braids were nice. The outfit she wore, on the other hand would not have been her choice, but it was better than the previous nights. She wore tights again, but this time with a tunic that reached to mid-thigh. The black knee boots rounded out the outfit. "The fashion police would have a field day in this place," he said to her reflection, wishing for her overcoat to cover the whole thing up. But, she'd left it on the ship. Giving up on any hope of improving, she walked out of her room into the main room of the suite. Mulder was already there, dozing on the sofa. Rae stepped out of her room, which was across from Scully's. "Nice outfit," Rae said, looking down at her own green tunic and tights outfit. Scully looked over Rae's outfit. "At least they're different colors," he said. "We could have been twins." "Good point," Rae said, stepping more fully into the room. She caught sight of Mulder asleep on the sofa and shook her head. "Does he have something against beds?" she asked. "It's not like there's a television or anything." Scully thought of all of Mulder's paranoia's with a wry smile. "Probably." "Do you know what the real bummer in this is?" Rae asked, continuing. "No, what?" Scully asked. "No toons," Rae lamented, "no X-men, no Animaniacs, no Pinky and the Brain--" "No Power Rangers?" Scully put in. "Uay! Que horrible!" Rae said, faking a Spanish accent, "the fate worse than death..." "Oh, you mean the Power Rangers movie?" Mulder asked, now pulling himself into a sitting position. Rae laughed. "What are we going to do tomorrow, Brain," he said, out of the blue. "Same thing we always do, Pinky...Try to take over the world!" Mulder said, adding a deep seriousness to his voice, before falling back on the sofa laughing. Scully rolled her eyes and left them to their reminiscing to see if she could remember how to operate the kitchen. Leia had listened to Cestallia's fascinating story about the children and the Gates. She was as amazed...and as confused as Luke had been. There were a lot of things that she didn't understand, but Cestallia kept saying that it was ancient knowledge that must stay that way. "So do you think someone is building up an army of Jedi children?" Leia asked. "That was the old motive," Cestallia said, "but now, I cannot be sure." Leia nodded. She was just opening her mouth for the next question when the door chime rang. The droids had been sent down to Luke's chambers because Cestallia would not talk with them around. Leia had to reassure her several times that her personal quarters were swept electronically quite often for eavesdropping devices. But, since there was no one else to get the door that she'd sealed, she got up to do it. "Excuse me," he said. "Leia and Luke, good," Mon Mothma was saying when she walked into the living room, a tall rather long headed man followed. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw Cestallia. "Oh, good morning," he said politely. Leia introduced them. Mon Mothma turned to Leia, "There is information on the incident that took place early this morning..." She allowed her words to trail off, so that Leia could understand that this was an internal matter -- not for the ears of visiting off-worlders. Luke was the one who spoke up in defense. "Mon Mothma, if you'll pardon me, Cestallia's people are aware of ships much like the Hinderer. They used to build them, many years ago. If anything the technology was stolen from them. I think she should be allowed to listen in to whatever we've come up with." "Very well," Mon Mothma said. She trusted Luke almost as much as Leia. If he'd wanted a government post he might easily have gotten one. His judgment was good and he was sincere. "Director Mricos informed Security of this data crystal." Mon Mothma said, holding the device up for all to see. "I believe it speaks for itself." She placed the crystal into the holo-imager in the center of the table that sat before the sofa. An image faded into view of a man walking through the Operations room. The fact that he stood out and was so obviously armed did not matter to the operators. No one seemed to find him out of the ordinary, a few even smiled at him. He worked at a panel for a few moments and then continued out of Ops. onto the security bay catwalk. "This is the intruder from the guest wing," Luke spoke up. "He has the power of the force, but I didn't sense that he was dark." Mon Mothma frowned at Luke's words. She'd seen the report of the incident in the guest wing. But, she hadn't known that the man had used the force. The Earth man, Mulder, had reported that the man was also from Earth. She hoped that Earth was not going to be a problem. A delegation might be in order, when they found it, of course. The imager went on to show the hole in the wall near the lift that led to the inner passageways. A readout indicated that most likely the instrument used to cut into the wall had been a laser of some kind, because of the singed edges. There was also a record of the computer glitch, that operations actually caught later, that allowed the guest lift to stop on the Ops level. "This glitch," Mricos spoke for the first time, since his morning greeting to everyone. "was intentionally introduced into the system. We believe that someone used an override code to stop that lift." Luke thought again of how bad an idea he thought it was to locate New Republic headquarters here. The crystal continued on, playing the footage of a much smaller ship, just before it jumped into hyperspace, presumably behind the now, electronically and otherwise, invisible Hinderer. This new ship was a dark triangular design and unfamiliar to all persons present. The holo-image faded away as the crystal reached the end of its run. Just at that moment, the doors of the suite swished open to admit Han Solo followed by a orange-haired New Republic scientist. Silence fell in the room as all eyes fell on the pair. "All right," Han said, pushing Becter forward. "Tell 'em what you told me." Becter cleared his throat, suddenly nervous in front of an audience. Especially one containing the Minister of State. "Earth is in another Galaxy," he said simply. "What?!" said Luke, Leia, Mon Mothma, Director Mricos and Cestallia. "My sentiments exactly," murmured Han. Then he pointed at Becter, "He says he found *dirt* that doesn't belong to this Galaxy on the Falcon's landing pods." All heads had turned to Han when he began speaking. Now they all turned back to Becter. "Dirt?" said Luke and Leia. Mon Mothma simply took it all in, hoping that someone was going to explain this soon. Mricos' thin brows rose several inches. And Cestallia thought busily to herself. Something did not quite fit here. Han stood back and grinned. This wasn't even making a flicker of sense to Luke, either. "I'd be more than happy to bring you some more *dirt* from Earth, when I go get Chewie. Then you can test all you want." "Actually, there is one test we can do for clarification. It'll let us know for sure if my theory is correct," Becter said. "How's that?" Luke asked. "The Earth people, we need to examine them." Scully was busy pondering over the completely unfamiliar menu of the kitchen droid and trying to explain to it what toast and coffee was when the door chimed. More than ready for a break, she went to see who'd arrived. The door slid open to reveal Han Solo followed by the frazzle-haired scientist, as well as Mon Mothma and Leia, Luke and Cestallia and Director Mricos. They all strode single file into the suite. Scully didn't catch what Han had said when they'd first entered the room, but she did notice the tension in the room. "Good morning?" she asked, stepping to one side of Mulder and Rae. "Pardon me," Mon Mothma said, stepping forward. "My name is Mon Mothma. And I'd, first of all, like to welcome you to Coruscant." "Thank you," Mulder, Scully and Rae all responded politely. "The gentleman near the door," Mon Mothma continued, "is Director Mricos of the New Republic Guard. This man," she gestured toward Becter now by her side, "is Gien Becter. He is one of the scientists involved in finding out just where Earth is. Everyone else, I believe you already know. Mr. Becter has a request to make of you, but before you make your decision, please hear his reasons." Mon Mothma stepped to the side allowing Becter to begin. "Yes, first of all, are you all aware of the particles that make up all things?" he waited while the translators tracked his words. "Yes," Mulder, Scully and Rae nodded. "Good," Becter continued. "Well, each particle has a certain signature. This signature is usually in the form of a subatomicly emanating quantum resonance frequency." The translator was having a difficult time with Becter's last sentence. An unusually long string of words were emitted to represent 'subatomicly emanating quantum resonance frequency'. Han waited in growing irritation for the translator to finish its phrase. At Mulder, Scully and Rae's looks of growing confusion, he knew his suspicions were confirmed. They didn't have a clue as to what Becter was talking about...and possibly neither did the translator. "We don't have time for this," Han interjected over the translator's continuing attempt at deciphering Becter's sentence. "What he's trying to say it this: He thinks the Earth is in another Galaxy. And he wants to check you out to see if he's right." The translator had no problem with Han's choice of words. But his listeners did. "Come again," Scully asked dazedly. Wasn't it really bad enough to be on another planet? Mulder stood with a blank expression for a half a second before a grin began to spread across his face. Rae simply sat down. Han's head was beginning to ache. "The scientist found some dirt on the Falcon, and it ain't from around here. He wants to check you out to see if you're from the same place the dirt is from." "What kind of test is it?" Scully asked. "It'll only take a few minutes," Becter answered. "All I need is a piece of hair or some sort of cellular tissue." "All right," Scully said, looking around the room, "I'll do it." Everyone sat on the semi-circular sofa in the common room of the suite Scully, Mulder and Rae shared. Mricos had left to attend to the duties of the day, since his services were no longer required. He left the data crystal with Mon Mothma. "There's something I don't understand," Han said while they waited for the analyzer to complete its analysis. Living, or once living in the case of Scully's tissue sample, took a bit longer than simple inorganics, such as ordinary dirt, to process. "What was wrong with the co-ordinates I gave you? I used them myself and they worked just fine." "We tried that," Becter said. "A scout from a station not too far distant from your co-ordinates was dispatched. They found nothing except empty space. There is simply nothing there." "What about Artoo? His sensors must have picked up something." "The information contained in his logs are inconclusive, just like the Falcon's logs. According to his and the Falcon's records, when you reached that point there was an electronic glitch and the next coherent record is of your ship 1000 kilometers out from a planet, co-ordinates unknown. The fact that the Artoo unit's glitch and the Falcon's glitch both occurred simultaneously indicates that there must have been some outside phenomena." "Outside phenomena...yeah," Han said thoughtfully. "There was this... big...bright...vortex," Han finished, struggling for words to describe what he'd seen. "It only lasted for, maybe, a second." Becter's instrument beeped. He busied himself with the readout, continuing to speak. "I've concluded that it may have been a strange naturally occurring magnetic phenomena that conditions happened to be right for. A very rare phenomena, I might add. Your description seems to affirm that hypothesis." "So how do you explain the trip back?" Han asked, not yet done with his questions. Becter shrugged, "The phenomena was still active on some level. Perhaps, since the Falcon had passed through it once before, it made a return trip." "I don't buy that," Han said. Becter continued to examine his results. The raised brows clearly said that it didn't matter what Han bought. A wry smile of half triumph was spread across his face when he held the results up. "Positive match." "So we are in another Galaxy?" Mulder inquired. "Yes," Becter nodded. Mulder glanced quickly in Scully's direction before he asked his next question. "And you think this phenomena or whatever got us here isn't going to happen again?" "I'm afraid not," Becter said, packing the analyzer away in one of the many pockets within his lab coat. "I disagree," Mulder stunned everyone by saying. From Han it was expected. But, no one, not even Scully, was prepared for Mulder to speak up with a logical reason for his conclusion. "I think the phenomena will occur again. And I think it will soon. Remember, we are not the only one's here from Earth." Mulder thought it best not to bring up Scully's attack before the group, he knew how she hated being portrayed as a victim. Luke nodded glancing at Cestallia, she was being very quiet. "I think we should replay the security recording for them," he said to Mon Mothma. The holo-imager came to life, showing Benjamin Adams walking calmly through the Ops center and out onto the bay catwalk. The imager then went on to show some of the damage he was suspected to have done. Scully wrapped her arms around herself as she recognized the man. It chilled her that she'd actually been attracted to him. And the dream she'd had last night...along with Mulder's words that they weren't the only one's there from Earth gave her an eerie feeling. Something held her back from asking Mulder how he knew Ben was there. "I have a question," Mulder spoke up. "This man isn't dressed like anyone else in the room," he began, gesturing toward the holo-image. "Why doesn't someone ask him what he's doing there? He's obviously a stranger." Luke answered that question, "It seems that he was using a Jedi mind trick. He gave off the illusion of being a trusted workmate and so no one questioned his presence." Dana Scully's expression changed subtly as she looked intently at Mulder waiting for him to ask the obvious question. But he didn't. He simply nodded his head as if adding it to a list of acceptable possibilities. Dana, however had to ask that one, "Excuse me, Jedi *mind* trick? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that particular type of criminal behavior." Leia spoke up from her end of the sofa, carefully hiding a smile. "The Jedi are able to exercise extraordinary powers through the force. And not all Jedi are criminals. Luke is a Jedi Knight." Scully's eyes went unbidden to Luke. He certainly had an aura about him. But, she wasn't ready to chalk it up to some extraordinary ability to use some 'force'. "And this is normal on this planet?" she asked. "The force is everywhere," Luke said, "in everything, in every part of the universe. Where there is life, there is the force." "Oh," Scully said, closing her mouth. She didn't want to offend them by saying what was on her mind. She simply raised a brow and sat back in her seat. Mulder would be right at home here. Luke didn't try to convince her further. She obviously didn't know of her partners potential powers, either. But, some on her world must have known of the force. How else would Benjamin Adams have learned to wield it so well? The holo-image faded to a starfield as a small ship came into view. Mulder could not believe what he was seeing. "Is this one of yours?" he asked breathlessly, pointing to the ship that a moment later vanished into hyperspace, leaving only an empty starfield behind. "No," Luke answered. "We've never seen anything like it. We think it was hiding on the planet some place until the Hinderer was stolen." "Can you replay it?" Mulder asked. "Sure," Luke said, resetting the crystal for enhanced replay. "What is it, Mulder?" Scully asked her partner. He had that look he got when he was on to something big in a case. "Scully, that ship," he punctuated the air with a finger, "is just like the ships they were flying around at Ellens." "What?" Scully gasped, leaning in for a better look. "Mulder are you sure?" "Yes, eidetic memory...remember?" "But, Mulder, you don't remember anything. All we have are some blurry photographs," Scully argued. "Scully, the likeness is unmistakable." Cestallia looked distractedly away from the two arguing agents. "Mr. Solo," she began, "What exactly were those co-ordinates?" Han shrugged. "It should be in the Falcon's computer or Artoo might know." Leia spoke up, she remembered exactly. The force gave her an eidetic memory, as well. She rattled the co-ordinates off to Cestallia. Cestallia gasped as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place for her. The two agents ended their debate and all eyes went to Cestallia. She focused shocked, pupil-less gray eyes on Luke. "Those are the co-ordinates for one of the Gates," she whispered. "That explains everything." "Gates?" Han asked, "what Gates? And how does this explain everything? And come to think of it, what is everything?" "Yes," said Mon Mothma, "I'd be interested in the answers to those questions, as well." Cestallia kicked herself mentally for her slip. She schooled her features to remain placid against the weight of all the eyes in the room. Her senses fed her information regarding the emotional states of those around her in the half second it took her to formulate a reply. "I'm very sorry, that is a matter of Cestallian internal security. I have already shared the information with one member of the New Republic as a sign of good faith. But, the information is far too dangerous to share with so many." "But we already have the co-ordinates." Becter spoke up. "What is to stop any one of us from going out there and having a more in-depth look around than that scout ship could?" Already Becter was mentally running through the equipment he might need to run the necessary scans of the area. Cestallia turned to Becter, infusing a small amount of suggestion into her words. "Because, Mr. Becter, current technology is not sufficient to the task." "Not sufficient to the task..." Becter echoed, suddenly confused as to what he'd been about to say. He turned a distracted gaze off in the distance as he tried to recapture the thought. Then, shrugging he refocused on the conversation. Scully watched Becter curiously. He seemed to have disconnected from the conversation. Turning back to the group, she noticed scowls on the faces of Han and Leia. She then turned to Mulder to see if he had noticed the exchange. He had. His eyes met hers and he shook his head ever so slightly. "Sufficient or not," Han muttered. "I plan to have the Falcon prepped and out of here in 30 minutes. If anybody is planning on joining me, you know where you've gotta be by then." The entire exercise with Becter hadn't told him anything. But, it had succeeded in delaying him. He was up and halfway to the door by the time Leia called out after him. "Han!" he said, exasperated, excusing herself. "Can you get us back to Earth?" Mulder asked Cestallia. He wondered if perhaps the Gate was a doorway. "Yes, I might be able to," he said, softly. Leia caught up to Han in the corridor. "Han, you can't go alone," he said, falling into step beside him. She had to almost run because his steps were so much longer than hers. "I want to find Chewie, too. But, we have to know where we're going. As much as I hate to admit it, we should probably bring Cestallia with us." Han's jaw tightened further. "What's wrong around here?" he asked the air in general. Then he came to a stop and turned to his wife. "Look, I was there, not...two days ago. The universe doesn't just up and rearrange itself, no matter what cockamamie story the Cestallians or the scientists or whoever come up with. It's there and so is Chewie." Han began walking again, "And I don't need someone's grandma to show me how to use a navicomputer." "Han," Leia called, frustrated, again forced to run to keep up with him. She didn't like the delay any more than he did, but if there was only half truth to what Cestallia suspected, they'd need to be cautious. "There's more than Chewie at stake here," he said, trying to make him see her point of view. "From the looks of things this needs to be a two-fold mission." "What's the other mission?" Han asked. This was the first he'd heard of a possible other assignment. And what could some planet in another Galaxy, that they'd only just found out about, have to do with any mission other than handing Chewie over? "I can't tell you right now," Leia said, looking around, mentally reviewing all the places a snooping device might be concealed. "All right," Han shrugged in feigned nonchalance. "I suppose I am somehow included in this party?" "Wouldn't be a party without you," Leia smiled at him. "Remember that," Han grinned back. Then, gestured toward the dock, "I'll get the old girl ready. You get the committee moving?" Leia nodded and watched him go. That was where Luke found her a few seconds later. "What is it, Luke?" she asked, knowing immediately that something was wrong. "I just got a message from the Cestallian system. The children are gone. Kidnapped, by a ship that sounds a lot like the Hinderer." {MW} Earth, Pineville, North Carolina Jenine Ashton puttered around her kitchen cleaning non-existent spots from various surfaces. Her daughter and her family had left hours before, leaving the kitchen spotless. But, Jenine couldn't sit still. Her husband, Mike, had been missing for three days, three days of fear and uncertainty and need. In all of their twenty-seven years of marriage, there was no time that she'd not known almost exactly where her husband was. Their lives had been orderly, planned. But all that had changed. Mike had been able to offer no explanation of his disappearance. His memories began when some young men found him wandering near Gastonia. Fortunately, they'd recognized him from a Crime stoppers Bulletin as a missing person, instead of mistaking him for the drunken vagrant he'd resembled. Jenine had received a call in the early hours of the morning requesting that she come to Carolinas Medical Center. There she'd found her frightened and disoriented husband. He now occupied himself in his garage office, effectively shutting her out. Jenine's hands stilled over the coffee pot that she'd begun to relentlessly scrub as she stared out of the bay window. The leaves of the big oak were falling. The colors were brilliant this year and the weather had grown quite brisk over the past few days. Her life and her husband's had changed just as quickly. The world was a different place than the one she'd grown up in, than the one she'd known only three days ago. There was no more safety, no assurances. A movement among the trees caught her eye, bringing her out of her musings. She frowned and leaned forward for a better view. A man sat on little bench she kept in the backyard. He was dressed in jeans and a trench coat. A mop of dark hair fell over the dark rimmed glasses he wore as he calmly smoked a cigarette. Suddenly anger rushed up into her chest. What gave this man the right to invade her private property, her personal space? It was bad enough that the press was out front and that she'd had to take the phone off the hook. She would not have them invade her back yard. Jenine walked determinedly toward the closet shelf, where she'd always kept her dad's old riffle. Stumping toward the back door, she peeked out to see if the man was still there. He was. She undid the latches and poked the riffle out. {Gffa} The Hinderer flew through hyperspace toward its goal. Beneath the ships living outer hull, Jedi children sat in trance. They were aware of their training only while in this state--the leaders preferred it that way, less chance of an uprising. Samantha sat cross-legged on the floor of her chamber. The very walls appeared to sing a strange mysterious song to her. She smiled as the music played around her; its melodies echoing across her consciousness. Space music, the song of time and life itself played and wafted through the larger consciousness of the living rock as it journeyed to meet its brethren. The tones became more insistent as they neared their destination. The songs called to her, she could do no less than to obey. She remembered her life before, now. But it didn't matter, the music was everything. It told her all she needed to know. Benjamin Adams opened his eyes and looked up into steady brown ones in a small elfin face. There were a few lines around the small mouth and stiff yellow hairs grew behind pointed ears. Ben pushed himself from the floor in shock, momentarily at a loss as to his surroundings. The elfin man stood back and considered him. "Why are you here?" the voice creaked, louder than Ben had expected. Ben stood panting against a control panel, memory returning. He realized where he was and what he had to do. With a quick straitening of his jacket, he pulled himself together and headed for an operations panel. He ignored the elfin man's question. "What's your name?" he asked instead. "Sarn is my name," the little man said, turning his head to track Ben's movements. Ben punched in a few commands. No response. He wondered if something had been damaged during the ship's original malfunction that had allowed it to fall, temporarily anyway, into Rebel hands. "What happened here? And where are the others?" Ben asked, moving on to an alternate station. "They are here," Sarn said. Ben glanced up. He hadn't seen anyone when he'd first awakened. Perhaps the little man was a bit senile. There was no one else there. Ben went back to fussing with the uncooperative control panel. Wait... Ben's eyes shot back up, they all stood in a loose semi-circle around him. He didn't want them to know that he was rattled, so he fixed an unconcerned gaze on Sarn. "What's wrong with this panel?" he asked. Sarn gazed back, "There is nothing wrong with the panel. Perhaps it's your code." Benjamin doubted that. The codes his father had given him worked on everything the Emperor had touched. Save one. He allowed Sarn a bit of space when he joined him at the console. "What order would you like implemented?" Sarn asked. "I would like to check our heading," Ben answered. "Very well," Sarn replied, placing a three finger hand over the panel. Then in a blur of movement he input a manual command code. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Ben didn't catch it. The panel monitor came to life, displaying the Hinderer's programmed co-ordinates and elapsed time to reach the destination. "What--," Ben started before he took a closer look at the co-ordinates. "This isn't our course!" he exclaimed. "Do you suggest that the computer is in error?" Sarn asked, calmly. That was when Ben realized that the little man was watching him quite intently, as were the others. Coruscant "You can stow your things here," Leia directed the small group from Earth. She gestured to an overhead locker in the main bay of the Millennium Falcon. She ducked out of the way so Mulder could undo the overhead latch. "We'll be leaving in 10 minutes," she informed them. "Is there anything we can do to help?" Rae asked. There was a bustle of activity all around them as the ship was loaded with Becter's excess measuring equipment. Cestallia, surprisingly, hadn't objected. Operators directed floating platforms along at maximum speed, a team of medical specialists consulted and an investigating team, that Scully and Mulder immediately picked out as this Galaxy's version of the F.B.I., consulted with Luke and Cestallia. They were bound for the Cestallian system to investigate the children's' apparent abduction. "Everything is about done, amazingly," Leia said. "Just make yourselves at home." She turned and headed toward the front of the ship, where her husband was doing preflight checks. Mulder grinned when he saw Artoo roll into the room alongside Threepio, just as Leia was departing. He'd developed a liking for the little droid, even though, most of the time, he didn't have a clue what the thing was saying. He couldn't read Basic any more than he could speak it. But, he had learned to decipher a few of Artoo's simplest comments. Such as his greeting, which he gave as soon as he entered the room. Scully, on the other hand, still stiffened at the sight of the little droid. She was, after all, the one who'd been shocked by him. "Hi there, little buddy, who's your friend?" Mulder asked Artoo, glancing at the golden droid curiously. "I am See-Threepio," the golden droid replied primly, in English. "I am fluent in over six-million forms of communication. How may I be of service?" "Do I get three wishes?" Mulder asked. Threepio's backlit eyes appeared to blink and he tilted his golden head to one side. "Three wishes? