Chapter 67

"Yes, he's an interpreter droid. You might need him, if you have to communicate with foreign species. Not every species speaks standard Basic, and we need those new supplies, Ian. I don't want to leave those cupboards empty after we're leaving. Luke is using Ben's place as his second home. He expects a small reserve stock when he wants to stay here."

"You can use your time to perform the Illum meditation, like we did," Yarmod said, "I thought you wanted to have a real lightsaber too?"

"I do, I have done some Jedi meditation as Luke has taught me, but the Illum meditation you have done so well, when you assembled your own lightsaber, requires a lot more commitment to the Force. You'd better go now, it's quite a distance to Mos Espa. You also have to find a place to stay for the night."

Ian and Yarmod hopped into the speeder. Ian started the engine and the speeder rushed off. Liane turned around, looked at the spot where the cloaked Astræa stood and entered Ben's dwelling. Gingerly she locked the heavy door and turned to Artoo.

"Well, Artoo, it's just you and me."

The stubby droid bleeped and rolled over as she sat down on the couch in the central living. She laughed.

"I wonder, how Luke and Leia always know what those beeps mean. They always seem to understand what you're saying.

Again the little droid beeped affectionately.

"Yeah, I know, you're fond of Luke and his sister, so am I. They are such great friends. Over and over they tell me, I am their sister. Well, their foster-sister, because Anakin has been my foster-father."

She jumped to her feet.

"I mustn't waist my time, Artoo. I'm going to do the Illum meditation as Yarmod and Ian did. I want to assemble my own lightsaber."

"fkdIKkndki-kkkAADKKL-fTQajidlzF," Artoo let out another long flow of binary beeps.

Amazed Liane looked down on the barrel-shaped droid.

"Are you trying to tell me, you were here when Luke assembled his own lightsaber?"

Cautiously she looked at the droid, then she shrugged her shoulders.

"You're imagining things, Liane Solichor. You can't understand this droid's language."

Artoo pushed against her leg and beeped again.

"UUkndioold-kdlsien1dk-KHuueHdn."

"What did Luke do? He hit his lightsaber in one of your compartments and then he recorded a message for Jabba the Hutt. Who is that?"

On the small display on the droid's front appeared some characters.

"FF00BE4A-FF93DEF0-CBF893B5."

"Hey, Artoo, I can read that. I'm familiar with this kind of code. Let me have a look. Oh, that's really easy. You're telling me that Luke wanted to make a deal with that Jabba the Hutt to free Han."

She frowned and nodded slowly.

"Luke has told me about that dangerous adventure. Do you still have that recording, Artoo? I would like to see it. Luke told me, he made a three meters tall image of himself. Would be great to see him that tall now, while I am not with him."

Artoo's dome head whirled around and suddenly a holographic image of Luke Skywalker towered high above Liane.

"Oh, it's still there, Artoo. Please, can you play Luke's message for me?" She laughed and sat down, looking at the huge image of her beloved friend.

"Greetings, Exalted One. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight and friend to Captain Solo. I know that you are powerful, mighty Jabba, and that your anger with Solo, must be equally powerful. I seek an audience with Your Greatness to bargain for Solo's life. With your wisdom I'm sure that we can work out an arrangement, which will be mutually beneficial and enable us to avoid any unpleasant confrontation. As a token of my goodwill I present to you a gift, these two droids. Both are hardworking and will serve you well."

Flabbergasted Liane listened to the ancient recording, then she started laughing out loud.

"He is wonderful, isn't he, Artoo. Oh, my, did he really gave you and Threepio as a gift to that Jabba. I remember he told me that you and Threepio were part of the plan to free Han. Thank you, Artoo. Maybe you should replay this message again for me. Will you? I'm a bit worried about Luke, you know. He hasn't answered my recent Jedi-pendant calls. I don't know what to think about it. He always answered my calls even when I lived under the mountains of Na'ctaMagh'Ba. Play it again, Artoo, please?" Liane begged.

Artoo's dome whirled around and again Liane listened to the old recording, but suddenly the recording became blurred, the image of Luke disappeared and an unsteady holographic image of Ben Kenobi appeared.

"Luke, listen carefully to what I'm telling you..."

"What is this, Artoo? Where did you get this message?" Liane asked surprised.

Artoo beeped.

"You mean, it's an old recording of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Yes, I recognize him."