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that particular phrase. Please clarify." Mulder chuckled, "Never mind. I'm Fox Mulder and this is Dana Scully and Rae Manning," Mulder gestured to each woman in turn, who nodded at the droid. "Looks like we're all along for the ride." "I am pleased to meet all of you," Threepio responded. "I found it fascinating the way in which you happened to meet Master Solo. Do you mind if I retell it in future?" All three of the humans, surprised by the question, glanced at each other. "No, not at all," Mulder answered. "So, you keep history, then?" Scully asked. Artoo made a warbled comment that didn't sound very complimentary. Scully glanced in his direction and then back to Threepio, who was by then looking offended. Or as offended as a metal faced droid could possibly look. "Forgive my counterpart," Threepio said apologetically. "His manners programming is not as advanced as my own." "As for my keeping history," Threepio continued. "I am not an archival droid. But, I do have limitless storage capability. I enjoy sharing the experiences of those around me. For example, would you like to hear the story of how Master Solo and Mistress Leia met? It is a very exciting tale..." Luke and Cestallia occupied the cockpit of the Falcon along with Han and Leia. Luke had thought she'd want to ride with him in the V-Eiker, but, she'd insisted they all ride in the Falcon. Following the Falcon were a large carrier, a Calamarian Cruiser with a full complement and Gien Becter in a small science vessel, which would fit into the carrier if need be. While the larger ship's assignment centered on surveillance of the Earth and backup for the Falcon if it became necessary, Becter was along to study the effects of passing through Han's co-ordinates on a deeper level than the previous ship had. Both ships were present at the request of Mon Mothma. Because, even though Cestallia had insisted that the equipment would not measure anything, she had said she knew of a way to reach Earth. That along with the fact that she'd been cagey on the particulars of just how they'd get there aside from using Han's co-ordinates, had given Mon Mothma cause to be extremely cautious. Mon Mothma also hadn't forgotten that the person who'd infiltrated the heart of the New Republic's Capital to steal the Hinderer was from Earth as well. So, in exchange for New Republic assistance, Cestallia had been forced to allow the other two ships along. The three ships had now been in hyperspace for an hour. It was time for the first inter-ship communication. When Han Solo entered the main cargo bay of the Falcon, Threepio was in the middle of one of his stories. "Put a plug in it, Goldenrod," he said. "Time for the first link." Leia, Luke and Cestallia followed him into the bay. Han activated a switch on the rear control panel. "All right," he began. "Is everyone receiving?" "Receiving Falcon," a voice from the Cruiser said. "I'm here, as well," Becter spoke up. "Good." Han turned to Leia. This mission was her baby. He was here to get Chewie. The bits of information he'd gathered hadn't been much to go on. But the tenseness in his wife's shoulders told him that this wasn't going to be any ordinary mission. That and the fact that a Calamarian Cruiser, armed to the teeth was overkill to rescue a Wookiee. "As I'm sure everyone is aware, we reach our destination in approximately 10 hours. Until that time, I suggest everyone get some rest. Once there, we'll have some idea of what we're up against. We'll have our next communication in precisely 9 hours. Falcon out." Han shut off the inter-ship link and turned to his wife. "So, what's the plan?" he asked her. Leia turned toward Mulder, Scully and Rae. "Is there anything you can tell us? Perhaps give us some idea of what may lie ahead? The Falcon's data suggests there was no resistance to its entry into the planet's atmosphere." "There's usually an electronic surveillance net," Mulder said. "I suspect there was a window--" Scully grabbed one of his arms to silence him. "Excuse me," he said. Then, turning to her partner, "Mulder, do you mind if I talk to you privately for a minute." Leia nodded, understanding. She'd known it was a fine line she had been walking. She was asking questions that could possibly be viewed as a threat to their home world. "You can talk in here," she gestured through a doorway. Once in the little room, Scully immediately recognized it as the closet from their initial visit to the Falcon. Had it only been 2 days ago? Pushing those thoughts aside, she turned on her partner. "Mulder what do you think you're doing?" she questioned. Mulder looked slightly baffled. "What do you mean? I'm trying to get you and Rae home and help Han get Chewie back." "Mulder don't you realize that you could be jeopardizing national security--hell, planetary security, by giving them any information concerning Earth's alert status. There's no way you can know whose hands any information you turn over will end up in," Scully answered, hands on hips. "Do you think that if some hostile enemy intent on flying across the Galaxy to attack Earth would just stay home because he doesn't know that we have a surveillance net? Earth in essence has zero resistance to invaders. The best we could do is see them coming," Mulder replied, staring down at his partner. He liked the braids. This would be his memory of her. "Mulder, on principle alone, this is wrong." Mulder sighed, "Scully, think about it. There had to be an open window for whoever flew in just before Han. And I suspect that the window just happened to still be open when Han flew in." Scully frowned. "But, that would imply government co-operation with whoever took Benjamin Adams from Earth and possibly even with the theft of the ship and the kidnapping of the children," she began to realize where this was heading. "Mulder, surely you don't think..." Mulder looked steadily back at her, finishing her statement, "That Sam may be here? Yes, I think I'm going to find her here in this Galaxy. But, first I have to make sure you and Rae get home." "But Mulder, you have no access in this Galaxy. No home. What if you're wrong?" Scully argued, softly now. As Mulder looked down at her, a calmness spread over him. He suddenly felt absolutely sure. "I know she's here, Scully. I can feel it." Scully resignedly let her hands drop to her sides. This was an argument she couldn't win. If Mulder thought Samantha was here, there was no way she could get him to go home with her. But, as long as he was still a federal agent she couldn't let him violate his sworn oath. "Mulder, you still can't tell them about Earth security," he said. "You made a sworn oath." Mulder sighed, "Scully, this is one ship. The military actually has a chance of shooting us down. Now, I don't want that to happen." His eyes held hers for a moment. "Do you?" Scully held his gaze for a few seconds and then looked away with a wry twist of her lips. "You're forgetting something, Mulder," he said. "There are three ships. And unless I miss my guess, one of them is armed to the teeth." Mulder grinned slightly. But, it was not a grin of humor. "Yeah, well, call me paranoid, but, somehow I don't think either of the other ships are going to make it to Earth." {MW} Earth, Pineville, North Carolina Walter Skinner felt like himself again. He'd purchased attire more suited for the Assistant Director of the F.B.I. Then he'd checked into a hotel and showered and changed. He glanced at his watch before straightening his tie in the mirror. Eleven a.m. The press would probably be dying down about now, or at least going for lunch. He hadn't been able to get through to the Ashton's by phone, since their line was constantly busy. Which meant it was probably off the hook. At least the hotel wasn't far from the Ashton home. He'd try Agents Scully and Mulder's cellular once more and then he'd gather his mysterious passenger and be on his way. Jenine stepped out into the chill air of mid morning, keeping her eyes, and the gun, trained on the man on the bench. Her soft-soled shoes made little crunching sounds on the leaves, but the man didn't seem to notice. She paused. He seemed so far away. The cigarette hung suspended halfway to his lips. He seemed to come to himself as he brought the cigarette fully to his lips and drew on it. There was something vaguely familiar to his movements. She lowered the gun. "Geoff...?" she called softly. "Geoff Reenes, is that you?" The man turned dark half-focused eyes on her. "Jenine," he said, as if suddenly remembering her name. "He's back, isn't he?" Jenine nodded, letting the gun fall completely to her side. It didn't appear to matter to Geoff, he hadn't noticed it. On closer inspection, she saw that his hands were shaking. She reached a hand toward him and touched an arm, "Why don't you come into the house with me. It's cold out here." She was beginning to worry. Geoff and Mike had worked together at Acme, but then Geoff had been transferred to another department. She had met both he and Judith at the company picnic years earlier, but they had never been close. Geoff turned and continued to stare off into the distance as he had been when she'd come out. "No," he shook his head. "It's safer out here. No listening ears," he drew on the cigarette again. "All right," Jenine said. "Would you like me to get Mike, he's in his office." She was beginning to feel uncomfortable. And Geoff was acting so strange. "No," Geoff said. "I've been waiting for you. I need to talk to someone and you're the only one who'll understand." Jenine raised delicate eyebrows. "Understand what, Geoff?" she asked. "You know I don't know anything about you and Mike's work. He doesn't talk to me about it, you know." "I quit Acme. A month ago. But, that wasn't good enough for them." Geoff's expression never changed. His voice remained toneless. Jenine had no idea what Geoff was talking about. And she was getting chilly. "Geoff, just let me go back inside for a moment, I'll be right back." Geoff's reaction was immediate and violent. "No!" he exclaimed vehemently, grabbing her arm. "Sit down and talk to me!" Jenine's eyes widened in surprise. No one talked to her that way, ever. Her eyes began to tear up. But she sat on the matching stone chair that sat to one side of the bench. The rifle lay forgotten across her lap. "Have you been watching the news lately, Jenine?" Geoff asked, again calmly smoking his, now, nearly gone cigarette. Jenine shook her head uncertainly, "No, I never watch the news, it depresses me. Mike doesn't watch, either, he has his work, you know." Geoff didn't seem to really hear her answer, he just continued on with his story as if her responses didn't matter, anyway. "My Judy, they took her. She was gone for three days, just like your Mike. When she came back...she was different. They changed her. So, I decided to burn the place." Geoff actually grinned as he looked at the glowing tip of the cigarette. Then his mouth twisted disdainfully, "But, someone beat me to it." Jenine sat stunned. She hadn't known about Judy. No one had told her. But then, no one would. She was too fragile, they would say. As she sat and looked at Geoffrey Reenes' private purgatory, she wondered if perhaps Geoff was the fragile one of the two. Her heart went out to the man, she ached at the pain she knew he must have felt while his Judy was missing. She remembered her own anger, vividly now. She'd wanted to strike out at someone. When Mike retreated to his work for solace, she'd felt the bitter ache of rejection. She wondered if Judy had done that, too. "Did she shut you out?" she asked. Geoff blinked in surprise and looked at her. "Yes," he said. "How did--," Then he nodded, realization sinking in. "Of course," he said. "Of course." in an unusually precise manner, Geoff stubbed out his cigarette against the stone bench. Normally, Jenine would have cringed at that, but today she didn't. She just waited. "I can talk to you. I knew, you'd be a good choice. You'll understand the things that I have to tell someone. The things I saw at Acme." Jenine nodded and listened. She didn't know what to expect. But, for once, she wanted the straight, undiluted truth. Skinner pulled the car onto Pineville-Matthews Drive. The neighborhood was made up of large homes on equally large tracts of land. Each home was given a measure of privacy by the extensive wooded area that paralleled the street to the rear. He found the Ashton home easily. One news vehicle was parked at the corner. No other vehicles were present. His passenger scanned the street just as he had, and apparently came to the same conclusion. "I'll make sure this doesn't turn into a photo-op," the bearded man said, as he got out of the car and headed toward the van. Skinner almost smiled at the remark. He wasn't sure he wanted to know how that feat was going to be accomplished. When the bearded man signaled him from the van, Skinner got out of the car and headed toward the front door. He was careful not to look in the direction of the van. When no one answered the door, he wandered around the side of the house. A five foot, white wooded fence separated the front and back yards. Skinner peeped over the top of the fence, scanning the backyard. A movement among the trees caught his eye. A woman and a man sat on a bench. Skinner squinted, readjusting his glasses to be sure of what he was seeing. The woman had a rifle on her lap. The adrenaline immediately kicked in as he pulled his gun surreptitiously from the waistband of his trousers. The fence barely creaked as he undid the latch and pushed it open. The woman seemed to be intent on what the man was saying. Skinner flattened himself to the side of the house, slowly inching forward. The large backyard would not make it easy for him to get much closer as there was easily fifteen yards between him and his target. He silently counted down to three. Mandy sat in front of her monitor staring at the email she was about to send. She was hoping that when the enormity of what she was contemplating hit home, she'd be either in jail or freaking cause she actually pulled it off. Without allowing herself any further thought she clicked on the 'send' button. The monitor flickered briefly before 'message sent' flashed across her screen. The plan was in motion. She didn't know if it was going to work. But at least she'd have told someone her plan in case worse came to worse. Her eyes went to the clock over her computer table. It was getting pretty close to lunch time at the clinic. For some odd reason, people tended to visit their not-quite-there relatives on weekends around lunch time, making these the busiest times of the week. Mandy pushed that fact aside as a puzzle to ponder another day. Rescuing Big Foot was urgent. A feeling in Mandy's gut told her that if she didn't get Big Foot out now, she wouldn't have another chance. Quickly placing her uniform in a carry on, she set out for the clinic. Alpha Point Station One sat at the crude table in the building at the city's center. There was only one city in this ball they had been given to survive on, so there had been no point in naming it. The table sat at the front of a very long room. Others gathered at the table with One. He raised his dark eyes to encompass the group that sat there. "There is no turning back from the course we are now on," he began. "We must strike a deal with our new friends from the Earth Galaxy. I've called to them. The evacuation will began as soon as they arrive. Is this understood? Omak, one of the elder members, spoke up, "One, I have always trusted your insight, but you read too much into this situation with the Hinderer. We have all felt that she is on her way back to us, with the merchandise intact. There is no more danger. Our mission can continue as planned." "Omak, you are short-sighted and over-anxious. I tell you there will be trouble. Trouble that our small army is not prepared for. The last time we struck too soon, I will not repeat that mistake." One stared evenly at Omak as he spoke. Omak had challenged his leadership more and more frequently of late. It would soon be time to put a stop to it. One was true leader, hence his Title. "Domar," Omak said, deliberately using One's name rather than his Title. "Our objective is to have what is ours. Going willingly into the Galaxy of the others may lead to a trap, one we may not be able to escape so easily." One did not flinch at Omak's deliberate slight. "Someday Omak, your arrogance will be your downfall," he said softly. "You must take care to be careful in future." Omak bowed his head slightly in mocking tribute to the warning. A thin smile spread his mouth, but he said nothing. An outright threat to One would not be prudent, especially now. But later... "Who is with me?" One called out before the group. The men looked among themselves considering this step. The plans they had so carefully laid were now on the line. The children were their key. Going with those 'others' from the Earth Galaxy would mean new masters, not just one as in the case of the son of Palpatine. One calmly looked on. He knew they would side with him regardless of their personal feelings, they had no choice. His resolutions were always unanimous. Eventually. {MW} Earth, Somewhere on the East Coast. "Knock Knock...uh, you've got new mail," followed by the laughter of Beavis and Butthead erupted from the previously silent computer in the corner of a dim room. A male figure crossed the room and sat before the monitor. He clicked on the 'new mail' icon. The screen blossomed to show the contents of the electronic message. He quickly scanned the contents excitedly, then turned to his companions working in other parts of the dim room. "Hey, remember 'Spy chic without bounds'," he called, using her signature. Frohike raised his head from a schematic that looked suspiciously like the blue prints for the pentagon. "Yeah," he said. "What's she up to these days? Any more Hairy patients?" "Same hairy patient. And you're just upset that she likes me better," Langly said. "Why would I be upset? I have the woman of my dreams and she has a license to kill," Frohike returned, going back to tracing lines on his blueprint. Byers turned from his own monitor, "What did she say this time?" he asked. Something had gotten his buddy excited. Langly grinned. "She says that today's the day she's gonna break Big Foot out of confinement. There's just a little something she wants me to do to help her plan along." That got the complete attention of both men. The Clinic Mandy sat in the driver's seat of her father's custom Dodge van waiting for her turn at the entry gate. The van was her father's favorite show piece, containing every conceivable and unnecessary convenience imaginable. Mandy hated the thing. But, the chances that Big Foot would fit into her Accord were slim to none. The line edged forward. Mandy watched as a Ford Taurus ahead of her pulled up to the gate. And then it was her turn. Don Goodman was at the gate today. Expecting that, Mandy gave him a brilliant smile. "Hi, Don," he said sweetly after she'd let the electric window down. "Busy day, I see." "Yeah," Don grinned, setting his hat back on his graying head. "What you doing here so early, gal?" he asked, his native Carolinian accent coming out. His eyes wandered to the two cars behind the van, then dismissed them. They could wait. "Oh, I just had to get something I left the other night, is all. Besides, I need to talk to Jimmy." Don made an Ohh with his mouth and nodded his head. "He hasn't been bothering you has he?" he asked, cocking an eye as if the idea had suddenly occurred to him. Mandy knew different. Don didn't like Jimmy's 'type', as he called it. Mandy shook her head, "No Don, nothing like that. I told you, we're still friends." She glanced behind the van, "listen, I'll talk to you later, okay?" Don grinned and nodded, waving her on. Mandy waved and pulled the van into the lot proper. She heaved a sigh of relief. The easy part was over. Pineville, North Carolina "F.B.I. Drop your weapon!" Walter Skinner shouted, gun at the ready. His gaze didn't waver as the petite woman looked up in shock, allowing the weapon to slip to the ground. When she saw Skinner's gun her hands shot skyward. Skinner's eyes flicked to the man who sat looking calmly in his direction. He quickly dismissed the woman as a threat, the man was the one to worry about. Keeping his eyes on the man, Skinner directed the woman to slowly pick up the weapon. She complied, bending over to carefully pick up the rifle. Skinner's eyes flickered to her to track her movements. In that moment while Jenine was looking down at the rifle, Geoff made his move. In a quick movement, he kicked the rifle away and grabbed Jenine roughly to him. Skinner cursed himself for not seeing this coming. He reaimed the gun at the unsteady man, now, with hostage. He could see he had one arm around the woman's neck, but the other was behind the woman's back. He couldn't be sure what type of weapon he held there. "I'm not afraid of you or your kind," the man whispered. "I've got nothing to lose." Skinner looked at the man's eyes. He didn't seem exactly all there. "You don't have any reason to be afraid of me as long as you don't hurt anyone," Skinner said. "Why don't you let her go and then you and I can talk about it." The man shook his head. "I trusted your kind once and look where it got me." Skinner fought a grimaced, aiming at careful neutrality. "Why don't you tell me about it?" he asked. The man eyed Skinner a moment before speaking again. "Not until you tell me what you're doing here. If I like your answer, then maybe I'll answer your question." "I wanted to have a word with Mr. Ashton or perhaps his wife," Skinner answered. Geoff laughed at that. "And here I thought you wanted to talk to me," he said. "Go ahead, try again, I'll give you a second chance." Skinner sighed. What difference did it make? "I'm looking for some people. They've been missing for a couple of days, a man and two women." Geoff's face clouded for a second. "Really?" he asked, loosening his hold on Jenine. Skinner couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Yes, really," he replied, not one to give up on a good thing. "Was the guy tall, dark hair and one of the women red-headed and the other one black with long hair?" "Have you seen them?" Skinner asked. The man looked down at the woman he had held. "I'm sorry I had to that to you, Jenine," he said. "I didn't know what he was about," he released his grip, revealing no weapon in the now, obviously empty hand. Jenine stepped cautiously away from him, but not sure whether she should go toward the man with the gun, either. She hovered somewhere in between looking warily one to the other. "The rifle," Skinner gestured to the weapon. "I--it's not loaded," Jenine assured him, nervously. "And it wouldn't shoot if it was." But she did go and pick the gun up and offer it to him. Skinner took it just the same. He had enough problems. "I'm Geoff Reenes," Geoff introduced himself to Skinner. "I used to work at Acme. I knew Rae, and I know she couldn't have done anything. I was frankly surprised when I saw her with those two." "Do you have any idea where they are now?" Skinner a sked. "Man, that's a long story," Geoff said. "Can we go somewhere and talk? I could really go for a cappuccino." The Clinic Mandy had parked the van in the side lot reserved for the executive staff. Since they didn't work weekends, the spaces were now open to visitors. She slipped in behind a family of four that she didn't remember ever seeing before. Hopefully, they wouldn't remember seeing her, either. The family strolled ahead of her along the carpeted halls of the 'family wing', where the more stable clients could visit with their families without the hindrance or recognition of others. Most of the patients were family of ambassadors and government officials wishing to bury knowledge of an 'unflattering' relation. Thus, most of them officially bore blazingly unrealistic names. There were an awful lot of Smiths. Mandy used her computerized I.D./entry card to exit the wing into the 'employees only area'. In the medical wing, she spoke to the people she knew who worked days and in general acted as if nothing were up. While, in reality she was taking the lay of the land. Her next objective was to find Jimmy, but not yet, she had some time to kill till lunch was over. Good thing she'd brought her laptop.... {Gffa} Deep space The Falcon was quiet except for the humming and ticking of the ships automated systems, now that the humans were all in separate areas resting. Fox Mulder was sacked out in the main cargo bay on a bunk near a corner of the room, and Rae was in the opposite corner, napping as well. Han and Leia had made themselves scarce in some other area of the ship and the droids were off recharging and otherwise doing droid things. Dana Scully sat alone awake on her bunk. Her gaze wandered over her partner, who'd fallen asleep almost immediately, stretched out fifteen feet away. She was still furious with him for telling Earth's secrets, but she did understand his reasons. She'd forgive him tomorrow...maybe. She felt remarkably well rested, not having slept a s well as she had the night before in recent memory. Thus, now she couldn't fall asleep as everyone seemed to have done. Thoughts of sleep brought back to mind some of what had occurred the previous night. She'd remembered seeing Benjamin Adams in the hallway, but the thought had been somewhat disconnected and she hadn't had time to contemplate it till now. A vivid memory of being tossed into a wall rushed into her mind. Dana shook her head to clear it. From where had that come? It wasn't so much that it had been buried, just that she hadn't thought about it. The next thing she'd remembered was waking up in her bed, feeling good. Had she simply dreamed that Benjamin had attacked her? She knew he'd stolen the ship. Had she simply dreamed of him due to some strange anomaly before she gained that information? Dana gradually became aware that someone other than her companions from Earth were in the room. She looked up and saw Luke standing in the doorway. She thought again of his charisma, but she couldn't believe it was due to some strange force. Luke's face spread into a smile, as he caught her looking at him. "Hello," he whispered. "I didn't want to disturb you, since you seemed so deep in thought." Dana returned his smile with one of her own. "You're not disturbing me," he said. "It was getting pretty quiet with everyone asleep, anyway. And for some reason, I don't feel the least bit sleepy." A slight frown crossed Luke's face as he reached out and touched the right side of her head. "How's your head feeling?" he asked. His fingers sifted through her hair gently to the place where her head had hit the wall. Her hair flowed in a gentle wave from the braids that she'd taken out for lack of anything better to do. Scully had been shocked when he'd put his fingers in her hair. If he had been anyone else, she might have caught him with a judo cut to the solar plexus. But, she restrained herself. She was curious about Luke. Curious as to what he would do. She completely missed his question. "Excuse me?" she asked, hiding her embarrassment. Luke smiled slightly, "I said: How's your head feeling?" "Oh." She grinned, "fine. How else should it feel?" Luke let his hand drop almost reluctantly from the red waves. He had to maintain his focus here. "I thought your memory would be intact. Don't you remember what happened last night?" It was worrisome if she didn't, because his probe of her injuries might have caused some damage that he hadn't been aware of at the time. Dana looked at him in dread. "Uh...I'm not sure," he said sheepishly, dropping her gaze. She wondered at what she could possibly have done with this man last night that would prompt him to ask how her head was feeling? Luke sensed her embarrassment, but not the reason behind it. "Dana, it's really important to me," he said, catching her eyes. "Do you remember anything at all about what happened with Benjamin Adams?" Dana closed her eyes and sighed as realization dawned. She didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. "I think I had a dream," he said. "Tell me about it." Dana's eyes went unfocused as she went back in her mind's eye to the night before. She began to speak softly, telling Luke what she remembered. "I remember waking up suddenly, but I didn't know why. I thought." She grinned wryly, "that Mulder was in trouble again. I went out into the corridor and that's when I ran into Benjamin Adams." A frown creased her brow. "We struggled and then I remember he got really angry..." her voice trailed off. "I thought it was just a dream." "It wasn't a dream," Luke said, watching her intently. He noticed that she hadn't addressed the fact that Benjamin Adams had used the force on her, throwing her against that wall. She'd as good as said she didn't believe in it, but he needed to know if she remembered everything. "Do you remember anything else?" he asked. "Not much more, no," Dana replied, no longer meeting his gaze. Luke decided to let her off the hook. "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," he touched one of her hands as he prepared to leave. "Wait," Dana said. "There is something I'm curious about." "What's that?" Luke asked. "How did I end up back in my room? in bed?" That was as close as Dana would come to admitting anything out of the ordinary had happened. Luke looked thoughtfully toward Mulder's still form before answering. "He carried you there," he said and then he was gone. Dana Scully watched as he walked out the door. She twisted a lip as she pondered what Luke had said earlier. The force was an extreme possibility. But, was it possible for such a thing to exist--everywhere? "He healed you, you know," Mulder said from his bunk, eyes closed. "What?" Scully turned toward her partner, wide-eyed. She wondered how much of her conversation with Luke he'd heard. "Luke healed you," Mulder repeated as he opened his eyes and rolled over to face her. "You had a concussion or worse from what Benjamin Adams did to you. But, Luke did something and then you were okay. Just sleeping. I put you to bed while he went off to tangle with our friend Adams." Dana felt herself blushing and fought it furiously. In the end she simply ducked her head down. "Well, obviously he didn't catch him," he said. "I think he likes you," Mulder surprised her by saying. Her eyes rose to meet his. It was all there for him to see, no matter how she tried to hide it. He decided it was best not to add that he already knew how she felt. He wasn't sure her ego could take it just then. "What's not to like?" Scully managed after a few seconds. "What, indeed," Mulder chuckled. "Now let me get some sleep, woman." {MW} Carolina Place Mall Walter Skinner sat across the table from Geoff Reenes. The two of them had taken a taxi to a local mall and now sat in the Cupa Cabana, a gourmet coffee shop. The mall was decorated in an excessive amount of pale green and pink, which studies had suggested had a calming affect on humans. But this fact only seemed to add to Skinner's irritation. "This is good stuff," Geoff said as he bit into another sticky bun. "Yeah, good stuff," Skinner replied, heavy on the sarcasm. He leveled Geoff one of his patented I-can-freeze-you-with-my-eyes looks. But, Geoff was completely unaffected. Skinner glanced at his watch, it was nearing two and he had yet to get anything useful out of this man. "Mr. Reenes," Skinner began through clenched teeth. "My time might be better spent--" Geoff raised a hand to halt his words. "No, no," he said, taking a final gulp from his mug of Double Cinnamon Caravan with X-tra sugar. "I'm ready to talk. I just couldn't do it on an empty stomach." Skinner sighed heavily, pinched the bridge of nose. A remembered phrase from a commercial he'd once seen came to mind. 'I've got a headache this big and it's got Exedrin written all over it'. Except Skinner substituted a colorful metaphor or two and the name of Geoff Reenes. Who, for his part, sat back, made a few contented groans and began his story. The Clinic Mandy finally found Jimmy. If her calculations were correct all of the noonday meals should have been delivered and the dishes taken away. So he should have been done with mealtime escort duty. Jimmy was handling security near the records office. Even though no one worked there on weekends, there was always the press trying to get in and find out who was Really who around here. Jimmy's entire face brightened when he saw her. "Mandy!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" "Oh, Jimmy, hi," he said, feelings of guilt poked at her conscience over what she was about to do. Even though Jimmy would probably not get into trouble, he would be questioned. But, she hadn't been able to come up with anything else. Jimmy took in Mandy's downcast expression, which hadn't been difficult for her to put on under the circumstances. "What's wrong?" he asked her. Mandy glanced up at him sheepishly. "I guess I just need a hug," he said. He drew her into his arms without hesitation. Mandy had always loved being in his arms. It was hard to remember just why they'd broken up at times like these. She let him hold her for a few seconds before she began methodically running her hands up and down his back. Then she pulled away. Jimmy's hands slid up to her shoulders and remained there. "Thanks, Jimmy," he said gratefully as she lowered her hands to his waist. She continued to hold his gaze though, knowing that what would follow was inevitable. They had, to date, never been able to look into one another's eyes without this eventuality. Jimmy bent his head and kissed her. She barely had time to remove his security badge before he crushed her body to his. She slid the badge up the sleeve of her sweater and then allowed herself to enjoy the kiss. Carolina Place Mall Walter Skinner strided dazedly from the mall the way he'd entered hours earlier with Geoff Reenes. He'd only stood at the corner for a few seconds when the green rental pulled up before him. His bearded friend looked over at him from drivers seat. "I presume he was helpful?" Skinner glared furiously at him. "Not very, but I want to check his story anyway before it gets too dark." Mr. X raised an eyebrow slightly. "Where to?" "Back to Acme." The Clinic Mandy managed to remove herself from Jimmy before things became more serious. He wouldn't need his badge until his shift ended at three. That was when hers was due to begin. She darted into the woman's locker room to change into her uniform. She hoped her email pal would do as he'd promised. If he did he was due in exactly fifteen minutes. By then she needed to have Big Foot out of the ward. When she'd managed to pull into her uniform, she crammed her bag into her locker and headed out toward the ward. A quick glance at her watch told her it was 2:35. Five minutes until the threat was due. When she passed the break room, Gennie Ann cornered her. "I thought you and Jimmy broke up," she whispered, accusation heavy in her voice. Mandy, desperate to be on her way, couldn't make any sense of what Gennie had said. "What are you talking about, Gee Ann?" she asked, with a distracted glance at her watch. 2:36. "I saw you and Jimmy in the hall," Gennie said, her voice rising. Mandy's heart plummeted to the floor. She'd thought the hall had been deserted. She suddenly began to feel a little faint. "Gee, what exactly is it to you?" Mandy asked breathing more heavily, hands shaking, now. She stuffed them into her pockets where her left one grabbed around Jimmy's stolen security badge. Gennie's eyes narrowed before she sighed, releasing her anger. "I think we were about to start seeing each other, but I know he's still got a thing for you." Mandy sighed in relief. "Oh Gee Ann," her voice wavered. "I'm so sorry, he's all yours." With that she hurried off down the hall, leaving a very confused Gennie Ann to walk back into the break room. When she reached the corridor near the ward her watch read 2:39. The door guard was Derek Gregory. She smiled as she walked by. Brunswick's office was around the corner from the ward for the criminally insane. On Saturday's he didn't usually even see the inside of his office, preferring to spend it in the family meeting area's to welcome the more affluent families. Mandy's heart felt as if it would jump right out of her chest as she scanned Jimmy's card to open the door. A security override was a wonderful thing. Her watch read 2:42. Security should be too busy with the bomb threat, now, to worry about an override in Brunswick's office. In case they weren't she'd have to hurry. She left the door slightly ajar. When she again approached the ward, Derek was gone, undoubtedly due to the bomb threat she was now sure of. The beating of her heart thundered ever louder in her ears as she slid Jimmy's card down the slot. The door clicked open obediently. She ran down the hall toward John Doe 2's room. This door also opened obediently. Big Foot looked up at her with glazed brown eyes. Her heart melted, they must really have sedated him this time. Which on consideration might work in her favor, since this might make it easier to lead him out. Before she could change her mind, she grabbed a hairy forearm and pulled. He didn't budge. "Come on, you big Oaf!" she yelled, adrenaline making her dizzy. The brown eyes stared back at her. Some of what she was trying to do must have seeped in because he slowly stood. "Thank you..." Mandy's voice faded as she looked up at him. He was Tall! Her head was in the vicinity of his belly button, if he had one, that was. She pushed that thought aside and pulled him out of the room. He hit his head on the way out, not reacting fast enough to duck. Mandy forced herself to patiently help him duck before dragging him down the hall. It was only a matter of time before an alarm would go off. They'd entered Brunswick's office when she heard the intercom. "This is Dr. Brunswick speaking, who's in my office?" Mandy froze. "Stay where you are," the voice commanded. "Security is on the way." Brunswick's office had an exit door which only opened from the inside. Mandy used it. She didn't have time to see if anyone was coming before she dragged her new 'friend' to the van. He growled weakly when she pushed him in, but he went. She locked the door and slid it shut. Quickly, she pulled a sweater on over her uniform and a hat over her head. Then she pulled the van from the lot and onto the street. It was 2:47. Charlotte North Carolina Walter Skinner looked into the woods that meandered along the backside of Acme's property. As best he could tell, there was a three foot drop to the forest floor and he'd just purchased this overcoat and suit. Reenes had better have told the truth. He looked over his shoulder at the bearded man. "Now or never," he said and jumped over the side. He had only gone several yards when something white to the right caught his eye. He fought through some broken branches to retrieve it. It was a small folded piece of paper. He blinked in amazement when he recognized it. A phone number was hastily scrawled across the slip along with an eloquently stated description of Agent Scully's eyes. "What is it?" the bearded man asked as he approached. "Just some trash," Skinner said as he slid the slip of paper into his pants' pocket. He mused over what had just occurred. If Reenes had told the truth about his agents' and Ms. Manning having been here could he also have told the truth about the spaceship and the Sasquatch? Skinner wondered. Vol. four: The Gift Alpha Point Base The large round disk of the Ka'dim ship settled into atmosphere at Alpha Point Station, gleaming white lights flashed in all directions. Aside from the ship's lights, the rest of Alpha Point was shrouded in deep shadow, Dark, like its inhabitants. One stood within the central light, beneath the bottom center of the ship, and communed with the ship's Supreme Commander. The Ka'dim had visited Earth many times and were familiar with the Son of Palpatine. They too had once made a deal with him. Now, the ship's Supreme Commander felt it necessary to make a deal with the ones they referred to as 'Exiles'. The Son of Palpatine had made one too many enemies of late. When One signaled that the loading should begin, the ship glided silently away from One toward a large group of humans who gazed with unnatural calm at the vessel. Suddenly a deep vibration rumbled through the surface of Alpha point and a soft whine began. The brilliant lights beneath the vessel began to widen as the rumble grew ever deeper. Then, it was gone. And so were the majority of the humans. The Ka'dim had chosen. Several thin-limbed Ka'dim stood alongside the remaining humans. One nodded his head in agreement. The Ka'dim had chosen the stronger of the Jedi trainees as the first to leave this station. In exchange, a few of the Ka'dim would remain and One and a few other 'Exiles' would leave on the first run. They had wanted her; the young woman that gathered the children. But, she was not here and neither were the children. Another would have to be chosen for future gatherings. One's hand-picked group gathered around him, in expectation of the journey. One reached out through the force and communed again with the Supreme Commander to inform them that he and his group were ready. But, to his surprise, the Ka'dim Commander did not comply with his wishes. Instead the lights chose several other 'Exiles', Omak among them. One looked in stunned surprise toward Omak, the baleful grin stirred great anger within him. Anger that he could not afford to release at this time. Politely, he bowed his head in acquiescence. There would be time later, he would make sure of it. One plotted his revenge even as the Ka'dim vessel made its way back toward the channel that lead to the Earth Galaxy. East Coast, United States "Yes?" a man's voice spoke softly into the telephone. A still smoking cigarette was held lightly between the fingers of one hand. "Are you certain?" the voice requested, suddenly 100 degrees chillier. "Began the retrieval process, I have something of my own to check into." The man returned the phone to its cradle and looked at the gray haired man seated across the desk from him. "I'd like to finish this conversation later, if I may. I have something I need to attend to." The gray haired man nodded and left the room without a word. The man stubbed out the cigarette and picked up his phone. Charlotte, North Carolina While Walter Skinner stood in the woods pondering, the skies had darkened, night was falling. He looked up and gazed through the trees before turning to his companion, "There isn't much more we can do out here in the dark. Let's go get some sleep." The bearded man nodded in agreement. "You're probably right," he said. A soft chirp made itself heard as they turned to leave. They both moved to check their cell phones before they found that it was Skinner's. {Gffa} Millennium Falcon Han Solo stood against the entry door of his and Leia's private quarters and watched his wife braid her hair. He liked to watch the way her fingers deftly intertwined the rich brown strands. This was far more interesting than watching the droids do it. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't get it cut," Leia said as she paused to rest her arms. She much preferred having the droids do it. "I thought long hair was traditional for Alderaanians?" Han replied noncommittally. He liked her hair the way it was. But if she wanted to get it cut, it was her decision. But, he didn't have to like it. "What do you think if I got it cut to about here?" she indicated a point just below her shoulder. Han shrugged and suddenly became very busy with the rooms temperature controls. Leia gave him a sly look from the corner of her eye as she finished the last of the braid and tucked it under. "You know," he said, "I think I'll get it cut like Luke's. I mean we are twins, after all." Han spun to face her. "Over my d--" His words were cut off when he saw that she was laughing at him. His scowl turned to a grin as he pulled her into his arms. Luke sat in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon gazing into hyperspace. The small band was still three hours out from the co-ordinates, but a growing sense of uneasiness was beginning to creep over him. He hadn't pin-pointed the reason, but he knew he wanted to talk to Cestallia. There were some things he needed to clear up before he felt ready to possibly go into battle with her. As if he'd issued a summons, he heard her footsteps as she stepped into the cockpit behind him. She sat wordlessly in the rear auxiliary seat, to the left and slightly behind Luke. You want to talk to me? she thought. Yes, Luke nodded. There are some things I don't understand. Like, what did you do to Leia? Cestallia sighed heavily, Luke, there are so many things about the force that you have yet to learn. Some of these things would be dangerous for you to know, now. I have knowledge that belonged to the most ancient Jedi. It was not passed on in open training because of the potential for misuse. What I did to Leia you will someday learn, but how I got on the ship...it is difficult to see, you may learn and you may not. Luke was becoming amazed at Cestallia's ability to say so much, yet so little. With Yoda, it had been quite the opposite. Do you know what happened on the ship, then? Luke asked. He remembered that terrible screeching and then something knocking into him and then nothing, absolutely nothing at all. Cestallia nodded this time. Yes, this I can tell you, but it would take too long to explain. You will understand that when you reach the Gate. Okay, that was almost an answer. Speaking of the Gate, exactly how is it that I'm to destroy them? Or is it just going to be the one? And why me? I'm sure there are other's who know more about the situation. Cestallia smiled, amused. That's a fair question, but once again, this is something you will know when the time arrives. As for the Gates, there will just be the one. But you, Luke, this is your destiny. Time itself has spoken. A Skywalker will destroy the Gate. Where had he heard that before? *Time* itself? Luke was incredulous. But how can that be? Cestallia met his slightly disbelieving eyes with a steady gaze. Whether you believe matters not. It simply will be so. Luke gave Cestallia a wry smile. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked, aloud. Not that he had any better idea of what to expect than he had before. But there was a quietness, a tenseness, to her that hadn't been there when they'd left the Cestallian system. A frown crossed Cestallia's face. Luke there is going to come a time, very soon, when you are going to have to trust me. I thought I could hold you with an Intermediary's bond, but someone else has entered your heart. So, I'm going to have to ask you to trust me. It was Luke's turn to frown. He had no idea what she was talking about. An intermediary's bond...? And who's entered my heart? Cestallia gave him a soft smile, one of the half mysterious smiles that had made him loose his train of thought before. It didn't work this time. You see, she said, it doesn't work anymore. Our bond is no longer secure. It is because you have formed an attraction with another since we've arrived here. So, we will have to continue on without the bond. But, you are still my Intermediary, you must fulfill that duty to me. Luke looked thoughtfully at the woman who sat before him. She was right, he did see her differently. She looked like someone's favorite grandmother. And when he thought of someone whom he might have formed a bond with, only one person came to mind... What is the duty that I must fulfill? he asked as he refocused his attention. Then, before Cestallia could respond he spoke up, aloud. "Wait, let me guess, I'll know when the time comes, right?" "You're a fast learner, young Skywalker," Cestallia said, grinning. Charlotte North Carolina Walter Skinner retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and clicked it on. "Yes," he spoke tersely into the receiver. His stance immediately stiffened as he recognized the voice at the other end of the connection. Split to Half Screen of Smokey Office and Half Skinner "Good evening, Assistant Director," The General said as he lit another cigarette. "Sir," Skinner acknowledged. He didn't look at the bearded man but turned and walked off a few paces. Scattered fallen leaves crunched beneath his feet. "I trust our mutual acquaintance is staying out of trouble?" the man asked. He drew deeply on his cigarette as he awaited a response. "I don't know who you mean, sir," Skinner responded. He hated with a passion being treated like a spy for this man. But, then on the other hand, when this man came snooping around, Skinner knew something big was going on. "Don't play coy with me, Assistant Director," the man spat. Then more sedately, "I have an assignment that falls in their area of expertise. You'll find all you need to know in the usual location." Skinner heard the soft click of the disconnect before he could reply. CUT Back to Only Skinner's Location Skinner shut down the phone and placed it back into his pocket more calmly than he felt. Without a glance at his bearded companion, he headed toward the car. He got in on the driver's side and waited. He didn't have the key. Mandy glanced back at her passenger. He was out, sleeping the slumber of the drugged. She was sure no normal creature would be able to sleep in such an uncomfortably cramped position without the assistance of something artificial. Mandy was glad that he was sleeping, because, now, she wasn't quite sure how she'd handle him. She couldn't just keep him forever like some pet. And she couldn't just dump him in the woods. Although, she figured that there was where he'd be the most comfortable. For now she'd decided to just take him to her father's beach house. It should be pretty deserted this time of the year. The sign along the side of the highway said I-64 Interchange ahead. It wouldn't be long, now. {Gffa} The hyperspace clocked ticked away the minutes until the Falcon was due to come out of hyperspace. Han had repaired the Falcon's automatic circuits and calibrated the ship's clock to that of the other two ships to insure that all three would drop into normal space simultaneously. There were 30 minutes and 17 seconds left in hyperspace. "I expect everyone has made final preparations," Leia was speaking as she prepared to close the inter-ship link. "Groups a and B will regroup behind the moon after their missions are complete. Are there any more questions?" When there were no more questions forthcoming, Leia signed off, "Okay then, you have your assignments. Take care, and may the force be with you." She nodded to Han, who terminated the link. All that was left now was to wait. Luke wanted to meditate a little more before this all began. So, he headed toward one of the spare sleeping quarters for privacy. After his talk with Cestallia he had felt more comfortable about this mission, but there was still anxiety. He needed to exorcise those feelings so that he could function efficiently as a Jedi. Threepio was standing in a corner of the room, silent for a change. When he saw Luke leaving the main cargo bay, he followed. "Master Luke," he called after the Jedi Knight. "Might I have a word with you?" Luke turned and waited for the golden droid to catch up to him. "Sure, Threepio, what is it?" he asked. Their voices faded as the door slid shut behind them. Han and Leia were left to look a little curiously after Threepio. He had been uncharacteristically silent since he'd came out of the auto optimization mode. "What's gotten into him?" Han asked Artoo, who replied with a unique droid sound that no one could mistake for anything but 'Beats me'. Han shrugged it off and headed out the doorway. "Well, I'm gonna go triple-check some systems, make sure this old girl isn't planning any surprises for us." Leia and Artoo followed him, leaving Cestallia, Mulder, Scully and Rae to stare at one another. The sound of Becter's equipment seemed louder than usual in the ensuing silence. Cestallia moved to stand near one of the larger of Becter's monitoring stations. "I'll bet you are all anxious to get home," he said. "I know I am," Rae answered first. "Although I'm not sure why, since I'm a wanted woman, now," she added, forlornly. "You guys, what am I going to do? I don't want to go to jail." Scully walked over to Rae and put a hand on her arm. "There has to be some one who can provide you with an alibi," he said. "Did you talk to anyone on the phone? or see anyone at the corner that you knew? Even something small might be helpful." Rae gave her a small smile of thanks for trying to reassure her. "I want to thank both of you for helping me, but I'm just afraid I'll get the two of you into trouble if you're found with me." "Are you kidding? Trouble is his middle name," Scully gestured at Mulder. She was rewarded with a small smile from Rae, while Mulder cleared his throat loudly. "Try to think back," Mulder said. "What was the first thing you did when you got home?" Rae closed her eyes and thought about it. It seemed like such a long time ago. "Yes," he said after a few seconds, "I remember. I was in a really bad mood, so I got on-line. Surfing the net calms my nerves." "Okay, that's good," Mulder said, throwing Scully an amused glance. "I don't know if anyone's ever used the fact that they were on-line as an alibi, but it could be helpful. Did you keep a chat log or send any mail?" "Actually, I did," Rae said, brightening. "And there's something else," he said. "I have an even better alibi than I thought. I got a traffic ticket that night!" she announced happily. "A reason to live," Mulder said dryly. "I hope it wasn't for reckless driving." "Actually it was because my lights weren't on. And then once he did that, he found that my inspection sticker was expired and gave me a ticket for that, too. It took quite a while because, well, I started to...laugh and so he thought I was high and made me do the walk test and the breath-a-lyzer test. He called in another police car and they didn't find anything else so the one gave me a ticket and let me go. I'm sure they'll remember me." Scully bit her lip to fight the urge to laugh herself. Rae was obviously embarrassed by the whole situation. But the imagery was about to send Scully into giggles herself. She pitied any officer who'd pulled Rae over. "You wouldn't happen to know what time the ticket was issued, would you?" Mulder asked. Rae shook her head, "No, not exactly. But I do know that it was about 12:30 when they let me go, because I looked at the clock once I started the car." "The newspaper said that the time of the fire was about 12:10," Mulder mused. He'd begun pacing around the bay. "Do you know how long they kept you there and how long it took you to get home and on-line after they released you?" Rae tracked his movements with wide eyes, following his logic. "Yes, I was nearly home when they stopped me. They kept me at least 30 minutes, probably longer. When I left, I was home and on-line in say ten minutes." Mulder immediately stopped his pacing and looked toward where Cestallia had been standing. She was gone. "Where'd Cestallia go?" he asked. Luke turned cool blue eyes on Threepio once the door slid shut behind them. "What is it, Threepio," he asked. "Master Luke," Threepio began. "While everyone was in their resting phase I did a memory sweep. As you know, sir, all of this traveling around in hyperspace causes memory fragmentation and--" Luke put up a hand, "I understand all of that Threepio." If he didn't stop the golden droid now, he'd never get a chance to meditate before they reached the co-ordinates. "Just give me the basics." "Very well, sir," Threepio answered. "I found an interesting coincidence during my memory optimization," he paused to be sure Luke was satisfied with his current method of telling the story. "Yes," Luke urged when Threepio hadn't continued in a few seconds. "The language that the three humans from Earth speak is the same one I programmed into the lapel-links for the children." "What?" Luke asked, clearly amazed. "The language that the three humans from Earth speak is the same one I programmed into the lapel-links for the children." Threepio repeated what he'd said verbatim. But Luke wasn't listening any longer, he'd sank to the cot and began thinking very quickly. There was something here and he was missing it. "Master Luke," Threepio's voice insinuated itself into his thoughts. "What is it, Threepio?" Luke asked, only half listening to the droid. "Would you like me to have Artoo perform a diagnostic of my memory functions to make certain that I am not suffering a malfunction. I've checked the Falcon's system and it had no former record of the language it's been translating. In my opinion, sir--" "Threepio," Luke cut in again. "Yes. Please have Artoo run a diagnostic on your memory functions." "Very well, sir." Gien Becter scratched his scraggly orange head, musing it beyond its normal disarray. The equipment around him beeped and hummed as it monitored and recorded the subtle changes in space and space-time all around them. The readings gathered within hyperspace were of no interest to Becter beyond that of testing the link-up between his small science vessel and the Falcon. Presently, the machines were in real-time auto-tracking mode, and the remote data had been assimilating well into the main control unit, which was situated to the left of the flight controls. But, when the last update had displayed on the control unit, the remote data was absent. Becter glanced at the chronometer and began to feel a slight panic. The little group of ships would be pulling out of hyperspace in less than ten minutes. Han shut the panel on the Falcon's main breaker box. Everything seemed to be in working order. But all things were debatable when it came to the Falcon. "Mr. Solo? Please come in," a tinny voice spoke from the comlink he'd attached to his collar. "Yeah, what is it?" Han inquired gruffly after he'd removed it and pressed the activation button. Becter was the last person he wanted to speak to right now. "Mr. Solo, would you be so kind as to go and check on my machinery for me?" Becter asked. "It appears that I'm no longer receiving the remote feed." Han's 'no' was so conversational that Becter nearly missed its meaning. "Pardon me?" the orange-haired scientist asked. "I'm a little busy right now to deal with your...scientific equipment," Han said, disconnecting the link. He didn't care if Becter knew 'scientific equipment' wasn't the phrase he'd been thinking of. Becter, thankfully, let it drop. He chalked Han's touchiness up to the tension of the upcoming mission. He was partially right. While Han had been talking to Becter one of the indicator lights on the outside of the breaker panel that glowed green when all was well, suddenly turned a cautionary amber. Han glanced at the chronometer as its countdown decreased. Two minutes to the co-ordinates. He made a dash for the supply box to replace the decaying breaker. Even though it was the breaker for the light in the john, when one system failed on the Falcon, there tended to be a cascade effect. Luke was sitting on the bunk mulling over what Threepio had said when his comlink went off. "Mr. Skywalker, this is Becter. Would it be too much for me to ask you to check on my equipment for me? I seem to be missing the remote feed." "Sure, it's no problem," Luke said. His opportunity was gone, anyway. "What would you like me to do to it, exactly?" "Just make sure it's on-line," Becter said and signed off. Luke rounded the corner in time to hear Mulder ask "Where'd Cestallia go?" Luke found himself looking around for her like everyone else. "She was right there a second ago," Rae said, pointing toward the largest of Becter's scanning units. It had been flashing a steady green light. Now, it was dark, not a single light blinked. Luke stepped over to the machinery in one quick step. To onlookers he seemed to just disappear from the doorway and reappear near the machine. He took in the smashed controls, damaged beyond any quick repair and immediately knew who to seek out. "Cestallia," Luke breathed before he vanished out the doorway again. He found her in the corridor near the main lavatory. Did you sabotage Becter's machine? Luke asked her, trying to hide the disappointment. He knew she was holding back, but he hadn't expected her to go this far. Cestallia stared back at him, there was a bit of panic in her eyes. Then her focus changed and she looked beyond Luke. A moment later, a deep whine began somewhere in the bowels of the ship. In his mind Luke felt something disconnecting and then reattaching. And then it was gone. Luke turned a confused gaze on Cestallia. "What was that?" he asked. Luke, I told you that very soon you'd have to trust me, Cestallia said, now is that time. "Luke, get up here!" Han's voiced burst over Luke's comlink. Luke threw Cestallia one last look of confusion, before he sprinted off toward the cockpit. When Luke reached the cockpit Han was pacing as much as the confined space would allow. Leia sat mutely in the co-pilots seat watching her husband. Han caught Leia's movement as her brother entered the cockpit. He turned toward the younger man. "Look out there, Kid. Tell me what you see," Han said, pointing toward the front view screen. Luke obediently looked out of the view screen. All there was to see was a starfield and some very distant planetary bodies. He shrugged and turned back to his brother-in-law. What was Han getting at? "Here's a hint," Han put in, "This is the aft view." It suddenly made sense to Luke. He closed his eyes and took a very deep breath. "The other ships, they aren't there are they?" he asked. "'Fraid not," Han replied nastily. "I think it's time we have a little talk with our diplomatic 'friend' from Cestallia," he added as he headed for the corridor beyond the cockpit. "Han, wait," Luke began, trying to stop his brother-in-law. "I think you should let me talk to her," he could see that Han was about to argue but Leia must have said something to him over Luke's shoulder because he seemed to actually settle down a little. "Alright," Han said. "But, I want an answer within the next ten minutes," he reluctantly stepped around Luke and dropped into the pilot's seat, where he sat glaring out of the view screen until Luke left to again find Cestallia. end part nineteen. Newsgroups: alt.tv.X-Files.creative Subject: NEW: Xjedi VOL Four 20/24 brWritten: 23 January 1996 04:04:26 GMT brDisclaimer: I don't think I have another one left in me. I think we all know the drill. But, just in case: Check out the last chapter or the one before or the one before or ... you get the picture. Xjedi part 20 volume 4. {MW} Millennium Falcon Fox Mulder had a vague feeling that something was wrong. After Luke had left in such a hurry, there had been that whine that had occurred once before, during his cellular call with the AD. Mulder, always a man of action, couldn't wait any longer for someone to come and tell them what was going on. "I'll be back in a minute," he told Scully and Rae. "Where are you going?" Scully asked from her perch near Becter's smashed machine. After Luke had left, they'd all gone to examine it. None of them could say just when it had been done, but the three of them were sure that Cestallia must have been the culprit. Before Mulder could get out of the room, Luke entered, followed by a somewhat subdued Cestallia. Mulder took a step back. He had been heading for the cockpit, but whatever was developing here was undoubtedly something not to be missed. Luke looked around the room and back to Cestallia. No one broke the silence until Han and Leia entered the room. The droids were nowhere in sight. "All right," Han said, "This better be good." Cestallia didn't even bother to try to force a smile in Han's direction. She simply glared. After a few seconds of silent confrontation with Han she turned to Luke and began to speak. "All the secrecy I have given the Gate is necessary. Whatever it is that I have to do to prevent knowledge of it falling into the hands of the general populace, I am honor bound to do," she spoke calmly and coolly to her one-time ally. "Let's just take a short cut around the political excuses," Han cut in. "I just want to know what happened to those other two ships." Cestallia turned away from Luke, who remained unaffected by her words. "I can't tell you," she told Han. "All I can say is that they are safe and that no one will be harmed. It's a matter for Cestallian internal security." "Are you saying that the other two ships, that were following us, are gone?" Scully spoke up incredulously from her position on the cot, where she, Mulder and Rae had settled (ring side seats?) when everyone had arrived in the room. She was thinking of what Mulder had told her hours earlier in that closet, when she'd been berating him about giving out Earth's secrets. "Told ya," Mulder whispered at her, unnecessarily. "Yes, that's exactly what we're saying." Han supplied. Luke had caught Mulder's whispered words to Scully, even though the translators had been calibrated so as not to pick up whispers. "Is there something you're not telling us, Mulder?" Luke asked, eyes narrowing. After what Threepio had told him and Cestallia's behavior, his circle of friends was understandably limited. Mulder looked up, unsurprised by Luke's keen hearing. He was ready to tell all, anyway. It just wasn't Mulder to keep things quiet for long. He knew his eyes gleamed as they did when he was on to something. But, that was okay. He was absolutely sure of what he was about to say. However, he didn't know how Cestallia was going to take it and at the moment, it didn't matter. Fox Mulder cleared his throat and stood. His eyes briefly fell on his partner. Then, he turned and deliberately reached into the overhead compartment and retrieved the suit he'd been wearing that first night. After digging around in his pockets, he pulled his hand out, satisfied. All eyes watched as Mulder stepped toward Han. "Do you have one of these anywhere on your ship?" he asked. In his hand was the small metal cylinder he and Rae had found in the basement of Acme. Han looked at the object curiously for a second and slowly shook his head, "No, I don't think--" Luke stepped around Mulder to get a closer look at the object. "Yes, you do," he stated matter of factly, cutting Han off. "There's one of these in that box we found in the War room, back at the palace. Right now it's in one of the auxiliary panels." where Mulder was heading was quickly dawning on Luke. While Scully may have noticed the tenseness that had come over her partner, no one else, save Cestallia even had a clue. "Where did you get that?" Cestallia demanded, focusing furious pupil-less gray eyes on Mulder. "Several places actually," Mulder replied. "In the nostrils of the exhumed and badly malformed body of a teenage boy, a few individuals who claimed to have been abducted from Earth by extraterrestrial, a warehouse..." he allowed his voice to trail off. "Why don't you tell me if my guess is right. These are used for more than mind control and tracking aren't they? They also serve as a 'key' to your Gate," he spat the