She looked at the image of Ben which was distorted and unstable.

"Did Luke ever see this message?" She asked the droid.

Artoo whirled his dome and beeped frantically.

"There was no time, you say. What do you mean?"

A long binary flow of data passed over the tiny display. Liane carefully followed the binary stream.

"Ben recorded this on the Falcon before they were captured on the first Death Star. You and Ben were hiding in the hidden compartments in the floor of the Falcon. That must be during Luke's first and only trip with Ben. I know that Anakin dueled with Ben in a lightsaber fight on the first Death Star," She mused.

Artoo whistled again.

"They could flee to Yavin and Luke became a pilot with you as interpreter and the X-wing R2 unit, but you got shot. After they repaired the damage you couldn't find Ben's recording in your memory banks. You feared they had erased it. They haven't, Artoo, you have found the access to that message again. Probably there was a bad section in your memory banks, but somehow this section is accessible again. This is really odd, Artoo. Can you play the whole message for me? Yes, I know, it's meant for Luke, but it's so long ago. I wonder what Ben wanted to tell Luke."

Liane sensed some reluctance in the astromech droid. She waited patiently for him to make his own decision. She noticed that Artoo's optical lense gave her an investigative look.

Suddenly Artoo's blue dome whirled around and the holographic image of Ben Kenobi reappeared.

Luke, listen carefully to what I'm telling you. This is very important for you... and for me. I've shown you on this trip your potential with the Force. You've asked me to train you as a Jedi Knight, like your father has been. I would have loved to take on this task, but I sense that the outcome of this trip will be very different. Don't feel devastated if I'm no longer around to guide you directly. I'm sure, you will find a way to develop your Force skills. There is however one thing I want to ask you. I want you to go to Corellia and start looking for a family called Tydon...."

Liane sat on the edge of the couch. This was awesome and unexpected. Years ago Ben had already asked Luke to find Ian. She payed attention to the rest of the message.

"Their third son is called Tama-Hinn, but probably they gave him a more common name. Tama-Hinn is my son, Luke. He's only two years younger than you. I would be very happy if the two of you would become friends so you can count on each other and find your way along the Jedi path. Luke, this is important. Important for me, but also for you. As you're learning more and more about the Force and discover your own skills, it's good if you will have a friend who has the same slumbering Force potential. Luke, the Force will be with you and my son, always."

The message ended. Liane sighed.

"I can't believe it, Artoo. Luke would certainly have gone looking for Ian at a much earlier stage, if he had known about this message. What should I do now? Call Luke through the pendant and tell him, or should I remain silent, and what about Ian. I promised Ben not to reveal the truth until Ian has passed his final trials and will be a Jedi Knight. Damn it, why did I ask you to play this old message, why did I always have to be so curious."

'Because you're a curious young woman who's always looking for new knowledge, Liane, and that's a good thing.' A voice said.

"Ben!" Liane exclaimed, "Ben, that old message you recorded. I..."

'It's of no use any longer, Liane,' The apparition of Ben Kenobi said friendly, 'It didn't work out the way I hoped it would.'

"Artoo just said that after they repaired him, he couldn't retrieve the message. By accident he found the access to it again now. Must have been a bad cluster in his memory bank, Ben. Oh, this is such a pity. Luke and Ian could have been friends years ago."

'Yes, but the events took another turn, Liane. I thought that with this message I could influence the outcome of the future, but it didn't. Once again this is one of the many mistakes I've made. Another one which I deeply regret.' Ben said softly, as if he felt ashamed.

Liane noticed also a sense of sadness in the old Jedi.

"Ben, you shouldn't feel ashamed or sad about what happened in the past. Luke has become a Jedi Knight and your son has almost reached the same goal. Maybe it didn't go the way you've expected, and it has taken much more time, but Luke and Ian have become real good friends. Just as you wanted," She said on a soothing tone.

They both were silent, except for the soothing humming of Artoo who seemed to understand the seriousness of the moment.

'What are you going to do with this knowledge, Liane?' Ben asked suddenly.

"Keep it to myself, don't reveal it to anyone until the right moment, as I promised you. Nothing has changed, Ben. I feel still bound by the promise I made several weeks ago." Liane said determinedly

The apparition of Ben watched the young woman in front of him. She had grown strong, she had come a long way. A very long way. She had stepped back from the Dark Side of the Force and had found her way along the Jedi path and served the Good Side of the Force. Question was if she had matured enough to take the next step. Liane felt the old Jedi's penetrating stare. It made her feel a bit uneasy. She looked up at him and tried to smile.