last word. "You knew the other ships couldn't pass through because they didn't have the 'key'." Not waiting for Cestallia's answer, Fox Mulder stepped into her personal space. Since she was short, smaller than Dana even, he towered over her. "Now, I want you to tell me where my sister is!" he demanded, his voice a fierce whisper. Six pairs of shocked eyes fell on Mulder in the ensuing silence. The rage nearly poured from his body. He was face to face with someone who, in his mind, conceivably, had the answers to all he sought. And for a change, he had her cornered. Or so he thought. "Fox Mulder," Cestallia spoke up, plastering a small smile across her otherwise stiff expression. "I know the pain you feel and I know the one you seek. But, what you do now endangers her more than you can possibly imagine. There are powerful forces at work. More powerful than you or I or time itself! My mission, my Destiny must be carried out or you will never, ever find your sister. If I do not fulfill this mission she will be lost to you for all eternity." Mulder stared down at the little woman, breathing heavily, unable to let go of the pain and the anger of not knowing. "I am sick of all the self-righteous excuses for keeping my sister away from me. They. Mean. Nothing. I need an answer. Is she here?" Suddenly, Cestallia softened. "Yes, she is close. But this knowledge will only hurt you." "So I trade one for the other," Mulder replied softly. Then louder, "Where?" Cestallia shook her head. "No," he said simply. Luke looked up suddenly, turning surprised eyes on his sister. "The woman," he said. "The woman with the children. She said her name was Fox. It was probably the only name she could remember!" "Where?" Mulder's eyes darted toward Luke. Had he been so close all along? "She was with the children we found on the Hinderer, the ship that was stolen from the security bay by Benjamin Adams. Threepio was right! Do you know of a place called Massachusetts? That's where she said she was from." "That's where we grew up," Mulder responded, numbly now. Was he really going to see his sister? He went back and sat on the cot, a private smile on his face. "When can I see her?" he asked softly. Luke's smile faded. "She was kidnapped with the children from the Cestallian system, presumably by Benjamin Adams." Luke saw the dejection in the set of Mulder's shoulders. To be taken so high, only made the landing all the more painful. There had to be some hope he could offer. He turned his mind toward Cestallia Do you know where the children are? he asked her. Yes, Luke, I do. But it will do no good to tell him. Cestallia responded. She still felt her failure keenly. True Cestallia had not told her all these things when she'd first given her this mission. Cestallia found that it was difficult to deal with people without her position as Matriarch; her word was not law here. And she wasn't altogether sure how to deal with that fact. She found that she couldn't even draw on the experiences of previous Matriarch's, because out here, without True Cestallia beneath her feet, those memories were as distant as home. Obiwan told me to trust my feelings, said Luke, sensing a bit of Cestallia's confusion. And my feelings tell me that if you wish to receive trust, you will have to give it in return. Han and Leia, I have and will again, trust with my life. Fox and Dana and Rae give every indication of being loyal. I am willing to trust them. Cestallia contemplated what Luke said for a few moments and then looked up at him and smiled. Do you dare to teach an old woman, young Skywalker? she asked. Her eyes wandered to the man sitting on the cot next to his partner. And for a change, she saw him as more than a player in the mission True Cestallia had given her. She saw him as a lonely little boy who desperately missed his sister. Then aloud, she added, "Fox Mulder, you will see your sister again. I know this." "When? When will I see her?" Mulder asked, rising from the cot. "Difficult to tell," Cestallia sighed. "The future is always in motion." Va. Beach Virginia Mandy finally reached the Blvd., as Virginia Beach Boulevard was called by the locals, just after dark. She'd decided that no one would think to look for her here at her father's beach house. He rarely used it and in her opinion only had it for bragging rights, like most of his 'toys'. Sometimes she wondered if that was what she was to him, a possession. The house wasn't really situated on the beach, but sat at the end of a long, tree shrouded lane. But the ocean front was only a mile away. Mandy slowed the van and was about to pull into the lane, when she noticed her gas gauge. In a rare moment, she decided to go ahead and fill up. She wasn't sure what types of unexpected events could occur by morning. As Mandy pulled by the lane, she noticed a shadowy figure smoking against a tree. For one, heart stopping second, she thought her father was here. There was no way in life she could bring Big Foot here if her father were present. He hated the 'bleeding hearts' as he called them. Then in a flash of insight, she remembered the man, the one who always smoked in Brunswick's office. Could they possibly know where she was? In retrospect, she realized that she hadn't been very careful. Surely, they wouldn't kill her or anything, would they? "Stop it this minute!" Mandy told herself out loud. "There is no one here, it's all in your head." Having half convinced herself, she pulled the van into the Starvin' Marvin at the corner of 17th and Oceanside. Some cautionary bone urged her to pay in cash. Before leaving the van, Mandy took a look at Big Foot. He was still out. She wondered again just how much Cordicorinal they'd given him, if it were even that at all? She'd never known Cordicorinal to last so long. Inside the store, she picked up a big bag of Vinegar and Salt potato chips and a large lemonade soda. Then as a second thought she added a couple of banana nut muffins and a Gatorade for Big Foot. The Starvin Marvin wasn't the place to go for fresh veggies, and she couldn't risk leaving her sleeping Goliath alone for much longer, so the muffin and drink would have to do for now. "Hello," greeted the man behind the counter when she approached. "Hi," she returned, placing her items on the counter. There wasn't much business on this, a chilly autumn night. "You work at Lynnhaven?" the man asked as he rung up her items. He'd noticed her nurses shoes and the white of her skirt sticking out beneath her big sweater. Mandy looked up at the man curiously. He was sandy haired with a weathered face that reminded her vaguely of Ray from Dallas. Oddly enough his name tag read 'Ahmed'. "Uhh...." she stumbled as this information filtered through her brain, "how's Kenosha?" The man tilted his head to the side, giving her an odd look. "Pardon me?" he asked, smiling charmingly. Mandy saw that he had the deep cut dimples that drove her mother wild. "Kenosha," she replied, vowing her voice not to shake. "She runs the place..." Mandy let her voice trail off as she gestured around the store. "Or at least she did last week." "Oh," the male laughed a self deprecating laugh as if it were all a mistake. "She took the night off." Mandy smiled back at him. "Yeah, well she needed to. A real work- a-holic if I ever saw one." With that Mandy picked up her items and had to force herself to walk calmly out the door. "Hey!" the man called her back all of a sudden. Mandy froze to the spot, half out the door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning around. "Yes?" she asked as innocently as she could. "Didn't you get gas?" the man asked. Mandy sighed with relief. "Yes, I'm so sorry. Leave it to me to do something like that." She walked shakily back to the counter and placed the money for the gas on the counter. "You look a little beat. My advice to you would be to go in and get yourself some rest. It's dangerous on the road by yourself when you're tired. You never can be too careful." The man smiled again. Under normal circumstances Mandy might have found this man warm and charming. But, never in her life had she ever known a Kenosha. And she didn't have a clue who ran the Starvin Marvin. "Right," he said to the man. "I will." And then she beat a hasty retreat. Mandy watched carefully through the rear view mirror as the man watched her leave the small parking lot. She headed in the direction of her father's house. But at the corner she turned the block. There was no way she would be going to her father's house, now. For the first time that day, Mandy began to wonder is she might just be in over her head. The man behind the counter of the Starvin Marvin waited for the young woman to exit the parking lot before he pulled out his cellular phone. "She's here," he said to the person who answered. Millennium Falcon "...the dynamics behind them are a little complicated. But, I can tell you that this is the prototype Gate. It was grown thousands of years ago by my ancestors. True Cestallia feels that there is a great evil being carried out here. I felt it best that Becter not scan too deeply while the Gate was in operation because I didn't know what kind of affect such a scan would have on technology that is millennia old. It could have altered the balance in such a way that we might never have found our way to Earth or back home." "You could have told us these things, Cestallia," Leia said. "You should have trusted us." "Yes," Cestallia smiled, "so Luke tells me. But for now, the important thing is to rescue your friend because after this Gate is closed there won't be a second chance." "I have a question," Scully said. "Just how do you propose to find your friend? He could be anywhere by now." Han pointed a thumb in the direction of Luke and Leia. "The wonder twins," he said. "They find him and I get to do the dirty work," Han finished with a grin. Though the 'dirty work' was rescuing his friend and Han was looking forward to it, he didn't care for all this talk, he was ready to do something. Scully was about to ask more, but Luke and Leia had settled on one of the cots. And there was an unmistakable air of ceremony about the way they sat. Luke took one of Leia's hands and looked at her as if he were speaking to her, giving her some sort of mental guidance. Then, both their eyes slid shut as they reached out into the Force, toward Earth, in search of their friend. "What are they doing?" Mulder whispered to Han, who'd wandered off to insure that their position remained behind the moon. Scully and Rae gravitated over as well, when after a few seconds Luke and Leia hadn't moved or even began to hum as Rae had secretly expected. Cestallia stood off a distance, since she didn't know Chewie, she couldn't get a feel for him. "Oh, it's that Force of theirs," Han said dismissively as he punched up codes on the control panel. "I can't tell you how it works, I just know it does." "So, Leia's a Jedi, too?" Mulder asked. "Nah," Han shook his head. "Not really. Luke keeps trying to train her, but there's never enough time. Have either of you seen the droids?" Han asked, cutting the conversation short. It wasn't like them to remain out from underfoot so long. Besides, he wanted Artoo to check out the Falcon's precision station keeping. It seemed that it wasn't so precise anymore. "Well, what do you think, Scully?" Mulder asked his skeptical partner when Han left in search of the droids. She was wearing that look, the one Mulder knew so well. "I think I'm in the twilight zone, Mulder," Scully replied. "You know what they say, 'one man's heaven...'," Mulder replied. Alpha Point Base The Hinderer slipped quietly into the Gate's vortex, but unlike the Falcon, it didn't continue on to Earth. The Hinderer came to a full stop within the heart of the Gate. Its passengers were overwhelmed by the joy of the living rock, of which the ship was made, as it was reunited with it's brother the Gate. Domar looked on with pleasure as the ship settled into the field. The cargo on this vessel was precious. The children and the young woman were the seed stock of the force they were building. They were kept in the isolated environment of the Hinderer to enhance the abilities of these ones. The Ka'dim had taken all of the strong adults as well as Omak. It was doubtful that they would return. Domar already had the exchanged Ka'dim in 'protective' custody. The Hinderer's airlock slid open to reveal the small group of exiles, lead by Sarn. "One," he announced with a gleam in his eyes, "I have much to tell you." Millennium Falcon "Well?" Han questioned when he stepped back into the bay, followed by the droids. "I'm sorry, Han," Luke said. "We couldn't sense him. But it could be that he's drugged or maybe something's interfering. I think we should go down and see if we can get a better feel on the ground. Mulder has a plan that I think might work." "Okay, let's hear it." "When you hear the ring, just push this button and put it to your...uh...ear, like this," Mulder explained to Threepio. "Then we can communicate. Everyone and their brother has a cell phone so there's less chance that they'll catch the transmission." "Would I be able to contact you as well with this...cell phone?" Threepio asked as he took the proferred instrument from Mulder's hand. "It's probably not a good idea for you to do that," Mulder said. "All the boosting you're gonna be doing to pick up our signal might cause any call you make to Earth to bleed over into some other channels and end up broadcasting our conversation all over the planet. In fact we're gonna keep ours turned off til we need to contact you." "Got that goldenrod?" Han said. "Don't call us, we'll call you." Han Solo didn't think much of the idea of leaving the ship in the care of the droids. But, Leia and Luke needed to be on the ground and as much he hated to admit it, Cestallia would probably be helpful, too. And, ofcourse there was no way he, short of being tied down would wait on the ship with Threepio." "I quite understood, sir." "All right, then. Artoo, are you ready?" Luke called over the comm link to the little round droid. Artoo's beeps and whistles could be heard as he responded in the affirmative. The millennium Falcon began it's descent to the Earth just within the limits of the artificial gravity. The ship hovered on it's repulser lifts slightly above the ground in the woods where the Falcon had first landed two days earlier. When its human passenger's had departed, the Falcon again shot into the sky at top speed. Since there were no humans on board, the ability of the artificial gravity to compensate for the G forces exerted on the ship did not matter. "Okay, we move fast," said Mulder. "We don't know if anyone picked that up or not. Anybody remember where we parked?" "What does it mean 'towed away'?" Cestallia asked as she stared through the darkness at her new friends from Earth. "It means," said Scully with a heavy sigh, "that our vehicle is gone." "So, what next?" Rae asked. "Well, it doesn't appear that anyone picked up the Falcon, why don't we call them back down and have them take us to Washington?" Mulder asked. "Mulder are you seriously suggesting we have a space ship land in Washington D.C...?" "Well, yeah." Mulder nodded. "Have a better idea?" "Unfortunately, no. But where could we land without being spotted?" "What about National Zoo?" asked Rae. "I remember going there when I was a kid." Scully and Mulder looked at one another and shrugged. "Great." Silver Springs, Maryland Walter Skinner finally arrived home from a meeting with the General. How he loathed that man. But there was still the matter of the assignment that he'd ordered given to the still missing Agents. The assignment required Scully and Mulder to use their unusual resources in finding a fugitive who thought he was an ape man. And not just any run of the mill fugitive who thought he was an ape man, but one who stood over seven feet tall and *looked* like an ape man. It sounded too much like the Sasquatch Geoff Reenes had spoken of to Skinner. But even in light of that fact, there was no way Skinner was going to believe that his agents were no longer on the planet. Right now, though, Walter Skinner had a headache that made thinking a painful task. Perhaps half a bottle of aspirin and eight hours down the road he would figure out the puzzle that one young woman's cry for help had become. Before he could go to bed, though, Skinner had to try once more to reach his agents. It was irrational, but he couldn't allow himself to sleep if he didn't. National Zoo Seven pairs of eyes watched as the Falcon raced into the sky above National Zoo. Its lights were extinguished, but nothing could be done about the pale glow of the rear engine panel. A soft growl drew everyone's attention to a shadowy form near a large boulder formation. "I've got a bad feeling about this," Rae said as she fished carefully around in her pocket. "Yeah, you took the words right out of my mouth," Han said and muttered something uncomplimentary about Threepio's piloting skills. Rae withdrew her multitool, which also had a pen light appendage. She flashed the light around the shadowy outcropping the they'd put down in. "Uh oh," she breathed as the narrow beam cut across a tan, heavily muscled torso. "We need to move," she whispered. "Don't tell me," Mulder said, shaking his head. "*Inside* the lion's den." The group as a whole began to back away from the general direction of the lion. "Any idea which way is out?" Rae asked as they all backed away from the lioness who was now siding gracefully in their direction. "Excuse me," Scully whispered, "but wasn't this your idea?" "Yeah, but you guys live here," Rae replied lamely. "I thought you'd take care of that part." "Wait." Luke spoke so suddenly and so calmly that everyone started. "Everyone stop," he added. The group paused, reluctantly waiting for the explanation. The lion continued to press forward. "Kid, I sure hope you got a plan," Han said. "Cause I don't think I like the looks of his." Luke turned to Cestallia. How many did you count? he asked her. Mental communication was so much quicker than verbal. Nine, was Cestallia's immediate reply. She already knew what Luke wanted. Luke then turned his mind to his sister's. There's a fence thirty-five feet to the left. You get everyone over there while we hold these lions off. He allowed her to see the fence in her mind as he saw it. Watch out for the moat. "Everybody, come with me," Leia said. "I know the way out." Rae and Mulder followed without argument. Scully, however, seeing that Luke and Cestallia had remained, paused. "Wait," Dana said, "what about--" Her words were cut off when Leia grabbed her arm, pulling her along. "You don't want to break his concentration," Leia replied by way of explanation as she dragged the reluctant woman along. Dana continued to look over her shoulder at the two figures standing in the field as the lions approached. "He'll be fine," Leia assured her in a rough whisper. "Now get ready to jump!" She paused only slightly before she released Dana's arm and leapt across the canal of water. Dana's attention was caught by the steep incline on the opposite side. Mulder, Rae and Han were already on the opposite side, climbing a service ladder toward the fence at the top of the incline. Leia was well on her way to the ladder, unfortunately, she hadn't quite cleared the water. And neither did Dana. When the small group were on the opposite side of the fence, Leia called out to her brother and Cestallia that they were ready. Everyone watched silently as Luke and Cestallia backed slowly away from the animals. The lioness' for their part didn't attack the interlopers in their world. But it was clear that they were not welcome. Luke was amazed at the intensity within the beasts when he'd touched their minds. They saw he and Cestallia as a direct threat to their domain. With the Force they'd been able to project the idea that the lioness' didn't want to strike just yet. But who knew what any sudden move might do. They were near the moat and Luke could picture just what was necessary. A split second before he and Cestallia jumped they released their hold on the animals. Both Jedi summersalted gracefully in the air and directed their landing to a point just behind the small group of humans. 21. Va. Beach Va. "Rudy, are you sure she'll come back here?" Dr. Brunswick asked from the leather wing back near the fireplace. "Of course I'm sure. Normandy is over-imaginative, yes. But she doesn't think things through, just like her mother." Rudolf Newman stood at the window gazing out at the autumn night sky. A cloud had floated in and obscured the waning moon. "I've no doubt that she'll come here. We already have word that she's in town. It's only a matter of time, now." Newman turned to face his guest. "How are you going to explain this to the general if you get caught?" Brunswick looked over the edge of a glass of dark swirling liquid and shrugged. "The general's been a bit distracted of late. I don't believe his decision's are to be trusted in this matter. Besides, I've examined the creature. He has an absolutely astounding metabolism. I think it might prove useful..." Silver Springs, Maryland Asst. Director Walter Skinner sat up on the edge of his bed and dialed the familiar number of Agent Scully's cellular phone. After a number of rings the now, beyond familiar message, that Skinner could quote in his sleep began. "...party has either turned off the unit or is out of range. Recording C-12." Skinner clicked the phone off and back on to try Agent Mulder's number. He was prepared to count the rings until the message began. It was almost like a countdown until the time when he could get some sleep. But to his amazement, someone answered. "Hello?" came the oddly accented voice. Immediately Skinner's mind flashed to Mrs. Edwards, an English woman who'd once been a neighbor of his. "I'm sorry, wrong number," Skinner replied and hung up. On a yawn, he dialed Mulder's number again. The same voice answered the phone. "Who am I speaking to?" Skinner demanded. He was sure he hadn't dialed the same wrong number twice. "I am See Threepio? How may I be of assistance?" "Could I speak with Agent Mulder or Scully, please." Skinner requested, assuming Threepio was perhaps one of Mulder's school friends from England. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. But if by Agent you refer to Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, they are not here at the moment." "Do you mind telling me precisely where Agents Scully and Mulder are and what you are doing with their cell phone?" "Precisely, sir?" Threepio asked. "I can perhaps narrow it down to a few yards, but the precise co-ordinates would be difficult. If you wouldn't mind waiting, I'm sure my counterpart would be able to provide estimated co-ordinates with an acceptable degree of accuracy." "What?!" Skinner asked, dragging his legs into his pants. There would be no sleep tonight. "Just tell me where they are Mr. Threepio." "I believe it was called National Zoo." Threepio answered. "And as for why I have this cell phone, it all began..." Alpha Point Station Domar smiled at the new information that he'd just received. Finally, he had a way to return to his home Galaxy. His brothers had returned with the bracelets that were the key and also with something else of near equal value; Benjamin Adams, the grandson of Palpatine was now under his control. He now possessed the strongest of the trainees. The woman He'd have to be very careful in how he used him, though. The Ka'dim were very curious as to what was going on. Domar had told them that it was a routine mission that was returning. But still they were watching him carefully. {MW} Earth, Washington, D.C. Seven strangely dressed individuals on the train in Washington D.C. near midnight wasn't much of an odd event. No one even gave more than a second look, dismissing them as foreigners. So, the small group made it safely through two transfers to their stop near Scully's apartment. There had been some discussion on whose apartment they would be going to. But, Dana had been the victor when she'd pointed out that her apartment was clean, she had food, and there was less of a chance that dark government types on one of their quarterly sweeps of Mulder's apartment would show up. Dana wasn't sure which argument did the trick. "Did you pick anything up?" Han asked Luke as they exited the train station. "No," Luke said disappointed. "I could feel that I was close, but it seems that his mind is being smothered, probably drugs." "I'm sure that's probably standard operating procedure for these guys," Dana said. She was sure they must have used some sort of drug on her during her own abduction and Mulder's, too, during his time in captivity at Ellens Air Base. "How difficult do you think it'll be getting him back?" Cestallia asked. "Are we talking days, here?" Mulder shrugged, "I have a few sources I'd like to check out. Maybe we can narrow that down a bit." "Okay, we're here," Dana announced as they approached the front of her apartment building. As Dana Scully unlocked her apartment door, she heard the persistent ringing of the phone. She shoved down the nervous feeling that began in the pit of her stomach and made a dash for the phone. Her answering machine had just begun its message as she picked it up. She pushed the button to shut off the message. "Scully," she answered breathlessly, pushing a strand of hair behind an ear. Her hand froze in mid motion as she realized who she was speaking to. Mulder could hear the unhappy voice of the AD from across the room. "Uh, yes sir, that's approximately true...Awol sir?..no sir. Illegal aliens...no sir...yes, s--.... uh, we'll be here, sir." She put the phone down with a heavy sigh before turning to her partner. "Skinner's on the way," he said unnecessarily. "Who's Skinner?" Han asked. "You don't want to know," both Scully and Mulder said simultaneously. "Well, what do you want on your tombstone?" Mulder asked his partner, who stared back at him in complete confusion. Mulder laughed, "I'm going to Jolene's for pizza. What do you want?" Scully gasped in only half feigned shock. "You don't seriously mean to order pizza. Not everyone has the truly frightening metabolism you've developed over the years, Mulder." "It would be a crime to not serve Jolene's pizza," Mulder replied. Scully made a doubtful sound. "Well, I'm going to make some real food for those who don't wish to poison their systems," she announced. Twenty minutes later, Dana Scully stood in her kitchen looking nervously down at the plate of muffins. Mulder, Han, Leia and Cestallia had just left to pick up the pizza after Mulder had ordered it and checked his brFeedback:. Dana had been amazed at the way Cestallia had made herself look more or less normal, those pupil-less gray eyes of hers weren't noticeable it seemed when she didn't want them to be. Now Dana was about to place the muffins on the table with the eggs and sausage she'd prepared. She didn't know why she was so nervous about cooking for Luke and Rae. Deep down, she knew it wasn't Rae she was worried about. After a few more seconds of silent debate, she called the two into the kitchen. "It's ready. Sorry the muffins look like an experiment, they really are edible." Just then a knock came at the door. "Help yourselves," Dana added as she went to answer the door. An exhausted looking Walter Skinner was visible through her peep hole. She let him in, barely remembering to deactivate her translator in time. "Good evening, sir," he said, standing back to allow him to pass. She wished Mulder and the others had waited a little longer, facing Skinner alone wasn't a pleasant thought. "Good evening, Agent Scully," Skinner spoke formally, without a hint of warmth to his voice. It would be out of character for him to show how relieved he was that she and Mulder and Rae were safe. Instead he tried to summon enough energy to read her the riot act, at least the part he hadn't read over the phone. Instead, the smell of banana nut muffins, sausage and eggs caught his attention. He didn't remember the last time he eaten "real" food. The riot act could wait. "Are those banana nut muffins I smell, Agent Scully?" Skinner asked, much to Dana's surprised, who was already preparing her argument. "Uhh...yes, sir. Would you like something to eat?" Dana asked, muddling her way through Skinner's swift change of stance. Skinner accepted Dana's offer and wandered into her kitchen. She then introduced him to Rae as Walter Skinner, her boss. Out of his sight, she signaled for Rae to turn off her translator. "I'm glad to finally meet you, sir," Rae said, nonchalantly removing the translator from her collar. She added the sir automatically; Skinner just commanded such a response. "And I'm glad you made it here safely. I assume Dana and Fox were capable aides in your rescue?" Skinner added with a gleam in his eye. "You have no idea," Rae said. "You're just like my f--" Skinner cut Rae off before she could finish her statement. "Pardon me, but I think I do have an idea, I just don't want to know about it. It's safer for my sanity that way." Dana stood against the doorway in utter shock. She couldn't believe Skinner was actually standing in her kitchen joking with Rae. Skinner didn't joke. When Skinner turned to Luke, Dana introduced him and Skinner as well. "Sir, this is Luke Skywalker, a...friend of mine. He doesn't speak very much English." Then, turning to Luke, "This is Walter Skinner." Luke surprised Dana by speaking right up, "Hello, Walter Skinner. It's good to meet you." Although his words were spoken slowly, the intonation was correct as well as the pronunciation. Luke smiled and winked at her. Dana Scully, for the third time in less than twenty-four hours, blushed. And Skinner didn't miss a thing. "I'll fix you a plate, sir," he said as she made her escape from his scrutiny. Five minutes later, Dana came to the conclusion that Skinner must have been starved and Mulder must have been lost. Skinner had wolfed down everything Dana had set before him and declared it delicious and Mulder and crew had yet to return. Dana couldn't find her appetite and so simply sipped on juice. "Well, a--Dana, thank you for the food, but I think it's time that Theraesa and I be going," Skinner said after glancing at his watch. "I'll take care of paper work and follow up on the alibi you all were able to establish." Skinner rose from his chair and gathered his overcoat. "One more thing before I go," he added. "Could I have a word with you in private?" Scully pushed herself up from her chair and led Asst. Director Skinner into a back room. "Agent Scully, I really don't began to understand what is going on here nor do I wish to encourage you in this little charade. But, for now, you have a temporary stay until I handle Ms. Manning's situation. Do not, I repeat, do not mistake my present...." Skinner thought for a moment, "temperament as impetus to engage in mutual denial or creative expression of the facts. I'll expect a full accounting in my office at my earliest convenience. Is that understood?" Dana swallowed, "yes, sir." Perhaps leaving the Galaxy forever wasn't such a bad idea. Because, if Dana told it straight, her report was going to sound more 'out there' than any report Mulder had ever given to date. Mulder's report she didn't even want to contemplate. Skinner allowed the subject to drop with her response. "Your next assignment comes from the top," he began, reaching into his overcoat for the sheaf of papers in a rolled manila envelope. "This assignment is on a need to know basis only. It was felt that with Agent Mulder's special talents he could find this individual. Everything you need is in the folder. Take care Agent Scully. " With that Skinner handed Dana the envelope and left the room. Dana made a detour to her bedroom and stuffed the envelope under her pillow. When she stepped back into the living room, Rae was waiting to say good-bye. "Thanks, for everything," Rae said. "This was a weekend I'll never, ever forget. Tell Mulder for me, will you?" Dana nodded, "Of course, I will." The two women embraced and then Rae was gone. Dana watched her go and wondered what type of future she would have. Would her life simply return to normal after all of this? Walter Skinner and Theraesa Manning exited the apartment building and got into Skinner's car before either of them spoke again. "Did you know my father very well?" Rae asked him. "Yes," Skinner said thoughtfully. "I used to know him quite well," he turned the key in the ignition and felt a slight prick in his hand, and dismissed it. But, a second later, when he heard a soft sigh escape Rae, a frightening thought came to him, but then it was gone because the darkness came. The bearded man opened the driver's side door and shut off the ignition. Then, he placed the small remotely operated projectile throwers in his pocket and put his daughter in the back seat. After which he pushed Skinner over to the passenger side and drove off. He was satisfied to see that Agent Mulder didn't even notice him when he passed at the corner. Scully was still standing, staring at the door when Luke approached with the translator that she'd left on the counter. Dana stood very still as Luke attached it to her lapel. She looked at him expectantly when he was done, he obviously wanted to talk. "I didn't mean to shock you in the kitchen," Luke said. "I just picked those words up from before." "It was a bit of a surprise," Dana admitted. "I didn't think anyone could pick up a language so quickly," she added, distracted. "Mulder said that you...helped me, that night. I didn't get the chance to thank you." "It was no problem," Luke shrugged. "I only sped up your body's own natural processes." "How did you do that?" Scully asked, truly curious. "Did you use some type of drug or hormonal response?" she was hoping for a purely scientific answer to what was meant to be a scientific question. "I used the force," Luke answered simply. As soon as the translator was done with his words he felt her withdrawal. Always the skeptic, she could not accept that answer. Dana had been faced with some pretty outlandish things during her partnership with Mulder. But this force thing was a bit much for her to swallow. "I'm sorry, Luke, I really see no evidence that there is a 'force' that's everywhere that allows certain people strange powers." Luke remembered Han's skepticism concerning the Jedi. But, Dana even after seeing what he and Cestallia had done at the zoo and what he'd done for her, was still disbelieving. He didn't understand how that could be. He decided to try another tact, because he really wanted to understand this woman. "Dana," he started, "what are you afraid of?" "Afraid of...?" Dana asked, startled. "What do you mean?" "I mean," said Luke, "Why are you so afraid to believe? You allow yourself so little reign, but I can tell that deep down you want to let go, free your spirit. Why won't you, after all that you've seen, allow yourself to believe?" Dana froze. Those words echoed through her mind. Someone else had asked her a similar question. What was she afraid of? Dana startled visibly when the front door opened. "Pizza!" Mulder called as he and Cestallia spilled in, followed by Han and Leia. No one seemed to notice the tension in the air, or if they did they ignored it. "Where's Rae?" Mulder asked as he sat the pizza on Dana's coffee table, ignoring the look of disapproval he received. The smell of melted cheese and sausage mixed with the smells of banana nut muffins when Mulder lifted the lid and grabbed out a slice. "Skinner was here, you missed it," Dana said accusingly as she retrieved the pizza from the coffee table and placed a newspaper beneath it. "It took a little longer than I expected," Mulder responded with an innocent grin before he headed to Scully's spare room to see if he'd gotten a response to his brFeedback:. "Ummm hmmm," Scully said to his back. "I'll be back with some plates and drinks," he said to the rest of the group. When everyone was settled and eating Scully went back to see if Mulder had gotten anywhere with his sources. She made a stop by her bedroom first, to retrieve the case file Skinner had left. "Have anything?" she asked as she entered the room. "Maybe," Mulder said as he clicked the mouse on his final piece of mail. "Strange lights in the sky, disappearances, the usual, really." Scully nodded as she settled down to read the case file. There wasn't very much to it, but what was there was enough to make her sit up straighter. "Mulder, you are not going to believe this," he said. "What's that?" Mulder asked, shutting off her computer and moving to stand behind her chair. "It's a new assignment from Skinner," he said. "And it sounds like we just got an assignment to *find* Chewie because of your special talents." "This is bogus," Mulder said after reading the first paragraph. "Bogus!?" Scully exclaimed. "You only read, maybe, the first paragraph." Mulder grinned indulgently down at her, "Okay, for you, I'll read the rest." With that, he headed to the living room for more pizza. "But, I'm still going to think it's bogus!" he called. Scully left Leia and Cestallia in the kitchen chatting over herbal tea to see what Mulder had come up with. She'd busied herself placing the dishes in the dishwasher while she'd given him time to read the file through. When she stepped in the living room, she found that Mulder had introduced Han to the art of channel surfing; he sat, head thrown back against the sofa, fast asleep with the remote control in hand. Luke was looking through a newspaper. Mulder was still reading the file as he munched on yet another slice of pizza. "Well?" Scully asked, raising a critical eyebrow. "Research, Scully," Mulder said around a mouthful of pizza. "Don't be so uptight." "Uptight!" Scully gasped, "I'll show you uptight!" In a very uncharacteristic move, Dana grabbed up one of her accent pillows and threw it in the general direction of Mulder's head. The throw was off and would have missed had it not made a rather odd detour in mid-air, angling around to hit Mulder squarely in the back of the head. "Hey!" Mulder yelped, while Dana stood frozen in amazement. Luke laughed out loud and winked at Dana, who, unable to help herself, dissolved into giggles. "No fair helping!" Mulder exclaimed in Luke's direction and threw a pillow back at his partner. Luke made sure it bounced harmlessly away from her. Mulder quickly caught on and tossed a couple pillows at Luke who was laughing too hard to block anything by then. The pillow fight was officially on. Scully squealed when she was dragged to the floor by a pair of male arms. Whose she wasn't sure of because she'd taken to beating both Mulder and Luke with pillows. The pillow she had been wielding flew across the room and belted Han, who'd only just jerked awake at her scream, in the head. "Wha?" he demanded groggily jumping to his feet, grabbing the pillow like a mortal enemy. The three individuals on the floor froze realizing how silly they must look. When Cestallia and Leia rushed into the room seconds later to see what was wrong, all three were red-faced with embarrassment and at a loss to explain why they were on the floor. They were saved from explanation however, when the phone rang. "I got it!" Scully exclaimed, more enthusiastically than the situation warranted. A second later, though, she hung up confused. "Who was it?" Mulder asked, now up from the floor and replacing her pillows. "The voice was oddly familiar, but the words were strange," he said, helping he and Luke with the pillows. "Well, what did he say?" Mulder asked with an undertone of excitement in his stance. Dana shrugged. "Make contact." Office of the Lone Gunmen "We're being watched," Luke said as Mulder pulled Scully's car into the parking garage near where the Office of the Lone Gunmen was located. Mulder nodded. The hair on the back of his neck had prickled before Luke had made his announcement, and it had nothing to do with the fact that they'd just squeeze six adults into Scully's car. "Looks like someone is getting curious," Mulder murmured. "Can you tell where he is, Kid?" Han asked from the front seat with Mulder. "No," Luke said, "but wherever they are, they feel safe. Like there's no way we're going to find them." "So, what now?" Leia asked. "Do we go on in or are we going to try and get this information through some other means?" "We go in," Mulder said. "Who is it?" a voice asked as Mulder stood before the camara on the outside of the office of the Lone Gunmen. "Mulder and friends," was Mulder's solemn reply as he glanced around him. No one had followed them into the building, nor had the mysterious watchers, according to Luke, changed their position. "I thought we were your only friends, Mulder," was Frohike's laughing reply. Mulder chuckled in spite of himself. "Don't worry, Frohike, you're still in the will." There was a clang as the lock was released and the door opened and the group was allowed to move into the room beyond. Va. Beach, Virginia Mandy Newman didn't know what to think anymore and she didn't know where she could go either. If someone was indeed on to her, it wouldn't be long they figured out she wasn't going to her father's. She had to make a decision now. Ahead, a Wendy's sign shown in the night, "Driv-thru open twenty fours hours" it boasted. Mandy was struck with a sudden burst of inspiration. "Wave!" she exclaimed out loud. When he turn came at the drive thru window, she asked if Waverly were working that night. A few moments later she was greeted by her old friend from her days working at the Franchise. "Mandy! Where've you been, girl?" he asked, happy to see her. "Park and come on in, I want to talk to you," he added reaching for the building's keys, that hung on his belt. Mandy parked the van with a grin and after a quick glance at her still sleeping Big Foot, she hopped out of the van to ask a very big favor of her friend. Minutes later, Mandy thanked Wave as she walked off with his keys. He'd be working for the rest of the night and was allowing her to use his place to crash until he got home. Washington D.C. "I hope I didn't wake you," Mulder said as he entered. "Are you kidding," Frohike returned. "This is our alt.conspiracy night. Who are your new friends?" he added, taking in the group that followed Mulder into the dim office. Mulder introduced each person in turn to Frohike before he reactivated his translator. "They don't speak English," he explained. "This device translates English into their language." Frohike's brows went up a fraction as he heard a replication of Mulder's voice speaking in a language he couldn't place. "Interesting device," Byers said as he and Langly entered from a door in the back of the room. "The participants were unoriginal and the discussion was ordinary," he told Frohike. "So we left." "Left where?" Dana asked, glancing toward the door they'd come through. She'd thought it was a closet. "Alt.conspiracy relay chat. We were the guests of honor," Frohike grinned at Dana with a slight bow, removing his hat to cover his heart. Dana simply rolled her eyes. "Scully, do you mind?" Mulder asked, gesturing toward the translator that was still on her lapel where Luke had placed it. Dana remembered suddenly that the translator would not translate the words of the Gunmen since they weren't speaking Basic and weren't wearing translators of their own. She self consciously snapped it off and handed it to her partner. Mulder gave her a small smile as he took it. "For me?" Frohike asked amazed when Mulder snapped it to his sweater. Mulder ignored him. "Now," said Mulder when the translator was attached. "Tell me what you have." Frohike immediately got to business. He told the group of the young woman with the sig 'spy chic without bounds'. "We met a while back at one of the alt.conspiracy meetings. Some of her posts were... shall we say, enlightened. She and Langly hit it off, then, yesterday she sent him a piece of brFeedback: that you might find interesting." Frohike showed them a hard copy of the brFeedback: that Langly had received. He read it aloud for the benefit of the non English reading members of the audience. "We think she's in trouble," Frohike said when he was done reading "She never E 'd us back like she said she'd do if everything turned out all right." Mulder read over the mail twice. "There's something missing, here," he murmured to Frohike. "Yeah, well, she needed a little help with her plan. We thought it best not to keep incriminating information. But the references to Big Foot seemed similar to your...ah, Friend." "Do you have anything else?" Mulder asked. So far the information suggested that someone had seen a tall hairy 'man' and was going to attempt to 'save' him. But, the file Frohike held was minus the sender's address. "We did some checking," Frohike continued. "Her member profile said that her 'real' name is Normandy Newman and that she lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, it also said that her occupation is 'medical technician'." Mulder snapped to at the new information. "Did she say where she was going to take 'Big Foot' once she saved him?" Mulder asked. "The beach," Langly spoke up from one side of the room. "The beach?" Scully asked. "What beach?" "She just said that she was going to the beach, where her dad has a house that's empty right now." "Normandy is an unusual name," Mulder said. "Think you guys can find anything on her. We seemed to have picked up company on the way here and I don't want to take any chances going to the Hoover building." "Can do, my friend," Frohike said before turning toward one of the still running computers in the room. He cracked his knuckles before he began to type at the keyboard. "We'll check other sources," Byers said as he and Langly moved to other computers in the room. Scully looked at three men busily typing away at their computers and stepped closer to her partner. "Alright, Mulder, while America's most paranoid is doing our job, maybe you could tell me why you think the case file is bogus." "Just ask yourself a question," Mulder started. "If you kidnapped an extraterrestrial and were stashing him away wouldn't you want to hide him as quickly as possible?" "Yes," Scully agreed. Thus far she followed his logic. "Well, the file says that he was last seen in rural Montana," Mulder said, his eyes held Scully's willing her to understand. "Yes, but Mulder, it's been two days, they've had plenty of time to get him to Montana and then lose him," Scully argued. "Okay, but why call us in?" Mulder asked her. "Your special talents like it said," Scully replied. "No. They want to get us as far away from him as possible, so far off the beaten path that we wouldn't know which way was up. They wrote this file with me specifically in mind, Scully. They're baiting us. There's no 'wild man' in Montana, at least, not any that they put there." "Okay, I think I have it," Luke said as he looked down at the floor board of the van he, Mulder, Leia, Han, Dana and Cestallia now occupied. "This one is to go and it's pressure sensitive. This is to stop and it's pressure sensitive. This is to steer and it's so full of play that we'll just have to take our chances..." Luke was grinning as he repeated Mulder's words. When he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the rear view mirror his grin broadened. The Lone Gunmen had thought it would help them lose whoever was following them if they switched vehicles. The Gunmen's business owned a van and so they'd dressed Luke in Frohike's hat and spare set of glasses and sent the group out the back way, which led to a private parking area. Now Mulder was giving Luke a crash course in driving until they could get out of the reach of whatever organization had chosen to follow Mulder and Scully. "Okay, looks like we're ready to go," Mulder said, glancing back at everyone else in the van. They were all concealed from the sight of anyone they might pass once they left the private garage. "Uh, Mulder," Luke began worriedly, "I'm pushing the gas pedal and nothing is happening." "Oh yeah, forgot good ol' rule number one. Start the engine." Mulder reached over and turned the key. "*Then* you move the gear shift to this symbol and push the gas pedal..." Mandy stood in the open doorway of her father's van wondering just what she'd gotten herself into. Her 'Big Foot' was now beginning to stir and she didn't have a clue as to what to do about it. When Mandy'd arrived at Wave's small house, she'd parked the van in the backyard, hoping to avoid the party obviously going on next door. Then she'd grabbed a couple of blankets from the house, and despite the loud rock-n-roll coming from next door, fallen asleep. But now, the creature was awakening and Mandy simply didn't know what to do beyond stare down stupidly at his very long, hairy limbs as they became more active. Chewie opened his eyes and stared into the air while the darkness settled into the forms of a low ceiling and some sort of embedded light fixture. The next thought to enter his brain was how horribly uncomfortable he was. A chill breeze behind him caused him to roll into a sitting position a bit faster than his body was ready to handle. He couldn't stop the soft Wookiee moan. He grabbed a hold of his head with both hands in an attempt to steady it. When Chewie's vision stabilized into a single image, he saw that a young woman stood staring at him from the open door. Unlike his previous jailers, she looked terrified. She spoke, mumbling a few words Chewie didn't understand. Chewie tilted his head to one side and barked a few phrases in Basic. Or at least what passed for Basic in Wookiee talk. To Chewie's surprise, she jumped back nearly a foot at his words. She genuinely looked as if she were ready to turn and run. Chewie made another sound in an attempt to reassure her and reached a hand in her direction. He sensed that his situation had changed; this young woman was not his captor. Suddenly a hazy memory returned to him of this young woman leading him out of that white room. She must have been his rescuer he realized. He watched curiously as the young woman looked down at his hand, so large compared to her own, for a few seconds before hesitantly taking it. When her eyes lifted back to Chewie's face he gave her his best Wookiee smile, careful not to show his teeth. "Mandy," he said, placing her other hand on her chest. "My name is Mandy." Chewie took in her motions understanding clearly what she was trying to do. "Wwwrranwry," he growled her name in what was his best attempt, then laughed a deep Wookiee chuckle. This was going to be an interesting night. Mandy laughed back at his attempt at her name. She thought she could almost decipher what he'd said. She was about to ask him what his name was when the party next door decided to spill out into the backyard... Dana Scully jerked suddenly awake. It took a few moments for her to realize that they were all still in the van belonging to the Lone Gunmen. Leia was snuggled against Han and both were fast asleep, as best Dana could tell Cestallia was meditating and Luke and Mulder were in the front of the van talking softly. Dana didn't know what had awakened her, but a glance out of the front window told her that they were at the Starvin Marvin. The smell of sea air assaulted her nostrils; they were at the beach. Dana knew that smell anywhere. She scooted up toward the front to see what was going on. Both Mulder and Luke greeted her before she was even with them. "How'd you know it was me?" she asked. Both men just smiled secretly. 'Great, ' Dana thought, 'Two spooky's.' Then aloud she said, "Okay, next question, how far to the Newman place?" "According to this," Mulder said, pointing to the map now folded into a square. "The street is about two miles up that way," he pointed out of the parking lot and to the right." "Brunswick here," Ian Brunswick spoke into his cellular as he paced before the fireplace in Newman's study. The fire had died down and the room had grown chilly, but Normandy Newman had not put in an appearance. "Are you sure about that? Alright, no, no, let it through, but check on the other lead while you're at it. Right." Brunswick clicked off his cell phone and placed it into an inside suit pocket. He wondered who Newman's guests were. Mandy and Chewie stood, caught off guard, as a man in ragged jeans with no shoes or shirt stumbled out onto the neighboring back porch. He wavered slightly on his feet as he relieved himself. When he was done he turned to go back into the house. Halfway to the door, he froze and turned fully in their direction, squinting against the darkness. "What the...!" the man muttered before he turned and ran into the little house. Mandy giggled nervously as she turned toward Chewie. "I think you scared him," he said. "But just the same, I think we'd better get out of here." She grabbed Chewie's arm to lead him into the van. But, just then a shot rang out, shattering the window near her head. Mandy felt the bullet whiz by. She screamed, covering her ears. Chewie drug Mandy into a crouch on the opposite side of the van. Another shot rang around the van and then the sound of approaching footsteps. Chewie cast around for anything that he might use as a weapon. Finding nothing, he did the only thing left to do, he grabbed Mandy by the hand and ran. The street had been all but deserted, but now, dogs were barking and porch lights were coming on and in the distance the sound of a siren could be heard. "This way!" Mandy said directing Chewie through an alley between an old grocers and cleaning supply store. She was hoping she could somehow back track and get the van. Chewie followed, after all this was her world. Mandy and Chewie burst from the alleyway into an intersection. A car slid to a screeching halt to avoid hitting the young woman and the ape man who'd run into the street. When the car began to move it was forced to stop again by a gang of scraggly biker types chasing the woman and the ape man. A couple of the men had guns and a German shepherd was also tied up in the scuffle. The middle aged woman behind the wheel shakily dialed 911 into her cellular. She'd told her husband it was a waste of money, but when she got home tonight he was definitely going to be rewarded. "You know, I've got a really bad feeling about this," Han said as the van crept up the lane that led to Newman's house. "With good reason," Luke said, "Someone definitely knows we're here." The trees that lined the lane cast long shadows in the moonlight, providing numerous hiding spots for any would-be watchers. "There are seven of them," Cestallia spoke up. "All human, non of them female. I do not believe your friend is here," she added. Just then, something on the police scanner, which had been turned down low, caught Mulder's attention. "Did you catch that?" he asked Scully as he turned the volume higher. "No," Scully shook her head. "What?" Everyone listened as the dispatcher repeated her words. The translator did not translate the words coming from the scanner, so Mulder repeated them for the benefit of those who didn't understand English. Luke who'd developed a remarkable English vocabulary, was having difficulty with some of the police jargon, so he listened intently to Mulder's translator. "They said that an ape man and a woman chased by a large group of deviants and a German shepherd just crossed Oceannaire Drive heading east toward the beach!" Mulder brought the van to a quick stop before slamming into reverse and backing out of Newman Lane. Without needing to be told, Scully grabbed up the map and navigated. The sound of booted feet and a barking dog closed in on Mandy and Chewie's position. The sirens also were nearing. Mandy could see the lights of the Blvd. ahead, but she didn't know if she dared go that way. Big Foot would be too easily spotted, but there was also the very real possibility that they would be caught by their pursuers. She wished she could run as fast Big Foot no doubt could if he were not holding back for her benefit. Mandy's heart sank when she heard the roar of a motorcycle behind them, there was no chance now. Then, to her surprise, Big Foot lifted her bodily and assumed control of their escape. He ran through a fenced yard behind yet another convenience store before heading toward the lights of the Blvd. "...hostage situation, I repeat the ape man has a woman hostage, last crossing Sentry Ave headed toward Va. Beach Blvd. All cars..." "Where's Sentry?" Mulder asked urgently. Scully was scanning the map as fast as she could. "Turn left on Thurman! Here!" she replied. Scully remembered the case they'd had of the so-called 'wild woman' in New Jersey, as did Mulder. They also remembered the reaction of the local police department; shoot first, ask questions later. Mulder cut the wheel sharply to make the turn at Thurman Street and then made another quick left on Sentry. The police lights were visible at about two blocks distance. "The subject is cornered at Sentry and..," the voice on the scanner continued excitedly as Mulder suddenly pulled the van into a small parking lot. He parked the van quickly stopping just short of the building. "I've got a plan," Luke said.... Chewie stood frozen in the streets as the sirens wailed and voices yelled at him. He growled in frustration, he couldn't understand these people and they couldn't understand him. Mandy whispered something to him that was as incomprehensible as what the rest of the people said. The look on her face though, spoke of a different kind of fear than she'd experienced at the van. Something in her gaze reached across the language barrier. Chewie put her down as she'd requested. When Mandy was on the ground, she raised her hands in the air to the policemen ducked behind their open car doors, blocking the road on both sides. She didn't want to think about how many weapons were trained on Big Foot. But one thing she did know was that he wasn't some ignorant wild man who didn't understand civilized behavior. He was intelligent and brave and a long way from home. She couldn't let these men shoot him. "Please don't hurt him!" Mandy cried to the officer who'd been speaking into the bull horn. "He won't hurt anyone." "Ms., we're going to have to ask you to step away from the creature," the policeman repeated into the bull horn. "These situations can be unpredictable and we don't want you to get hurt." "No!" Mandy cried as she spread out her arms as if to provide a barrier against these men. "I won't let you take him, I won't let you hurt him anymore!" The policeman who'd been speaking to Mandy nodded to the man on the opposite side of the car. The man stepped out from behind door and slowly and deliberately replaced his weapon. Then he raised his hands into the air. His movements clearly said: 'See, I'm not going to hurt you.' Mandy shook her head violently, "No! Stay back! I have a weapon!" She pushed her hands into the deep uniform pockets in search of something that would pass as a weapon, but there wasn't anything. She'd even left the security badge in the van. And the policeman continued to approach. "Look!" Mandy pointed toward the men who'd chased them, now standing among the growing crowd of onlookers. "They are the one's you should be after! They shot at us! They're drunk and disorderly!" Suddenly the officer made a grab for Mandy. Chewie, in an attempt to protect his new friend swung at the officer. Unfortunately, Chewie didn't see the plain clothes officers behind him who jumped at the other officer's signal. The officer pulled Mandy from the scene kicking and screaming, it seemed to Mandy that a mountain of men had descended upon Big Foot. But he was holding his own. Then she saw a couple of officers pull out their sticks. "No!" she screamed, trying desperately to pull away from the officer who'd gotten her hands behind her back. Two more officers came to his aid and then she couldn't see Big Foot anymore because they'd taken her to the ground and cuffed her. The next thing she knew she was shoved roughly into the back seat of a police cruiser. She laid her head against the window and cried bitterly because she had failed her friend. Despite Luke's plan that they mingle in with the crowds until he could provide a distraction, when the policemen took out their sticks, Han fought his way through the crowd into the thick of things. Mulder ran in right behind him. Later Dana Scully stepped toward the officer who'd placed Han and Mulder under arrest. "Are you the officer in charge?' she asked him. "Yes, I am. Emmett Barnett," he told her, sticking out his hand in introduction. "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully," he said, flashing her badge. "I have reason to believe that the man you have in custody is a fugitive that my partner, one of the other men you have in custody, and I are seeking." Dana thought it best not to tell the man that her partner had left his F.B.I. credentials on a spaceship piloted by droids, hiding behind the moon. That gave Barnett pause. "This man here," he gestured toward Han who sat in the back seat of one of the cruisers. "No," Dana shook her head. "that man." She pointed very deliberately toward Chewie, now in ankle irons as well as cuffs. "Although I'd appreciate it if you would release him as well," she gestured toward Han. Barnett just stared at her for several seconds in disbelief. "You do understand that I have to check this out," he said. Fox Mulder watched through a half swollen shut left eye as Luke Skywalker stood talking earnestly to Dana Scully. He didn't know what they were talking about, but whatever it was Dana wasn't agreeing, she shook her head and stared stubbornly back at him. Mulder grinned when he saw Luke throw her a look that had to represent exasperation. Luke then seemed to calmly ask a softly spoken question. Mulder's jaw dropped as his partner, Dana-S-for-Stubborn Scully, skeptic extraordinaraire, gave in with a sigh and then a wry smile. Mulder was equally surprised when Scully allowed Luke to lead her toward the patrol car where the officer in charge was speaking into his radio. Then the couple was lost from Mulder's vision as a crime van pulled in to transport Chewie; seemed he wouldn't fit into the patrol cars. A minute later when Emmett Barnett stepped around the van followed by Scully and Han, Mulder's eyes saucered. And if it were possible they grew even rounder as Barnett opened the car door and undid Mulder's cuffs wordlessly. Mulder was about to speak when Scully put a finger to her lips ordering her partner quiet. Han looked uncomfortably around the area as if waiting for his luck to run out. Emmett Barnett spoke in a sing song voice, "All charges are dropped," as the trio walked away. "What's going on?" Mulder whispered as they faded into the crowd. "That was almost too easy." Scully didn't look at him as she replied, "Jedi mind trick." Her peripheral vision caught the disbelieving grin, though. And she cringed inwardly when he drew in a breath to speak. Dana was saved from Mulder's reply, however, because just then Luke pulled up in the Lone Gunmen's van containing Leia, Cestallia and Chewie. Sunday. "The sun'll be up soon and I guess that this is just as good a place as any," Mulder said as he pulled the van to a stop along a deserted stretch of dirt road, surrounded only by fields. An old sign that had long since fallen from its mooring read: "Welcome to peanut country". Mulder took a deep breath as if for strength before he turned to face Scully. Dana stared steadily back at him. He drew his eyes away and focused out the windshield. "Why don't we go outside and wait for the droids?" Luke said in Basic to his companions. Leia and Cestallia were already moving toward the exit, while Han and Chewie stared, confused, after the women, wondering why they needed to wait outside in the cold. It was Luke's suggestive look that got Han moving, even though he still didn't have a clue as to what was going on. Han just shrugged and urged Chewie out into the darkness. Luke was the last to leave, after Scully handed him her cell phone to make the call to the droids. Mulder spoke first in the