"Ben, believe me, I will not tell anyone. I promised I wouldn't," She said.

Ben started to smile serenely.

'Liane, I want you to tell Ian the truth,' He said, 'I want you to tell him the truth while you are here.'

Liane shook her head.

"No, Ben, don't put me in charge of such a difficult task. Please, it's better if Luke, or you, tell Ian is your son. I can't do that."

'I think you can, Liane, but you need some more information to carry out what I'm asking you. Listen to me. There is a hidden cave behind the alcove you use for sleeping.'

Liane listened with restrained breath. She didn't interrupt Ben's explanation, but carefully took in all the words he spoke. At the end of Ben's words, she nodded.

"I will do, as you ask, Ben," She said.

'We'll meet later, Liane, as I want to tell you more.'

The apparition of Ben Kenobi vanished and Liane put her hands in front of her face to think about what Luke's former master had asked her.

In the hidden, deep niche against the back wall of the base cave, Luke lay with his eyes closed on a pile of nagawa fleeces. He had surrendered himself to the Force and had slipped into Jedi hibernation. His breathing had almost stopped and his heart beat had slowed down to an almost unnoticeable level. Just before he completely had become unconscious he had heard of the voice of Liane.

"Impos .. " he had tried as a response, but his thoughts had now become blurred and he had been no longer aware of his surroundings.

Under his Jedi tunic he wore a fiber foil jacket filled with a highly concentrated sugar-solution. The liquid would very slowly be absorbed through his skin and nurture his inner organs which needed no more than a fraction of their normal metabolism. He had thoroughly tested the fiber jacket for more than a week. He hadn't eaten nor taken any drinks and had done his normal chores among Cornell and his men and hadn't felt weak or dizzy. After that week's test he had been sure that the jacket met his expectations. Three days ago he had left the second camp site during the night, and had found his way to the base cave where he wanted to perform the next step in Jedi Force hibernation mediation.

As the days had passed the body of the young Jedi had gotten cold as his body temperature followed his slowed breathing and the new rhythm of his heart beat. Luke didn't notice anything any longer. He laid in an unconscious Force meditation state which would last at least for a week, maybe longer.

Outside the base cave the bushes which covered the cave entrance moved. A figure cautiously entered the cave and stood silently in the entrance waiting to adjust to the darkness inside. Chati carefully passed along several stacks of crates and containers. As much as she could she kept to cave wall until she reached the back wall of the cave. Still keeping close to the wall she found the deep niche and slipped behind a protruding rock that hid the niche from view. On tiptoe she neared the stack of nagawa fleeces with the body of Ben. Three days ago he had left the second camp site and tonight she had been able to slip away. She had hurried down the mountain path to the base cave. She switch on her the tiny flash light and held it above the his face. She looked at the closed eyes and the ashen color of his cheeks. She switched off the flash light and concentrate on her own thoughts. As Luke had taught her she had to visualize Luke's face and body as it was laying on the fleeces in her mind. Chati took a deep breath and seated herself on the floor of the alcove near Luke's head. She shivered and felt some uneasiness.

"Concentrate on your breathing, Chati," She said in her mind, "Breath in, and out. Notice the rise and fall of your chest. Don't interfere with the movement, just breath in and out. Ben is also doing the same at the moment, but on a much lower level. Concentrate on his breathing and his heart beat. You're able to use the Force to notice them."

She stretched out her hand and touched his face and all of a sudden she became aware of a very faint whiff of air along the inside of her wrist. Was this Ben's breathing?

For moments she sat motionless, wondering if she indeed had felt the Jedi's breathing. After, what seemed an eternity, Chati again felt the soft whiff of air, and now she also became aware of the very slow pulsation of Ben's heart. Chati started to count the beats and noticed that she as she had felt a beat she had to wait for seconds before she felt the next one. Ben's breathing and heart beat worked slowly, but very regularly. He was still alive.

Relieved Chati ignited her flash light again and held it high above Luke's chest. She touched his chest with her other hand. Tense she listened to the slow rhythm of the heart beat and when she felt the whiff of air, she noticed a slight, almost undetectable raise of his chest.