ensuing silence. "I'll...uh," he sighed, "give you my I.D. and my gun and a statement I've written for Skinner when the ship arrives," he continued to gaze out the windshield. Dana stared silently at his familiar profile. Their friendship ran so deeply that she oftentimes felt that he was a part of her. She knew how important the search for his sister was. It was the driving force in his life and she would not think to even suggest that he choose between the two of them again. No, she'd have to let him go, to follow his own path. No matter how hollow her life might seem without him there. So instead of saying the words that came to mind. Instead of pleading with him to stay with her, she simply whispered, "Okay." She drew her eyes away to watch as the Falcon settled to the ground. "Dana," Mulder called softly. He stared silently for a moment before he spoke, gathering his words. "I cherish the memories we have. You've supported me when there was no one else who would, stood by me through all the battles and been a truer friend than any I've ever known. I can't hope for better. You know I'd give anything for your happiness, all you'd have to do is whisper the word." Scully gazed into Mulder's eyes, so dark in the night. She heard the meaning behind his words and was touched by the offer. He was willing to stay here, with her, if she asked, and give up this chance to find Samantha. There was resolution in his gaze. He would do it, without complaint. "No," Dana shook her head. "Find her Mulder. You've been kept waiting far too long as it is." She couldn't help but smile at the excitement that burst forth, and the thanks that was there, too. "Try to stay out of trouble, huh? You've got a bad enough reputation in this Galaxy." They embraced and with a last gentle touch to Dana's cheek, Mulder bound out of the van and up the ramp. Scully exited more slowly. Luke stood silhouetted in the lights shining down from the Falcon's open rampway, waiting, as Mulder walked slowly backward up the ramp. Midway up, he gave a final wave and turned to enter the ship. Dana looked on through unshed tears, tightening her grip on his F.B.I. identification and the letter he'd written for the AD. When Mulder reached the top of the ramp, Luke placed a hand on his arm and spoke softly as he passed. Dana closed her eyes to the scene and let the tears spill silently. Her last view was of the two men bathed in the light from the Falcon. She didn't want to spoil it by seeing them disappear inside. "Dana," Luke whispered from the ramp, enhancing his voice so that she would hear. He didn't want to intrude physically into her private moment. Luke acknowledged that there was an attraction between Dana and himself, but there had been no time to explore it. He regretted that. But he would regret it even more if he left her like this, so lost and alone. Scully looked up at Luke's whispered word, surprised to see that he was still at the top of the ramp. She wiped uselessly at the tears that just continued to fall. "Yes?" she whispered shakily. Luke stepped toward her. "I know that you and Mulder have a very close relationship," Luke started, "just like Leia and I. You are twin souls. But I feel very strongly that this is not the end of your partnership." Scully looked up at him curiously. "How can you know if that is really true? Can you predict the future, too?" she asked challengingly. "Well, tell me, is it worth it? Does he find his sister?" "I don't know if he'll find his sister," Luke replied calmly. "All I can tell you is what the force tells me about the two of you. This isn't an ending." Dana looked down with a sigh, she didn't want to take her hurt out on Luke. "You know you were right," she admitted. "I was scared to let myself believe. It was my...responsibility to be skeptical, especially where Mulder was concerned. It was the only way to keep him grounded. And now that I don't have that responsibility anymore, I find that I'm still scared. But...I want to believe. That's why I've decided that I'm going with you." Silver Springs, Maryland When Asst. Director Walter Skinner opened his eyes, he saw a patterned ceiling that seemed vaguely familiar. His eyes tracked along the pattern and to a wall. He slowly turned a head that seemed to throb at the hint of movement, and came face to face with a white floor board. A moment later, when he looked in the opposite direction he found his sofa pattern. That was when he realized that he was on the floor behind his sofa. His entire body seemed to protest when he pushed himself to his feet. The pain in his head pounded in time with his too rapid heartbeat and all 600 or so of his body's muscles put up their own individual protests. With a groan he wandered stiffly in the direction of the bathroom for a shower. On the way, Skinner noticed that his computer was on. He couldn't remember having used it. In fact, he couldn't remember much of anything, least of all how he'd ended up fully dressed behind his couch. When he entered his spare bedroom/office to turn it off, he noticed that his mailbox icon contained envelopes. He had mail. Curious, Skinner clicked on the icon and waited to see who had written. A piece of mail from "X" caught his eye. The message read simply: "Now we're even." It was unsigned. Newsgroups: alt.tv.X-Files.creative Subject: NEW: Xjedi VOL Four 23/24 brWritten: 23 January 1996 04:08:54 GMT Xjedi Part Twenty-Three Millennium Falcon -- behind the Earth's moon "Now what?" Han asked from the pilot's seat of the Falcon. He couldn't help but grin at his co-pilot who was back where he belonged. Han had gleefully kicked Threepio out of the pilot's seat as soon as he was back onboard his ship. "We hold position here," Cestallia said from over Han's right shoulder. It had been a tight squeeze, but all the people had managed to fit into the Falcon's cockpit, effectively squeezing the droids out. Artoo and Threepio stood in the outer corridor of the open cockpit door during the short trip to the far side of the moon. Threepio, surprisingly had learned to be seen and not heard in Cestallia's presence. "What are we waiting for?" Han protested. "I thought we were in such a hurry to get to this Gate for reasons other than 'holding position'. The Falcon doesn't 'hold position' very well." 'And neither does her owner', Cestallia thought to herself. But aloud she said, "Surely at some point, Mr. Solo, you attended a mission briefing at least once? Where there is first no discussion, there is afterward no success." Han rolled his eyes in Chewie's direction, he hated it when this woman started talking in riddles. If their mission was to go in and blow up the place then why couldn't they just do that? Cestallia gave Han an admonishing look over her shoulder, before continuing. "I suggest we all retire to a larger area. The droids can monitor any approaching vessels or Gate activity." 5 minutes later...main cargo bay. "First off," Cestallia began speaking to the assembled group. "I don't know everything there is to know about the Gates. I do know that this Gate is not the only one. But, it is the only one that needs to be destroyed. "It was grown from the living rock within the infinity millennia ago by the ancients, using ancient technology. The rock itself is self-aware and can have a distracting effect on an unsuspecting or weak mind. You all have very strong minds, only, a little preparation is necessary. "Fox, there was something I asked you to keep for me?" Cestallia asked of Mulder. He'd been wondering if she'd forgotten about it. She reached a hand out and took the little bracelet of stone he retrieved from his pocket. "Thank you." She smiled before turning to Luke. "You must keep this at all times while you are in the infinity," Cestallia told Luke. She made a point of sliding the bracelet on the wrist of his artificial hand. "No matter what, Luke. It's important." Luke considered the gray-haired woman's words. He wasn't sure why this was so important to him only. But the gravity behind her words was unmistakable. He nodded his understanding. "And now," Cestallia continued. "Mr. Solo, since you and Chewbacca have no force potential, you will not notice that the Gate is trying to pressure you. You will both just began to notice very bad headaches that worsen over time. I suggest you both take a pain blocker. "The droids should be deactivated completely, all self-determination circuits shut down. The Gate is capable of influencing artificial intelligence and we don't need to have to wonder if they are for or against us." "Luke and Leia, you both have already mastered the techniques of mental blocking. It is the simplest of all the Jedi lessons." Cestallia gave them both a motherly look before moving on. "Fox and Dana, neither of you have any training," she lamented with a shake of her head. "That makes the two of you the most vulnerable." Both former F.B.I. agents stared mutely at her. Mulder recovered and spoke, "Doesn't potty-training count?" "You both have force potential," Cestallia went on, "You're a bit old for training, but it is necessary. Fox, I will teach you how to block the Gate's influence. And Dana, Luke will teach you. We will discuss strategy when we get there." Dana watched, still in stunned disbelief, as everyone left the large bay to prepare except for Luke, Cestallia and Mulder. Cestallia called Mulder over, leaving Dana and Luke alone on their cot. Dana looked on as Cestallia took Mulder's hands, who was grinning stupidly at her, and ordered him to close his eyes and clear his mind. And then Luke was taking her hands. "But, ...I can't..." Dana whispered. "I don't..." Yes, you can, Luke spoke into her mind. He smiled as her eyes widened in shock. You wanted to believe, Dana. So trust your feelings. Believe. She drew in a breath as if to again protest. But Luke put a finger to his lips to silence her, shaking his head. Talk to me this way, Dana, I'll hear you. Luke pointed toward his temple. Dana looked extremely uncomfortable for a second. Then, she turned to look at Mulder and Cestallia. When Dana turned back to Luke, she forced herself to relax. Luke...? she spoke uncertainly in his mind. Good, Luke said, smiling at her. Now close your eyes and I'm going to show you something... "Now what?" Han asked, a feeling of deja vu coming over him. He glanced over his shoulder at Cestallia who stood in the same position, wearing the same expression. "Is this the precise location?" Cestallia asked. Han shrugged and looked over at Chewie who gave him a gruff reply that the translators didn't even bother with. "Give or take a few inches," Han modified. Cestallia sighed, "I need the spot where I'm standing to be precisely at the co-ordinates I gave you. When we are there, the stars will take on a reddish tint." Han gestured for Chewie to go ahead and settle the ship into Cestallia's required co-ordinates. A moment later, all the surrounding starlight turned a surprising shade of deep red. "Well I'll be..." Han murmured. All eyes were focused on the phenomena through the view screen. "It's the red-shift effect," Cestallia explained worriedly. "But this shift is much too great." "What does that mean?" Mulder asked. "What's the red-shift effect and how can you tell it's too great?" "Well," Cestallia started, "within the infinity time is...different. It doesn't exist as we know it and so the Gates have to be temporally calibrated so that their time meshes with our time. This shift is very heavy. I fear the dark side has so tainted this gate that time is distorted with in. This explains much," she nodded thoughtfully. Scully frowned at the woman. "Wait a minute," he said. "You can't just distort time. It's a universal invariant." "No, dear," Cestallia said, "the force is a universal invariant. Time is a slave to the force." "Well, this is all as clear as mud to me," Han said. "Why not let's say this all over again so everyone can understand?" Cestallia started again. "At the beginning of a gate, which is this point where we stand now, there is a sort of temporal flux. We are in a time bubble stabilized by this cylinder." She pulled a chain from beneath her neckline that had a cylinder like Mulder's and the one found in the war room. Cestallia continued, "This bubble extends all around the ship. Outside of the bubble time is and is not. The stars that we can still see are outside of the gate where time is. The bubble is inside the gate where time is not. So the shift is the stars moving incredibly fast in comparison to our relative lack of motion in time, hence the red shift effect. But this red shift is very dark, almost purple, actually. This means that the temporal setting of the gate has been distorted. It is no longer aligned to a specific time. A dark mind is operating the Gate, now. This is why it must be destroyed." "I think I follow," Mulder said. "But what happens once we destroy it? Where will we all end up?" Cestallia paused a long time before answering. "We are all where we belong at this point in time, Fox. And if we are successful in our roles, we will all end up just there, right where we belong." Before anyone could ponder out the meaning of her last words, Cestallia changed the subject. "All right, so now we begin. Mr. Solo if you would move the ship vertically, please. We will fully enter the Gate." Before everyone's eyes the star field seemed to rise, a plane of absolute blackness took their place. Within moments the Falcon was surrounded by darkness so thick that it felt almost alive, enclosing the ship in its infinite depths. The stars became a pin point of light directly overhead. The darkness gradually gave way to mottled gray space. A hulking asteroid sat in the foreground as the Falcon continued its journey into the infinity. Faintly, in the distance a small speck stood out against the grayness. There was an eerie stillness all around. "Is this the gate?" Leia asked as her eyes took in the strange sight before them. "Actually, this is the infinity," Cestallia corrected. "The Gate is that asteroid straight ahead. That's where we're going." "If there is no time, why is this called the 'infinity'," Mulder asked. "Because the possibilities are endless, infinite. Because the infinity is empty of time, you can fill it with time, any time." "But how big is the infinity?" Mulder asked, "Could an entire Galaxy fit in here?" Cestallia smiled indulgently at Mulder's curiosity. "There is no time. There is no size. Size is infinite. It is every size. The infinity would be in your way of thinking, another dimension. One that your scientists have not even theorized about." Then Cestallia added thoughtfully, "Not yet, anyway." "You can land the ship there," Cestallia pointed to a rocky plateau, beneath a slight outcropping. Should any ships pass the gate, they would not see the ship sitting in the shadows of the plateau. "We will enter through the reclamation and waste system, located at the bottom most point of the Gate. Once we leave the ship, the air will be thin, but it will become more comfortable as time passes." "Won't someone notice we're here?" Scully asked. "If this rock is aware, surely it knows we're here." "We are in a time bubble created by this cylinder," Cestallia said. "The cylinder is made of the same material as the Gate. The Gate is only aware of something natural, its own. When we enter the gate, though, all of that will change. But then, it will be too late." There was a soft hiss of air as the Falcon's systems settled in the odd atmosphere of the asteroid. Han secured the locking mechanism's with a manual code after everyone had exited the ship, save for the droids, who were deactivated. Moments after they turned to leave the ship, the Gatemind pressed against the minds of those with force potential in an almost physical way. Cestallia and Luke were prepared and already had their guard up when it descended. Leia had hers up barely a millisecond later. Scully and Mulder were taken off guard and gasped audibly. "Use the techniques," Cestallia urged them. A few seconds later, they were ready. The Gatemind was held at bay, for the time being. Alpha Point Station One looked, unseeing, off into the distance. There was suddenly another very familiar presence, one that he hadn't felt in quite a long while. One's eyes drifted back to his prisoner, who sat chained to a wall in the corner of his office. The chains were held tightly with the power of the force, but given time and sufficient power, Benjamin would be able to loosen them. With the toss of a hand, One dealt Benjamin a mental blow that he was ill prepared for. Benjamin would not be waking up any time soon. With a gleeful grin, One left the room. The Gate The bright light from the small hand held light-throwers flashed against the rocky walls and reflected off the pool of knee-deep water on the underside of the asteroid. A loud groan erupted from Chewie as his toe struck something under the water. "How much more of this is there?" Leia asked as she continued to slosh through the dank cavern behind Dana and Mulder. "It's not too much further, now." Cestallia whispered back from the lead position. Han and Chewie followed Leia, while Luke brought up the rear. "Is there a force technique to block the smell?" Mulder asked. The group had been following Cestallia through the watery cavern for nearly twenty minutes, and still the smell seemed to only worsen. "Not one I could teach you quickly," Cestallia replied. This portion of the Gate was not meant for human habitation. The rock required the water as a back up energy source for the machinery in its control center. The water was also useful as a medium for waste products should there be any visitors who required such things. The cavern was beginning to narrow and the water became more shallow. "Ahh, here we are," Cestallia breathed. They were now in a wide rocky corridor. Rocks seemed to have grown haphazardly here and there. There were outcroppings in the walls and even large chunks in the center of the corridor, partially blocking passage. "It's this way," Cestallia said, now leading along the rock strewn corridor. After a few steps she came to an abrupt halt. She held a hand up for silence. A moment later, blaster fire seemed to come from the walls ahead of them. Everyone, though, managed to duck back behind an especially large rock formation near a side wall, extinguishing their light-throwers. In the scuffle, however, one of the light-throwers fell to the floor, leaving the corridor lit as their attackers stepped into view. "Scully!" Mulder gasped out. "These are the aliens that so many abductees have described!" Dana just stared speechlessly at them. Han frowned at Mulder, "Those aren't aliens! Those are the droids that attacked me on the Hinderer while I was fixing the engines. And let me tell you, they aren't too brilliant when it comes to combat technique, either." "That's because these droids are probably controlled by the Gatemind. But they shouldn't be here, we did not leave any droids behind." "Well, obviously somebody did and I don't think they're just gonna go away if we ignore them." With that, Han threw himself out from behind the rock and opened fire with his blaster slamming two of the droids into the wall in a pile of sparks. One of the shots went wide and hit the rocky wall. All five force sensitive individuals winced as the pressure of the Gatemind suddenly increased. "Uh...everyone," Cestallia said, shaking off the remnants of the increased pressure. "The droid weapons aren't harmful to the rock, ours are. You'd probably want to not miss." "Right," Han grimaced, pulling the droid weapons, that he'd taken back on the Hinderer, from the inner folds of his jacket. He'd known they would come in handy someday. Han tossed two of them over to the group. Mulder and Scully used the droid weapons, while Leia, Luke and Cestallia drew their light sabers. Chewie drew his crossbow. The battle began in earnest. After a dozen droids were put out of commission as soon as they stepped into the light, the droids seemed to realize their plan wasn't working and shot out the light. Only the eerie glow of the light saber's now lit the caves. The droids seem to literally spill into the space. Luke ran into the source, slicing droids in half as he went. Leia and Cestallia followed his lead. The droids that managed to get by the three, we're handled by either Mulder, Scully, Han or Chewie. Soon, no more droids appeared. "Would you look at all those spare parts?" Han said with a grin as Luke, Leia and Cestallia returned from further up in the corridor. Leia retrieved her light-thrower from beneath a droid, triumphantly. It still worked. "Is everyone ready?" Cestallia asked. "The control center is at the top of the asteroid. We still have a long way to go." The corridor continued upward, all the while the rough hewn rock changed until the rocky walls became smooth and the outgrowths and upshoots in the floor became non existent. Openings in the wall began to appear at regular intervals that gave a view of the infinity outside. "Hey, what's that?" Luke asked as they passed another 'window'," he point outside to the specks of light, barely visible against the mottled grayness, that were moving steadily toward them. "Uhh ohh," Cestallia said. "We're going to have company. Looks like someone took the liberty of providing the exiles with shuttles so that they could come here. We'd better hurry. They are not coming over for a tea party." The group picked up the pace. They entered a large flat room with a symmetrical opening at one end. The ships were so close that the outline of the pilots could be seen through the view windows. "This is obviously the landing bay," Cestallia said as they passed through it toward a far wall. At her touch a panel opened. She pushed at a flickering light within and a portion of the wall slid away. "Come on," she called urgently over her shoulder. Four oddly colored Imperil shuttles put down in the bay. Just as the doors of the shuttles folded open, Cestallia slammed the doorway she'd just opened shut. The new area was lit with artificial lighting along the walls and very much resembled a large observatory. They stood at the beginning of a wide bridge. Behind them the wall stretched perpendicular to the bridge, and was covered with myriad's of flashing lights and displays showing odd images and switches and levers that reached far overhead. Beneath the bridge a large transparent tube was visible. Light swirled in random patterns within the tube. One end of the tube was far darker than the opposite end. At each end of the tube was what looked like a stone arch. "What is this place?" Leia asked in an awed whisper, pausing to stare up and around them. Cestallia was trying to urge the group of awed humans along the bridge. "This is the path," she answered continuing to rush along the bridge, hoping they would take her hint--they did. "At one end of the tube is the starting point and at the other end is the destination. The darkness indicates a flaw in the time calibration. But, there is no time for this, we must move faster." The doorway slid opened behind them when they were halfway along the bridge. "Matriarch!" a commanding voice boomed throughout the chamber causing the humans in the center of the bridge to cover their ears. Cestallia halted and turned, "Domar, I see you are well. But, really our hearing is fine." "Matriarch, what are you doing here in my domain--the only one left to me?" Domar asked as he stepped out onto the bridge proper. The small crowd of humans behind him followed. "This is not your domain, Domar. This is your prison and you should not be here on this rock. You were exiled to the vicinity of the world ship. Tell me, who is that gave you the shuttles?" Cestallia slowly stepped toward Domar, so that she would be in front of her group of friends. "Someone who no longer matters," Domar said with a flick of a three-fingered hand. "Give up, Matriarch, you are not the one to destroy me. I will instead destroy you." With that Domar threw his palm in the direction of the group at the center of the bridge. Blue lightning stretched out toward the group. Luke whipped his lightsaber out and drew up beside Cestallia so that he could protect his friends from the worse of the blue lightning. The instant Cestallia saw Domar's intent, she clapped her hands and stepped forward. She'd known that he would try something. And then the lightning was upon them. It bent and arched over her body but could not go further. "Come on," Cestallia called from behind the group. Everyone in the room gaped in amazement. Even Domar hadn't known that trick. Cestallia had projected an image of herself at the front of the group, which also had the power to act as a Force-field against the blue lightning. Luke replaced his lightsaber and spun on his heel to run after his companions. He didn't have any idea when that Force-field would dissipate, but he didn't want to be around to find out just what Domar would do when it did. The door at the end of the bridge opened on their approach. "How'd you do that?" Luke asked as the door slid shut behind them. "Let me just say, I don't have any other tricks up my sleeves," she hurried on in what was another corridor. A dark panel ran along the lower wall. No one paid it much attention to it until Cestallia stopped running and kicked at it. The section of wall in which Cestallia had kicked slid up and open. Inside was a small room. "This is the lift that leads to the control center level. We will have to go in shifts," he said. Han, Chewie and Cestallia went up first, after a moment of disagreement on Han's part; he wanted Leia to go first. The rest of the group stood restlessly in the hallway as the lift whined its way to the top of the asteroid. As the lift was making its return trip, the running footfalls of their pursuers could be heard coming into the corridor. "Come on," Leia murmured under her voice in an attempt to rush the lift along its path. "Please come on," Dana added as the footsteps began to close in on their position. Just as the footsteps were nearly upon them the lifts doors slid open. While Dana, Mulder and Leia ran into the small space, Luke drew his lightsaber, blocking the volley of blaster fire aimed at the lift. Then he slipped through the closing door with only inches to spare. There was a collective sigh of relief as the lift made a return trip to the upper level. The original trio was waiting outside the doors when they opened. "Alright, here is where it's going to get a little tricky," Cestallia said. "I need a few minutes in the chamber alone. So, If you could split up, you could provide a diversion until I've started the sequence. Once it's set, you'll need to get back to the ship as fast as possible." "Aren't you coming with us?" Han asked with an odd look. Her words had sounded pretty final to him. "No," Cestallia said. "My Time has come. Now get started." "Wait a minute," Han protested. "Wait. What do you mean you time has come? Can't the destruct run on automatic?" "You don't understand and I don't have time to explain it to you. Let me just say that your children will grow into great Jedi. But they will need their father, so please, do as I ask." Cestallia then turned to enter another lift that was to lead to the control center. "Han wait," Luke said, catching his arm. "She knows what she's doing. And I don't think she has a choice." Luke spoke in such a way that Cestallia turned to look back at him. "That's right, Luke. I don't have a choice. This is the focus of my life, right here and now." She looked around at the assembled group, touching each mind in turn with a feeling of affection. "I have to go," he said. And then she left. Han grumbled but followed along as they spread out along the corridor to act as bait. He was convinced that he would never understand the Jedi mindset. A few minutes later as the everyone was staggered along the hall in groups of three. "Do you think they got lost?" Han called back down the hall in a stage whisper to Luke's group. Luke shrugged. It had been a few minutes and the lift hadn't so much as creaked. A moment later, he stiffened. There was a single set of footsteps approaching. He relaxed when he noticed that it was Cestallia. Everyone stood up from their positions when they saw her. "What happened?" Luke asked. Cestallia sighed, "It seems that someone has rearranged things. That lift no longer leads to the control center. We are going to have to try all of the upper level lifts, there are 30 of them. Let's get started." The group trudged along the corridor in the very slow process of checking each lift. Two people, Cestallia and Luke would take the lift to it's preset destination, while the rest of the group waited and guarded the hallway. After they'd tried the thirtieth lift and found that it, too, lead elsewhere, they found that the lift that had brought them up, no longer took them down. "Well, at least this explains why they didn't follow us up here. They were leading us into this trap," Cestallia said. "I should have expected something. This was too easy." "So what do we do, now?" Leia asked. "We go the hard way." end part twenty three Newsgroups: alt.tv.X-Files.creative Subject: NEW: Xjedi VOL Four 24/24 brWritten: 23 January 1996 04:10:18 GMT Xjedi Part Twenty-Four brDisclaimer: Been there. Did that. I think I'll print up a T-shirt. Check any previous chapter.... "I told you not to look down!" Han exclaimed as Chewie growled his displeasure at the current situation. The rocky sides of the asteroid were jagged and very large; not entirely suited for human climbing pleasure. Cestallia had led them through a ventilation shaft that lead out to the side of the asteroid. The small currents of wind that had blown at the beginning of their trek seemed to have increased in force as they climbed higher and now threatened to blow them down off the asteroid. The air, as if working against them also, seemed to thicken, making breathing difficult. "How much further?" Dana gasped out against the force of the winds that threatened to steal her breath. Thunder began to be heard from the top of the asteroid, drowning out her words. "About twenty meters," Cestallia called down to her, hearing in spite of the rumblings. She'd called for a pause so that everyone could rest a bit before the final leg of the trek. She had no doubts that they would have company waiting for them at the top. But now it was time to move. The group again began to move along the side of the asteroid, climbing slowly against the forces that fought against them. When they finally neared the top, they found that the top plateau was barren, save for a raised platform at its center. The sides of the platform were covered with panels, much like the ones from the bridge room. Extending up from the platform was a shimmery transparent Force-field which extended up and into the infinity. The thunderings calmed to a loud eerie hum that emanated from the platform, itself. "I have to get inside that field," Cestallia said, lifting a weary arm in the direction of the platform. "Those panels will unlock the Force-field. No one else must be allowed to enter." Another sound was beginning to take prominence above the hum of the Force-field. Suddenly the Hinderer came into view as it entered the level of atmosphere around the asteroid, closely followed by the shuttles. Cestallia turned to Luke. "I have something for you," he said, "You must return them safely for me. Remember." With that, she quickly removed the chain containing the cylinder from her neck and placed it on his. She then reached beneath her heavy shawl and withdrew the ancient lightsaber and clipped it to his belt. "One other thing," she whispered before grasping his temples. Luke's mind jolted as if from a physical blow. When Cestallia released him, he stumbled back slightly, mind reeling from the many images and emotions and thoughts and voices screaming for attention. He shook his head to clear it and still the voices whispered on in the back of his mind. And then suddenly they were silent. When Luke refocused on his surroundings, it was to find that only seconds had passed. Cestallia still stood before him and the ships were only just putting down between them and the platform. "That's everything, now," Cestallia said with a quiet smile. "It's time." She'd wanted to do that later, when it would have been easier on him. But she could see that now there wouldn't be time. He would have to experience the Time with her. People began to spill out of the shuttles in a steadily growing pool of gray clad humans. Though the door was open on the Hinderer no one came out. "Suggestions?" Han asked, shifting uncomfortably as the crowd began to move toward them. Chewie growled something under his breath and Han chuckled a bit. "Never quote me the odds," he whispered back at him. "Wait a minute," Cestallia said, calling a loose rock to her hand from the ground beneath her. She carefully chose a target near the front of the group and let the rock fly. When the rock hit the man, there was a slight ripple and then the man disappeared. "Projections with no substance," Luke said, understanding. "Well, what are we waitin' for?" Han put in, already drawing the droid blaster. "Let's narrow this crowd down," he ran wildly toward the crowd. Everyone else followed his lead. It only took a few moments for them to realize that the droid blasters did not work here. Luke and Cestallia took out a number of the projections by sending a small storm of loose rocks in the direction of the crowd. The crowd narrowed to fifty or so human males and females wearing no expression. A stray swing at a not-quite-real human revealed that at least one of the four shuttles was also a projection. Since it was Mulder's stray swing he decided to see what else wasn't 'real.' Three kicks and a sore toe later, one shuttle and the Hinderer were the only ships left standing on top of the asteroid. That job done, Mulder turned to rejoin the fight. He saw Scully across the plateau fighting with what appeared to be a 'real' woman among the two dozen still fighting. When everyone seemed caught up in the fight, Cestallia made a run for the Force-field. She was half way through the unlocking sequence when the children began to come out of the Hinderer led by the young woman who'd been brought with them to Cestallia. Her sense of urgency intensified; these children were the equivalent of the big guns. The dozen humans left fighting began a retreat. Those in combat stance simply stepped back. Those on the ground ceased fighting. Luke had been rendering those he fought unconscious as quickly as possible and moved on to the next; they were so much like zombies that it hadn't taken much. But when he felt the sudden tension in the air, he paused. The man he'd been about to render unconscious scuttled away from him toward his other retreating comrades. From the corner of his eye, Luke saw Cestallia at the control panel trying to get the field down. He also saw Domar heading in her direction from the back of the Hinderer. Luke was amazed at how clear his objective was; protect Cestallia until her mission is complete. Before he even had a conscious thought to move he found himself between Domar and Cestallia. "I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight." The words left Luke's mouth unbidden and his lightsaber was up and ignited. Domar paused at the man standing before him. He had his own brother to thank for this. "Stand down, Skywalker. I'll deal with you later," he said. Luke continued to hold his fighting stance. "No, Domar, the time is now. You will not go any further." Domar's mouth tightened. 'The future is always in motion' he whispered softly to himself. Then aloud: "I am the master of my destiny!" With that he erupted in fury toward the young man standing before him. A piece of the rock beneath him liquefied and leapt toward the young Jedi, still liquid. Luke blocked it with his right hand halting it in mid-air. The force behind it, though, was such that it pushed him backwards to land sprawling on the ground. Domar took the opportunity to make a grab for Luke's lightsaber and attempt to cut him through with it. Luke rolled away before the blade could break the skin. He did however get a nice singe mark on his tunic. Domar halted the lightsaber millimeters from the asteroid's surface. Luke shut down the lightsaber mentally just as Domar was bringing it back up to try another attack. And while Domar was in confusion over what happened to the blade, Luke dove at him. "These are the kids we saved before," Han said. "I thought they were on our side." "Well, not anymore, I'd say," Leia spoke up wryly from behind him. "And who are they?" she added when she saw the little aliens step out behind the children. No longer required to control the now retreating humans, the exiles stepped forward to lead the battle personally. The woman and the children were of the new breed. They did not require direct mental control. Both Scully and Mulder were staring oddly at the young woman. She seemed very familiar. The hair was longer, the expression very hard and intent. Not at all like the slack expressions the previous humans had borne. "Sam?" Mulder whispered. "Samantha?" he called again, stepping away from the group toward the children. Dana put out a hand to stop him. She didn't like the looks of this. If this was indeed Samantha, she didn't look at all friendly. "Mulder...wait," he said. Mulder shook her hand off and continued forward. This was his sister. He couldn't imagine in his wildest dreams that she would mean him harm. The young woman seemed to smile in Mulder's mind. The expression of malice faded into welcome; her arms raised to embrace. But to the rest of the group, the truth was obvious. Samantha did not smile. Scully stepped cautiously behind Mulder, watching his back as she had always done. She ignored Leia's pleas for her to stay back and not follow, to remember to keep her guard. In the span of a breath, a white wall of nothingness overrode her defenses. The wall told her to sleep, and she was so tired. So very tired. She closed her eyes. The children held Leia, Han and Chewie at bay with a torent of wind that threatened to blow them off the asteroid as they loaded their recently acquired hostages unto the Hinderer. Cestallia saw the events around her unfolding in her peripheral senses. The main focus, though, was to get that Force-field down. The last sequence fell into place just as she 'saw' the battle between Luke and Domar began. The field disintegrated into silence. Cestallia ran the few steps up to the upper platform that was invisible to the plateau below. There embedded in the rock was the Dark Jedi who was now the Gatemind. She pulled a small, deadly-looking weapon from a boot and very deliberately disintegrated the being. Dark acrid smoke rose in his wake. The rock literally sizzled where his body had once been. When Cestallia was sure no trace was left of him, she disrobed and settled herself flat against the rock. The rock melted around her and conformed to her body. As her last physical activity, Cestallia reinstalled the Force-field and destroyed the unlocking circuits. They were no longer required. There would be no new Gatemind. In the instant the rock settled around Cestallia's body, the Gateknowledge washed over her. She could sense the richness of the Infinity, see the outcome of the scuffle taking place beneath her. The deep beauty of the music of Infinity tore at her. Before she could allow its influence full reign, she began the ending sequence. Luke and Domar struggled for the lightsaber both having the power of the force as their ally; one light, one dark. Luke suddenly let go of the lightsaber as Domar was attempting to pull it away from him, thus throwing the little man off balance. Luke pulled the lightsaber back toward himself igniting it as he drew back. The little man lay winded on the ground a hand thrown in the air for mercy. Luke caught himself before he struck. He couldn't ignore such a plea, it was simply not in his nature. "Fool." Domar whispered as he threw a bolt of blue lightning, full of all of his hatred. The blue lightning reflected off a stunningly brilliant Force-field, that suddenly erected itself before Luke. The blue lightning amplified and struck Domar, and penetrated into the rock of the Gate. A crack formed and a rumbling began beneath the surface of the rock. Luke covered his ears in the ensuing violence that followed. Just as on the Hinderer, he was unprepared, but now he knew the cause. The Gate felt pain. Although the screaming wasn't as bad as it had been on the Hinderer, it was close. The thunders also returned and increased and the entire asteroid seemed to shake and swirl rocks in a violent whirlwind, which emanated from the point of the crack. After a few moments it died away to a manageable level. With a heaved sigh, he pulled himself up from the rocky ground to stand among the swirling winds. Domar was no where in sight. Across the plateau, Luke could see Han helping Leia to her feet. Chewie was shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears. Luke knew that Cestallia had managed to penetrate the field, and that she was one with the Gate. The Hinderer and the one shuttle could be seen against the backdrop of the infinity as they departed. "Where are Mulder and Dana?" Luke asked as he came up to his friends. "They're gone," Leia said. "These little creature's took them away on the Hinderer." "What?!" Luke asked. "We've got to go get them. There isn't much time, now." "Much time before what, Kid?" Han asked. He didn't like the sounds of this already. "I'm in contact with Cestallia, somehow," Luke said, "And she's already started the sequence. She's holding it off as long as she can, but when this rock blows, no life will survive here. We've got to get everybody off that planet or it will be too late." "Well that's just great!" Han exclaimed. "She didn't happen to tell you a short cut back to the Falcon did she? It'll take us at least an hour to find it." "I know a way..." Hinderer Dana Scully opened her eyes slowly. In the back of her mind she could hear music playing; beautiful music that haunted and demanded attention and begged her to follow. Follow where? Dana shook her head to clear it. Where was Mulder? Luke? Leia, Han and Chewie? Where was she? Her thoughts fought their way up through what seemed to be an endless haze. Suddenly memory returned, and with it renewed fear. Leia's words about remembering to keep her guard returned to her. The music was growing louder. She tried to focus her mind as Luke had shown her, to marshall her mental powers to block the music. It wasn't working. Was she doing it wrong? You must reach for Jedi calm, Dana a voice spoke in her mind, Luke's voice. She relaxed. Luke was guiding her. When Dana had her block in place, she pulled herself up from the floor in her rocky cell. She was surprised to find that the rock was warm to the touch. The small chamber that she was in opened into another larger chamber. One end of the chamber was open to a narrow corridor. Dana approached the open end cautiously. Even she had seen enough science fiction movies to imagine that there might be some kind of force field there. And unlike those she'd seen in the movies, she searched around in her pocket for something to throw at the opening. Millennium Falcon "I've found Dana," Luke said aloud from his seat behind Han. "She's got her mental block back up. I can't touch Mulder's mind right now, perhaps he's still out." "So, do we have a plan?" Han asked, gesturing out the view screen. Their destination loomed ahead. "I think so," Luke said. "Do you think you could disable the Hinderer? Just make sure it can't take off?" Luke asked Han. Han grinned and threw a look at Chewie. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "Piece of cake." Chewie growled in agreement. "So what are we doing while these two are off playing?" Leia asked with a smirk in Han's direction. "We are going to be doing something that hasn't been done in decades. Since we can't bring the Gate to this world ship, we're going to bring the world ship to the Gate," Luke answered. Leia gave her brother a confused look. "Why would we want to bring the world ship to the Gate?" she asked. She felt as if she'd missed a couple of steps along the line. "I'm sorry," Luke apologized. "It's just that Cestallia's put all this stuff in my head. Information seems to appear as I need it. And right now, we need to get everyone on this world to the Gate. The fastest way to do that is to bring the world to the Gate." Leia nodded her acceptance. Luke hadn't really answered her question at all. But she trusted that he knew what he was doing. Domar limped into his office to see that his prisoner, Benjamin Adams, was still there, unconscious, as he'd left him. He ordered the limp form carried to what was now to be the Flag ship to his new Empire. There would be a use for this one, as well as for the other two from Earth. When Benjamin had been carried from the room, Domar looked over the office that had been his personal place of meditation for over a hundred years. There was nothing here that he would miss. He had the stone bracelets and he had the seed stock for the newer breed of Jedi children and he had a ship. Nothing else was required. Except to kill Skywalker. He hadn't been able to do that at the Gate, because it must have been protecting the young Jedi. Even according to ancient knowledge, only the wisest and oldest of Jedi Masters could invoke a personal Force-field that repelled the blue lightning. But here, on the world ship, Skywalker would again be vulnerable. Domar allowed a smile to form as he headed back toward the Hinderer to plan his attack. He needed nothing more from this artificial planet. Dana Scully sat in a corner of the cell in which she'd been placed. The, now non-functional, light-thrower lay beside her on the cell floor. She now wished she'd thrown something else to test for the force field, because the dim glow rods in the corners of the ceiling gave only sparse illumination, at best. Dana must have dozed off again, because she startled when she heard the sound of a body falling to the stone floor. She gasped when she saw who lay, literally, at her feet. A bruised and unconscious Benjamin Adams lay face down on the hard cell floor. He was still dressed as he had been the last time Dana'd seen him, only the holsters were obviously empty. After a half second of uncertainty, Dana went to him. Regardless of what he might have done, the doctor in her would not allow her to ignore the fact that this man might need medical attention. His pulse was steady and there didn't appear to be any broken bones. Dana rolled him unto his back to get a better look at his bruises. Because of the condition of the bruises, Dana guessed that he'd had previous facial contact with another hard surface. As Dana gingerly examined one cheekbone more closely, Ben suddenly opened his eyes. She snatched her hands away from his face as if in fear of being burned, but she remained stooped beside him. The touch of fear and uncertainty in her eyes, though, was telling. Benjamin focused immediately on Dana. Very carefully, he moved to a sitting position, not once removing his eyes from hers. Then, he blinked. "We've got to stop meeting like this," he said with a small smile as he touched a hand to the side of his head that was bleeding. He winced. When he saw that Dana's expression had not changed from one of watchfulness, he added, "See, it's red like yours." "Some of the worse monsters are red-blooded and walk upright," Scully said, pursing her lips. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she stepped back toward her light-thrower. "Same as you," Ben said as he eased himself back down to the floor. "I'm a prisoner." Ben eyed her wariness for a few moments. She sat in farthest corner of the room from him, but kept him where she could see him. "For the record," he spoke up, "I'm not a monster." Luke directed Han to land the Falcon near the 'underside' of the world ship. The controls for the biosphere were topside, on the surface of the world, but the maneuvering controls were embedded in the world ship's underbelly. The increased humidity was immediately obvious once the Falcon penetrated the atmospheric barrier. All of the land area seemed designed to imitate a very large swamp. 'This takes me back, ' Luke thought to himself when he saw the land forms. This world ship was a convincing imitation of Yoda's swamp on Dagobah, only the large organisms that had been present in abundance on Dagobah did not exist here. "Leia and I will go from here and meet you at the Hinderer," Luke said as he and Leia headed out of the cockpit. "The Hinderer's on the other side of this great big greenhouse," Han called after Luke and Leia. "Are you sure you don't want us to wait for you? It could be a pretty long walk." "We're sure," Luke called over his shoulder. "I know another way." "Alright, Kid," Han muttered under his breath as he monitored his wife and brother's departure from the Falcon. Chewie growled a word in comment about Luke's 'knowing a way'. "Yeah, spooky is the word, pal," Han said. "Just how much are you in contact with Cestallia, Luke?" Leia asked as they wound their way through the thick growth of trees and brush. "I know what I need to do almost instinctively. I think that Cestallia is doing that. She's giving me information I couldn't possibly know on my own. For example, even the exiles don't know where the maneuvering circuits are for this world and neither should I. But I do." Luke came to a stop before the mouth of a rather ordinary looking cave. It was similar to the other many caves that dotted the forest. Leia could sense the difference in her brother. He was still the same old Luke, but there was an added dimension, something not entirely to the fore, but there nonetheless. The cave was completely dark. Luke moved into the cave purposefully, and was immediately swallowed by the darkness. Leia followed more slowly after she turned on her light-thrower to illuminate the way for both of them. Luke walked toward a pock-marked section of the cave's wall. Then, he reached beneath his tunic and removed the necklace Cestallia had given him and pressed the cylinder into one of the holes. When he removed it, the wall slid to one side and revealed a lighted tunnel beyond. Leia's eyes widened with interest as she followed her brother into the tunnel. The walls were made of a thick transparent material which enabled them to view the inner supports of the world ship. The metal underpinnings reminded her vaguely of the death star. After they had walked several hundred meters the walls began to darken until they were no longer transparent, but resembled obsidian. The white light that had emanated from the floor was now a soft purple. The purple lights led to an intersection. At the spot where the corridors intersected the lights in the floor flashed in a square pattern. "Come on," Luke said as he grabbed his sister's hand and drew her onto the square. A few seconds after they stepped onto the square, four walls slid slowly into place around them. Luke placed a hand on the panel that appeared after the walls were secure, and uttered a word that Leia could not place. "What did you say?" Leia asked. Sure, Luke knew quite a few languages, but so did she. And the one's she didn't know she could recognize, but this one wasn't at all familiar. "Oh, I just told the transport to take us to the control room." "Well, I guessed that," Leia said. "What language were you speaking?" Luke looked confused for a second as if sorting through strange or unusual data. "You know, I really have no idea." He shrugged it off as the transport came to a stop with a soft 'ping'. The transport opened into a square situated in the corner of a large oblong control center. The view screen and various panels and systems began to activate as they entered the room. A soft voice began to utter greetings and information in a language Leia couldn't decipher. Luke responded to the computer in the same language as he punched commands into the console in the center of the room. Leia rubbed her arms where the goose flesh appeared. This was getting downright spooky, even for a Jedi. She looked on as Luke continued to operate the machinery with a solemn deliberateness to his movements. When Luke stood up from the console eerie red lights began to flash around the perimeter of the room. "Alright," Luke said, leading Leia back toward the square of lights, "it's time." Fox Mulder opened his eyes to find himself lying on a raised platform in a white room. When he moved to sit up, he found that he was restrained by some sort of invisible field. His head was mobile, so he took in as much of the room as he could with that limited motion. Displays and equipment were lined against a far wall. The rest of the room was painted a brilliant white. The light in the room seemed to come from the paint itself. At one end of the room was a door, which slid open as his eyes settled on it. A short gray skinned figure dressed in brown robes entered the room. "So good to see you again," Domar said. "I am called One. I am the leader here. You will call me One also." Mulder took in the creature that stood before him. He wanted to struggle in defiance at being held down, but his curiosity got the better of him. "Where's Samantha?" he asked. "She is safe, Fox Mulder." Domar responded. "She is very strong in the force. Her powers have blossomed under my tutelage, and so can yours." Mulder watched the little man for a second before responding. "You kept her away from me," Mulder said. "Why should I believe anything you say?" "She's nearby," Domar said, taunting. "Would you like to see her?" Domar stepped over to a view screen built into one of the walls and turned to await Mulder's answer. "Yes," Mulder responded after a moment's hesitation. He was sure that Domar was toying with him, but he couldn't dismiss the possibility that this little man might just keep his word. Domar reached for the button on the screen and then drew back. He turned again to face Mulder. "Oh, yes. I forgot to mention. Who is it that you'd like to see? You see, I have Ms. Scully and I'm sure you'd like to see how she is. She's been with us before, you know. Why don't I give you a moment to decide?" With that the little man left the room, leaving Mulder with a very pained expression. When Han poked his head out from behind the knarled branches of the giant paraka tree, he was amazed at the bustle of activity. Dozens of the gray-clad human zombies appeared to be loading things into the shuttle and into a side section of the Hinderer that Han hadn't noticed during his first visit. Han ducked his head back behind the tree when he noticed Domar exit the Hinderer. Han watched as Domar walked quickly across the square and into a central building. Judging from the amount of light and noise emanating from the building, this was where the rest of the exiles were. Han took a chance and wandered out into the square, careful to walk slowly and expressionlessly. When he was near the entry door of the Hinderer, he ducked inside. The familiar rocky walls greeted him as they had before. The zombies didn't seem to be in this section of the ship for the moment, so Han headed for the engine room. Even though he didn't know what would do the most damage to these engines to prevent them from starting, he did know what would happen if he removed the part that he'd originally replaced. A few moments later, Han grinned in satisfaction as he held the small part in his hand. There was a wheezing sort of whine as the engine's power drained away. As he was about to make his way back toward the ship's entrance, he noticed that the door to the white room was closed. He paused in mid stride. Then, as if coming to a decision, he shook his head and went back toward the door to the white room. The door slid open at his direct approach to reveal Fox Mulder bound to the bed with energy straps. Han jumped to action and hurled himself toward the low platform. Mulder struggled ineffectively against the straps. Han reached beneath the platform, seeking the source of the straps' power. Of course with the engines down the power would drain away, but that could take an hour. They didn't have that kind of time. Someone was gonna figure out, and fast, that something was foul. Han's fingers finally caught on the source of the field and blocked it, allowing Mulder to break free. "Come on," Han said urgently as Mulder got to his feet. They had reached the door when an alarm was heard ringing out over the camp. Dana Scully sat in her position in the back corner of the cell she shared with Benjamin Adams. She continued to watch him as he closed his eyes and napped or meditated or whatever he was doing. Then suddenly his eyes flew open and his head jerked in her direction. "Come on!" he hissed, jumping to his feet and grabbing one of her arms. For a second Dana went limp with shock as Ben dragged her toward the force field. When she saw where she was headed, she fought at his hand that gripped at her wrist and dug her feet into the cell floor. "Stop fighting me!" Ben ground out under his breath. "The field is down!" He didn't let go of her wrist. "Do you want out of here or not?" "How do you know that the field is down?" Scully asked as she yanked her wrist from his grasp. She moved toward the place that she'd been sitting and picked up the defective light-thrower and heaved it in the direction of the force field. It went right through and clattered against the far stone wall. Ben gave her a sarcastic smile and gestured that she should lead. Scully returned the sarcastic smile with one of her own and shook her head and gestured that he lead. And so she followed him down the rocky corridor. A moment later the alarms started. Luke and Leia were again winding through the woods toward the exiles' camp when they heard an alarm sound. A knowing look passed between the two of them. Han must have been in the village. They broke into a full run, there was no more need for stealth. They broke into a clearing just as the exiles began to pour out of a large central building. The sound of the Falcon's engines could be heard as the ship approached. Leia was surprised when she looked out over the trees, searching for the Falcon against the grayness of the Infinity, and saw the Asteroid right there sharp as if it were almost upon them. The Falcon broke into her line of vision as Chewie settled down in the center of the square, effectively separating the exiles and the Hinderer, at least for a few extra seconds. Leia turned to Luke for confirmation that their job was done and then they both made a dash for the waiting Falcon. They saw when Ben followed by Dana ran into the waiting ship. When Luke saw Dana run up the Falcon's ramp, he had a brief, sharp flash of a future event. He came to a full stop in the square. It was an image of Capitol City at Coruscant lying in ruin and himself standing in the middle of the awesome destruction with Dana looking at him with terror and betrayal in her eyes. Mulder laying dying at their feet. "No," Luke whispered urgently against the sight, denying it. He didn't fully understand what it meant but he knew that he could not bear to continue on with Dana knowing what the future might hold. "The future is always in motion," he reminded himself. And then the answer popped into his mind. He silently thanked Cestallia for showing him a way to resolve the problem. He continued to run toward the Falcon, nearly catching up to Leia before she headed up the ramp. As soon as Luke entered the Falcon, Leia was turning to head back out. "What is it?" he asked her. He would have to talk to Dana later. "Han and Mulder aren't here, Luke," Leia said urgently. Luke's eyes reflexively took in the room. Dana, Benjamin Adams, Chewie and Leia were the only persons on the ship. His eyes went back to Benjamin Adams. Chewie stood menacingly over the man, who, though a Jedi himself, did not resist. Luke reached out into the force and felt both of the missing men. They were in the engine room of the Hinderer fighting with the zombies. "I'll get them, Leia," Luke said. "Make sure everything is under control here." Leia nodded in understanding and let her brother go. Leia re-activated the Falcon's force field as Luke exited the ship and then she turned toward the group behind her. "Lights out, Mr. Adams," he said to Ben as she stunned him. The exiles were spilling around the Falcon as Luke came down the Falcon's ramp. He leapt over the side of the ramp and knocked one of the exiles off his feet. The little men threw dirt and energy blasts at him with the force. Everything they threw at him was deflected by the Force-field that continued to protect him. Luke made his way unharmed into the Hinderer. Some of the exiles fled to their caves in fear at what they saw as the Gate itself protecting the young Jedi. Domar simply became enraged. He decided to bring out his secret weapon. Luke made his way toward the engine room of the Hinderer. The sounds of the scuffle taking place there drifted to his ears as he entered the rocky corridor. Han and Mulder were holding their own against the dozen or so zombies that were left standing. "Glad you could join us," Han called toward his brother-in-law as he decked another zombie. As best as Luke could guess they were both having the time of their lives. "Well, everybody's waiting," Luke quipped as he took down a zombie himself. "Think you could hurry this up a bit?" Suddenly, as they had done before, the gray-clad humans retreated. All of the zombies left conscious ran from the room. Han stood up from his position and looked at the other two men. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" he asked. A light step sounded before the children and the young woman spilled into the room. "Sam!" Mulder called and stepped toward his sister. "No...Mulder!" Luke tried to pull him back. But he was too late. Samantha raised her arms and shot a volley of the blue lightning at Mulder knocking him into a bank of consoles. Han reached for his blaster, but it was knocked from his hand by a pocket of air sent by one of the smaller children. Mulder got back to his feet and tried again to approach his sister, this time more uncertainly. Samantha sneered at Mulder as he limped toward her. When she raised her hands to attack Mulder this time, there was a dark murderous malice in her eyes. The lightning pushed Mulder against the only console that still stood. "No!" Luke yelled and threw himself between Samantha and Mulder, breaking the connection of the lightning on the former F.B.I. agent. The lightning lit around Luke's field, crackling at its edges as it sizzled in the artificial air. Samantha continued her attack on Luke, determined to break through his barrier. "Han, help Mulder and get out of here," Luke called to his brother-in-law. "And keep the shield up on the Falcon. It's me she wants." Han backed slowly toward the now stirring Mulder as he continued to debate with his brother-in-law. "What does she want you for? And just how are you going to get back to the Falcon if we keep the shield up?" "Domar sent them," Luke called, raising a hand to reinforce the field as the children joined in with a wind storm. "And don't worry about the shield, I know a way." "Why didn't I guess?" Han muttered to himself as he half carried, half drug Mulder off the Hinderer and toward the Falcon. When they were gone, Luke turned back to Samantha, mentally tracking Han and Mulder's progress. The wind buffeted the Force- field, but the Jedi stood firm. "Can't you see that this isn't working?" Luke called to her, satisfied that his friends had made it to the Falcon. The field fell away as soon as Samantha stopped sending the lightning. The children and the young woman linked hands and focused their minds to send the white hot mental energy wall at Luke. Luke clapped his hands and then he was gone. The group stood staring blankly at the empty spot where Luke Skywalker had stood. When Luke materialized on the Falcon, Han and Leia gaped at him. "How'd you do that?" Leia whispered. "Long story," Luke said. "Where's Dana?" "She's in the back with Mulder. He's pretty messed up, had to sedate him," Han said, gesturing his head in the direction of the of the back room. "Go back to the Gate," Luke said as he headed toward the back of the Falcon. Dana sat beside Mulder's limp form as he lay on a cot. She rested her head in her hands and fought tears of futility. At least he was out of it for now and wouldn't have to think about what his sister had tried to do to him. They had searched so long for Samantha and now to find her only to have her try to kill him was too much. She looked up as the door slid open. Luke stood in the doorway sadly gazing across the space toward her. With a heavy sigh he stepped fully into the room. "Dana," Luke began, "I need to talk to you, but there isn't much time." "Alright," Dana said, pulling herself together and standing up from the cot. Luke took her hand and led her toward the other cot in the room. "Dana, I'm sorry about everything that's happened here. And I deeply regret the fact that I will not get to know you." Dana frowned at Luke in confusion. "Dana, I'm sending you and Mulder home. It's...safer that way for both of you." "But Luke, ...how?" Dana shook her head. "What...?" Luke looked at her and sighed. The knowledge was all in his head, but he could not tell her. She wouldn't remember anyway even if he could. So he simply pulled her into his arms and held her. After a moment he pulled away and looked softly into her eyes. "Dana," he said. "This is good-bye." With that he softly touched his lips to hers. Very gently, he rendered her unconscious. Luke walked into the bay of the Falcon carrying Dana. "I take it we're back at the Gate?" Luke said to his astonished family. "What's going on, Luke?" Han asked, too casually. "They are going back home. Bring Mulder and Adams," Luke's voice carried toward them as he walked down the Falcon's exit ramp to stand the top of the Gate near the platform. He laid Dana on the rock and brushed her hair away from her face. A minute later, Han appeared carrying Mulder over his shoulder and Chewie appeared carrying Benjamin Adams. Luke arranged them all side by side on the surface of the rock. When he was done, the rock liquefied beneath their feet and the three humans sank beneath it. Han and Chewie stared speechlessly at Luke as he stared at the point where three humans had once been. With a last sigh, Luke looked up at his friends. "It's time," he said. "What about the children, Luke?" Leia asked when her husband and brother and Chewie arrived back and headed for the cockpit. "The Gate will take care of the children. They will be fine. But for now, I don't think Cestallia can wait any longer." As the words left Luke's mouth, a quake began beneath the surface of the asteroid. "Well, you don't need to tell me twice," Han said as he powered up the Falcon's engines and lifted off the rock. "Luke! Look!" Leia said, pointing toward an aft monitor. The Imperial shuttle had lifted off of the world ship and was headed out of the Gate. Beneath them the rumbling of the Gate grew louder. Suddenly there was an explosion in one of the Falcon's aft panels. Before anyone could react to the explosion, Luke began to grab at his head. "Luke! Luke! What is it!?" Leia cried out to her brother, his face was turning unhealthy shades of blue and white. "Got...to...g-get...out of...here!" he gasped out. Then the screaming started. Deep awful screams. Chewie covered his ears and whimpered at hearing his friend in mortal pain. Leia cried and tried to help, but it was no use. She could not reach him. Han set his jaw and flew the Falcon out of the infinity as fast as he could. By the time they reached normal space, Luke was catatonic. His mind was untouchable. All that Leia could do was hold his hand and wipe away the slow tears that crept down her face. {MW} a long time ago Chunks of hot meteorite flung into the atmosphere of a glowing blue planet. The boulders soon burned themselves down to large rocks, before crashing into the ground and borrowing themselves in the silent forest. A lone Indian boy stooped, hiding in the mouth of a cave, watching the beautiful, yet fearful sight of the stars that came to the Earth. He would tell his grandfather when he returned to the village of the great things he'd witnessed. The End.... (OH Yeah, You Might Want to Read the Epilogue IF You Want to Have Even a Clue of HOW This all Turns OUT) :) From: Jackeec Newsgroups: alt.tv.X-Files.creative Subject: NEW: Xjedi VOL Four Epilogue end brWritten: 23 January 1996 04:12:59 GMT brDisclaimer: Okay, folks, if you made it this far, we've been together for quite a while. Soooooo, I'm sure you know that these folks aren't mine. They belong to straasucal and snoitcudorp3101 1013Productions and Lucasarts. (sorry got a little turned around) No money made (or else I could buy better jokes/or a life). No infringement intended. On with the show. Epilogue -------- a long time ago {Gffa} Cestallian System Millennium Falcon "Well, there it is," Han said grimly as he stared down at the hazy atmosphere of the planet Cestallia. He glanced back at his still uncomprehending brother-in-law. It had been nearly a week and Luke still had not come out of the state he'd fallen into. The New Republic doctors were at loss. Leia held onto Luke's slack hand as the Falcon traveled along the beam that would take them to the Cestallian landing bay. "What took you so long?" asked the tall man who greeted them in the bay. "Huh?" Leia asked as she led her brother down the gangway. She'd only made the appointment with the Cestallian medical officials earlier in the day. The man at the bottom of the ramp simply shook his head in disapproval and led them to a transport tube. Once they were inside, he studied Luke's eyes carefully. Then, with a satisfied smile he started the lift on its way. "What was that all about?" Han demanded. "Oh...uh, preliminary," the man said. "All is as it should be." Han was gearing up for battle mode when Leia grabbed his arm and shook her head ever so slightly. The man led them to a plain wooden door and left them standing on the outside. Han and Leia stared at one another before Han reached out and opened the door. "Welcome," a voice said, accompanied by the smell of flowers. "I am S'carria, Matriarch of Cestallian. Please, bring him in." The woman standing before them bore little resemblance to Cestallia save for the pupil-less gray eyes. Brown hair hang in a halo around her thin face, not a steak of gray was visible. When they'd seated Luke on a chair, S'carria stepped over and sat across from him. She gently brushed his hair back from his forehead. "You are highly honored here, Luke Skywalker. Your name will go down in our books as a hero." The hand that had brushed his hair back, paused at his temple. For several seconds she stared intently into Luke's eyes. When S'carria released Luke's temple, they both closed their eyes briefly. When Luke opened his, he was back. He stared at the strange woman before him. He turned and looked at Han and Leia. "What am I doing here?" he asked. "What is this place?" "What is your name?" S'carria asked. "Luke Skywalker," he answered immediately, looking to Leia in confusion. "He will remember in time," S'carria said, removing the chain from his neck. "Thank you for bringing this home," he said. Luke did not dispute her. The gray strands mixed in her brown hair, though, seemed vaguely familiar. "He needs to rest," S'carria said. Immediately Luke's eyes closed and he slumped in the chair. "Mr. Solo," S'carria turned to Han. "Would you help him to the sleeping chamber through those doors?" she pointed toward a curtain in the corner of the room. "Yeah, sure." Han said, helping the groggy young Jedi to his feet and through the door. "What happened to him?" Leia asked as she handed S'carria the other item Cestallia had given Luke. "He carried within him the memories of all the Matriarch's since the start. The human mind does not have the plurality that the Cestallian mind is capable of, and so he essentially became Cestallian for a time. The bracelet saved him physically, but could not protect him mentally. The weight of dying destroyed all his barriers and eventually crushed his mind beneath the added pressure." "I'm afraid I don't understand," Leia said. "What dying? And the bracelet protected him physically from...what?" S'carria smiled understanding Leia's confusion. "It is difficult for those unaccustomed to these things to understand. Cestallia choose him to be her Intermediary. He became the carrier of her memories and those of the others who went before her, thus he became...Cestallian. He had to witness her death and essentially experience it...to pass it on to us. Becoming Cestallian increased his perception and heightened his senses. So when Cestallia died along with the Gate, he became overwhelmed by the intense pressure placed upon his mind. "The bracelet protected his physical body from experiencing death. You see, the Gate itself is true Cestallian and because of the implanted Cestallian memories the Gate saw him as an extension of itself. But because the bracelet is made of Dead rock, he was spared. That is why the Hinderer was destroyed, it was perceived by the Gate as a part of itself." "So then, that explains why the panel with the cylinder exploded," Leia mused to herself. "But, were the exiles Cestallian, as well?" "No," S'carria shook her head, "they were ' of the gate'. This was done artificially so that they could not reenter the Galaxy and threaten society again. They perished with the Gate. Cestallia's memories mention those who had bracelets. Those ones were sent." Leia waited for S'carria to finish her statement and when she didn't she shook her head, "Sent...sent where?" S'carria gave her a strange look before she responded, "Where they belong." present time {Gffa} Somewhere in space. A gleaming jewel shaped ship slipped into an entry port of Infinity. The young woman at the helm watched through the view port for evidence of that for which she waited. The ship's flood lights shone brightly against the rocky surface of the Gate. "Is there any sign, yet?" a male voice called from a corner of the room. His pupil-less gray eyes scanned the view screen just as the young woman's had done. "No," the young woman said. "But, everything will take place just as it should. The memory record that Luke returned was valid and besides, we've only been here two minutes. Patience." Though she spoke seriously, there was a mischievous glint to her pupil-less blue eyes. "Just because you're gonna be Matriarch someday..." the young man said, leaving the rest of the familiar taunt unsaid. "And just because you're..." she returned, but didn't finish her statement because just then they felt that for which they had been waiting. "They're here," the young woman said as she gazed down at the group of humans lying against the surface of the rock. The young man did not need to be told what to do next. Cestallian System Samantha opened her eyes to see a white ceiling overhead. There was the pleasant scent of flowers in the air, in deep contrast to her rapidly beating heart. She'd hadn't expected peacefulness, but darkness...or at least physical pain. She wasn't sure why she expected those things. The reason was only a hazy memory. The softly lit surroundings and the warmth of the cot beneath her, though, were beginning to calm her, ebbing away her body's tenseness. A soft swish announced the opening of a door out of her view. "Hello, I see you're awake," a voice said. The form of a blonde headed woman with pupil-less blue eyes came into view. "I'm Callie Skywalker and I've been waiting for you a very long time." "Skywalker...?" Sam asked, brow furrowed. She remembered that name. Luke...Luke had been called Skywalker. The memories began to flood back into her mind. She remembered everything. Her breath caught and her face crumbled. "Oh Fox! Fox! What have I done?" she began to cry. She pushed herself up from the cot, remembering with startling clarity the things that had occurred; the things she'd done to her brother. Callie closed her eyes and briefly brushed her sense against Samantha's. "Child," she began. "He is all right. He's alive and he's fighting for you. Close your eyes and listen." Sam shook her head sadly. "No! No! I can't be here! I've got to go to him...to beg him to forgive me!" She jumped from the cot and made ready to run out of the room's door. Callie easily restrained her. "Sam, listen to me," he said, injecting the Force into her words. "He's not here. You can't go to him, now. Listen to me and I'll tell you the story. Listen to me. Close your eyes and listen to me." Sam obediently closed her eyes as Callie had asked, but the tears slipped through and continued to roll down her cheeks. Callie lead her back to the cot and began her tale. "A long time ago, your brother was able to come here through a Gate. He helped one of my ancestors overcome an enemy, to set matters straight in this Galaxy. You knew him as Luke Skywalker. That was over a thousand years ago. I am Callie Skywalker, mien-Matriarch of Cestallia. Because of what took place back then, Luke Skywalker's name has become great in the Galaxy. Luke and your brother made it possible for a correction in time to occur. The duty to await your arrival here was passed on to me. You and the others have been cared for and in time, when it's safe, you and the others can return home." Samantha opened her eyes and sniffed. "So, am I in the future? Will I ever see Fox again?" Callie smiled, almost indulgently. "No, child," he said. "You are in what in your Galaxy would be the present. Those things that you remember occurred in this Galaxy's past. The gate sent you to us here, where we've been waiting." Sam eyed Callie curiously. This was a strange story, but no stranger than what she had begun to remember of her life or of the past day. The thought of those events brought back the sight of her brothers face in the Infinity. Tears again welled in her eyes, "His memory of me will be of my trying to kill him," she whispered. "Why did I do that?" "Sam," Callie said, covering one of her hands with her own. "He won't remember it. He won't remember a thing. You only remember because you had a cylinder within you." Callie forced back her own tears at seeing the pain and confusion in those hazel eyes. She wanted so much to ease this young woman's pain. She'd suffered enough in her lifetime. Maybe there was something she could do... present day {MW} Earth Silver Springs, Maryland Skinner sat in front of his computer trying desperately to remember the previous day. Nothing made sense. He'd remembered going to Charlotte on Friday, but he had no memory of Saturday, much less returning to Maryland. Tired of not remembering he clicked on the television. A news report caught his attention. "On the outskirts of Arlington Va., a meteorite, heretofore undetected by scientists fell to the earth this afternoon, crashing into a mobile unit on a construction sight..." Skinner chuckled, wondering at what type of conclusion Agent Mulder would draw from this incident. His phone rang. Georgetown Memorial Hospital "There are eyewitnesses who swear you were found encased in a meteorite," Skinner said when he found his two agents in the emergency room starring dumbfounded at one another. "Sir," Mulder stammered, glancing uncertainly at Scully. "We woke up here." Dana nodded in agreement at their superior. Skinner glared at the two battered and exhausted Agents and felt the beginnings of a real whopper of a headache. Where was that Exedrin? Washington D.C. Friday Fox Mulder ran through the rain to his apartment building. The cool October wind combined with the rain cut through his shirt front as he bundled a stack of files under his overcoat to protect them from the elements. The rain, in his opinion, only provided a depressing end to a depressing week. As the elevator creaked its way to his floor, he mentally reviewed the events that had taken place since he and Scully had woke up in the hospital. Because he and Scully had been unable to account for their whereabouts from Thursday to Sunday, they'd been been scheduled for a review by one of the federal psychologists, that was, of course, after they'd been grilled by AD Skinner and a board with Cancerman silently in attendance. To add to the troubles, the construction company had filed a suit against the F.B.I., since its Agent's had been found embedded in the meteorite that had destroyed the trailor; it seemed that someone had a video camera. They'd claimed that a secret government experiment had gone foul, thus causing loss to their property. The owner of the video camera had taken the liberty of sharing with the local news media, hence every talk show and tabloid in the continental U.S. was seeking an interview with the two Agents. And as the icing on the cake, at some time during the weekend, someone had stolen Scully's car. Mulder simply could not imagine what could possibly happen to top the last two days. When the elevator dinged upon reaching his floor, he stood there with his back against the wall for a second before he could urge his tired body forward. As Mulder stepped from the elevator, he noticed a shrouded figure standing near the wall. He couldn't tell if the figure belonged to a male or female, as a long gray hooded cloak obscured all tell-tell signs of gender. He moved to continue on toward his door with a nod. "Fox Mulder?" a voice asked. He paused in motion. The voice was soft, female and strangely familiar. He turned back in her direction. "Yes?" a drop of rain hung on the edge of his nose. He wiped at it unconsciously. "I have a gift for you." A small boned hand came out from one of the huge sleeves, to reveal a small tin box. It was decorated with intricate swirls of various colors and patterned indentations, all in all, an odd looking box. Mulder slowly reached out and took it from her hand. He looked at it silently for a moment. "What is it?" he asked at last. A sound from behind him down the hall caught his attention. He turned briefly to see what it was. Seeing no one, he turned back to his strange visitor. She was gone. The entire hall was deserted, save for one F.B.I. agent dripping wet, files clutched to him in one hand and a tin box in the other. There was but one thing that came to mind to do. Mulder decided he wanted to know what this gift was. It never occurred to him that there might be a bomb inside or some poisonous insect. This gift, he felt, must be precious indeed. He went into his apartment. Mulder dropped his files on the table as he stepped into his entryway. Then he reached behind to flip a light switch and kicked the door shut. Not once did he remove his eyes from the box. He sat in the living room and removed the lid. The box contained a tea bag. Mulder rested his chin on a fist, contemplating what to do. Maybe his instincts were incorrect. How could a tea bag warrant the delivery this one had gotten? The idea of poison now occurred to him. Maybe Cancerman was behind this whole thing... Dana Scully sat at her computer desk writing field reports. She paused to arch her back, removing the thin rimmed glasses that were beginning to irritate her nose. This was taking longer than it should have. The knock at the door was a welcome reprieve. When she looked through the peep-hole, she was surprised to see Fox Mulder standing on the other side. He seemed a little preoccupied. Not too unusual. She opened the door. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?" she asked, a smirk on her face. "If you're hankering for a home-cooked meal, you're out of luck, Mulder." Mulder barely smiled at her joke. Dana frowned at that, not that she felt the joke was remarkably funny, but she'd expected at least a rejoinder. Instead Mulder produced a tin box, opened it, and held what appeared to be an ordinary tea bag in the air. "Do you know what this is?" he asked seriously. Scully's eyebrows went up. "Well, at a guess, I'd say it's a tea bag. What do you think it is?" "Do you have any?" Mulder continued, ignoring her question. "Y--es," Scully responded giving Mulder an odd look. She decided to wait him out on this one. "Care to join me for some tea, then?" Mulder asked. Smiling for the first time since he'd entered her apartment. "Mulder, please tell me you didn't come all the way to my apartment to get me to make tea for you." "Nope." Mulder grinned, "I came all the way over here to make it for you, so go back to what you were doing and I'll be out in a minute." Dana didn't even try to hide her surprise. What had gotten into Mulder? She knew they were both weirded out about their strange disappearance and reappearance, but this seemed different, somehow. "I don't think I want to leave you in this condition," she joked. "You might pass out from shock when you realize what you're doing. I think I'll just sit right here and watch--for the record." Dana sat at her table and watched her partner riffle through her dishes. While they waited for the water to boil, he told her about a strange woman who'd come to his apartment building that day. When the pot began to whistle, he poured a good measure of hot water in each. He added sugar to Dana's and one of her bags of peppermint tea. "What did she say?" Scully asked as he handed her the mug. Mulder shrugged. "She said she had a gift for me," he dunked his tea bag, watching the water darken. "Really?" Scully said, surprised. "What was the gift?" Mulder gestured toward the odd tin that sat between the two of them on the table. As Scully picked it up for closer examination, Mulder took a sip of his tea. His brows lifted. It was good, in a rich fruity sort of way. He took another sip. Scully looked curiously inside of the empty tin. "Is this it?" she asked. "Was there anything inside?" Mulder nodded. His head was beginning to feel light all of a sudden, perhaps earlier would have been better for telling Scully about the tea. "This tea bag..." he got out in a slurred voice before his head began to nod forward. The last thing he remembered seeing was his partner's expression as she jumped up from her chair... Fox Mulder found himself standing in a garden. The sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance. His brow furrowed. How had he gotten here? He had been in Dana Scully's apartment drinking tea. He began to hear another sound over the sound of the waters. A horse galloping. Mulder began to walk in the direction of the sound. For the first time, he began to notice a path. It lead off in the direction of the pounding hoof beats. A young woman with long dark hair blowing freely behind her sat atop a beautiful bay gelding. She seemed to be looking for someone. When she saw Mulder she drew the horse to a halt. Mulder stood there and watched the woman. A strange feeling came over him. It worked its way through his chest and his gut. A thickness arose in the back of his throat. A word came unbidden from his lips. He blinked when he realized what it was. "Samantha?" The woman was off the horse and in his arms in the span of a second. "Fox! Oh Fox, it's true, it's true," she mumbled in his shoulder, through her tears. Fox Mulder held his sister close for a while, then drew away. "What's true?" he asked, not removing his hand from her arms for fear she'd disappear. She felt so warm and alive and real. A shadow crossed Sam's face. "That you're alive...and well," he said. That was good news. The last time she'd 'seen' him was when she tried to kill him. Callie had told her that he wouldn't remember that. She was glad he wouldn't. She cleared her throat, pushing the thought aside.. "Fox, there isn't much time," he said. "I just wanted you to know that I'm happy and safe. I'm with friends now. I'll be home for good, but I don't know when..." Sam paused, looking up at her brother. "I'm supposed to tell you that your work is very important and not to give up." Mulder nodded at her words. Sam looked back over her shoulder as if hearing someone. She turned back to her brother. "I have to go now, Fox." She stood on tip toe and kissed his cheek. She then stepped back, allowing the hand that had been holding her arm to trail down to her hand and then her finger tips. She tilted her head slightly to the side as she looked up at her brother; a gesture Mulder remembered vividly from childhood. Then Samantha faded away. And Mulder opened his eyes. He found himself on Scully's kitchen floor, her worried eyes looked into his. "Mulder, are you all right?" she asked breathlessly. Mulder nodded a tear spilling from the corner of one eye. The memories of the dream flowed over him. Mulder sat up and took a deep breath. "Yes..." he whispered, "I'm fine." Later From: Accounting and FinanceAcctfin@gov.org To: Spagt Fox Mulder1013@gov.org subj.: Cellular phone charges Agent Mulder, we received a confirmation of unusual roaming charges from our cellular carrier. An itemized bill has been placed in your inter-office mail. We would appreciate an immediate reply. Thank you, J. Morgan -------------------------------------------------------------------From: Accounting and FinanceAcctfin@gov.org To: X-Files Supervisor1013@gov.org subj.: Cellular phone, gun, etc. Agent Mulder, Please confirm replacement request for two cellular phones and two sidearms and holsters for your division. Our records show that your division personnel list contains two names. Please send updated list if necessary. Thank you, J. Morgan -------------------------------------------------------------------From: RecordsRec@gov.org To: X-Files Supervisor1013@gov.org subj.: Identification Agent Mulder, Please be informed that you did not complete the section of the form 1713 Request for Identification Replacement describing how your identification had probably been lost. Please be informed that Agent Scully was negligent in this duty as well. Please rectify situation. Thank you, M. Manness ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ejfar@dfm.org To: F. Redlum1013@gov.org subj.: "Theory of Infinity" Mr. Redlum, we are very interested in the article you submitted via brFeedback:. The theory in itself is fascinating and logical. The editors feel that it ranks in the same league as 'Newton and Gravity'. Via postal mail (snail!) you will receive our standard contracts and publishing statements. Mr. Redlum, please carefully consider our offer. Thank you, E. J. Fahrenkrug, Discovery Frontiers Magazine --------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Fox Mulder 1013@gov.org From: annon@canyon-library.com subj.: our weekend :) Forwarded Message Follows Hi there, I didn't get to say good bye to you when I left. And since some rather unexpected things happened that might have caused worry. I'm E 'ing to say I'm fine. My name has been changed and I'm in a new place. It was all very mysterious. But, it's all right. So here's me saying Thank You! and good-bye. I was only allowed one contact and then I wasn't allowed to send it, so I don't even know your e-address!:( Please share this message with Dana. And thanks again to both of you! remembering always, Rae --------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Fox Mulder 1013@gov.org From: Frohike Lonegun1@lgm.com subj.: My van Hey Mulder, I know you've been busy and all. But, my van, I need it, dude. BTW, when are you coming to get Agent Scully's car? Frohike End Personal Disclaimer: All of you brilliant mathematicians out there with logical theories on infinity and time and such, feel free to correct me on anything that appears to be based on anything already theorized. And bear in mind that any technical explanations sent my way will be read, but the reader (me) will be bogged down in a very deep mire of confusion as I made this all up based on nothing. I really did try to research it, which is why I know I will be lost. And another thing, if anyone wants to carry on with this in any form, feel free, just let me know. I'm curious about any ideas of a sequel or alternate (read: more exciting) ending. I mean, where did the "exiles" go? There were quite a few threads I wanted to tie up, but, I kinda wanted to bring this story in at least under a Meg! For all who stuck it out to these very last words: Truly my very deepest gratitude. Constructive, or non, criticism welcome, hoped for, begged for. No comment is too small... I took some really indecent liberties with National Zoo for all of you who live there. I asked my sister to describe it to me over the phone (I've only been there in my imagination and all, see) so it's the enhanced version. Also, I wrote this story for fun, even though it did take over and on, respectively, my life and a life of its own. This story is c. 1995 by Jackee C., and is submitted Freely for your reading pleasure. Xjedi Endnotes You have now entered the realm of end notes... The disclaimers from all of the previous xjedi stuff in force in case needed. (ya never know) Following are a list of possible plot inconsistencies. If you don't want to ruin what you just read, bail now! Otherwise, join the game. These are answers that should clear up any "holes". They are multiple choice. If you find some that I didn't see, feel free to send them my way. I don't even mind if you add your own 'creative' (multiple choice, please) fixes. Following the above is a semi-explanation if you are a touch confused. If you saw the fact that Mulder didn't make a connection between the kidnapped children, who were taken from Cestallia and ones taken from Earth as a plothole, here's me paving it over: (pick one) 2. The call came for Luke and he didn't tell a soul, just rushed out and told his sister. Cestallia was told later, perhaps by Luke. They did call in the Coruscant F.B.I, after all. 3. Mulder was too awed with the idea that he was in another Galaxy to put two and two together and get five! ;) If you can't make the mental leap to why Mulder figured Cestallia knew something about his sister: 1. His nickname is "spooky" for a reason. He was right wasn't he? 2. Dramatic license. Really, couldn't you see that one coming? I sure hope not. EG where are the droids when everyone finds out that Cestallia sabatoged Becter's stuff and is forced to 'fess up by Luke? How did Luke force her to 'fess up? 1. He said, "Listen, chicky, if you want my trust, you're gonna have to come clean." Plot inconsistency: If the rocks are alive, how come the ones on the Hinderer got cold in Volume one? For those who are super curious as to what happened after Luke and CE did their Jedi jumping thing at the zoo. How did Chewie get the cuffs and Chains off? Why in the world did I spell Cestallia, Cestallia instead of say: Cestallia or Scestallia or C'est' alia? Pillow fight: "But, why?!" you exclaim Don't forget to feel free to find your own and e me or post it on the group. I shall make a valiant effort to respond in kind to each and every one. Okay, first off. For anyone who is confused about what the heck just happened. Here goes...in plain english. We all know that Lucas' Galaxy is 'a long time ago and far, far away' right? Well, it still is in my story. (sorta) But fixing the gate rift caused everyone within the gate to be sent on their merry ways to their own time. With the exception of those embedded with the cylinders. We just couldn't let Mulder coherently remember all of this...he'd crack up!!! And Scully she'd be so deeply in denial it wouldn't matter if she remembered or not. But Rae...who knows? Also, there is this little phrase that sticks with me: "Take only what you need, but leave the land as you found it." I tried! I really tried! So basically: Nothing really happened? Also, this is not meant to be a story taken seriously. It was meant to be lighthearted and fun, so bear this is mind when the characters seem a little giddy/silly when the situation may have warranted tension and seriousness. If this doesn't help in any way...well, then, e-me for the one on one therapy session... :) -- Reality. It's not for me.
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