Slowly Chati took away her hand and exhaled. Once again she had been able to perform the task Ben had entrusted her with. She switched of her flash light and stealthily she found her way out of the cave to the outside. Before she followed the path through the covering bushes she took a deep breath. In the woods she began to ascend the narrow path that lead to the second camp site. Halfway up the mountain path she turned left and started to find her way unseen up to the camp site. As she near the site she waited for a while to feel the presence of several other Quelans. The majority of the group harvesters was still enjoying themselves in community tree house. Chati found her way to the clearing and walked back to the main building. From there she went to her own tree house and climbed the rope ladder. With a sigh of relief she went to her sleeping couch.

"No, ma'am, I don't know where they have gone. Our friends were so kind to inform at Mas'onom space port. The duty officer told that they have taken my brother's space craft and left without stating their destination. I have informed Wedge Antilles to be on the look out if the Astræga turns up in the Palomintar System. He suggested that we should ask commander Vestor to cooperate with us and have the ship pulled inside the Basilisæa." Leia said, looking at the concerned image of the Supreme Chancellor.

"Could be dangerous, Leia. Please, come back to Irithim immediately. I will inform all known space ports the markings of the Astræga. General Madine has the Tychorion ready. I'll tell him to wait for your return, so you can join him."

"Thank you, madam. I leave Vor'izon immediately. Our Dalmarian friends have done their utmost to help us," Leia said and switched off the holographic display.

She turned to governor Ma'duff'ey.

"Thank you for your kind words to the Supreme Chancellor, Your Highness. I already have ordered a member of my staff to have your submersible ready. You can leave any moment."

"Thank you, governor. It's been a great pleasure to work with you and your men," Leia said.

She rose and left the communication center of the Dalmarian government. The governor accompanied her to the quay where the submersible of the New Republic was waiting ready to go back to Irithim.

"Captain To'lo'imon will accompany you to Irithim, Your Highness. I have ordered him to use one of our secret waterlanes to get you back home faster than the standard route. He also will report to the Supreme Chancellor about what happened on Na'ctaMagh'Ba."

"That's very kind of you, governor, but how will the captain get back to Vor'izon?" Leia asked, showing her concern for the kind captain.

Ma'duff'ey's face lit up in a broad smile.

"I've granted the captain permission to stay at Irithim for a while. He is curious about the progress of the new town. He also wants to offer his service to the Supreme Chancellor. I will miss one of my best men, but it's reward for his loyalty to the Dalmarian people."

"I'm sure the Supreme Chancellor will find a task for him in accordance with his rank and experience." Leia said with a formal bow.

She walked over to the submersible. Fern'all's head emerged through the open hatch. He jumped out and helped her on board. Before he went inside the submersible again. he brought a formal salute to his governor, then he closed the hatch and started the engines.

Liane stood in the small alcove and looked intently at the stones of the arch that marked the entrance. Artoo stood next to her and hooted a series of binary language. Liane listen and started to laugh.

"I think I know how Luke and Leia know what you're saying, Artoo. Those different bleeps can be translate into the binary language I saw on the display, but if I learn to listen attentively I don't need to read the display."

Artoo wobbled on his stubby legs, as if he wanted to agree with her words.

"We have to find the stone Ben mentioned. Can you help me as I push these stones one by one. Ben said I need to find a stone that can be taken out, but he didn't say which one it was. Let's find out, Artoo. I'll take the stones on the left side. Can you check the ones on the right side."

Liane pushed against the rectangular blocks one by one, but none of them moved. Artoo used one of this utensils. He knocked on the blocks and listened. After the fourth block he let up a triumphant bleep. Liane looked at her companion and saw how the little droid removed a small stone near the alcove floor.

"Great, Artoo, you've found it. Now let's see if we can find that lever I have to pull as Ben said."

Artoo had already reached inside the small hole with one of his mechanical claws. Liane heard a soft sound when the droid's mechanical hand touch a metal object. Artoo locked on the object and move backwards.

A loud noise was heard like stones that were grinding against each other. Liane turned around, looking at the rear wall of the alcove. She put her hands to her mouth in amazement as the wall slid slowly aside. Behind the hidden door a dark grotto became visible.

"Wow, Artoo, excellent. This must be the space Ben mentioned. You've listened well, thank you. With your help it's been quite easy to find the right stone. Now, let's see what's inside this dark space. I'll get a lamp. Wait here, I'll be right back."

She walked back and went over to the workplace alcove. On one of the shelves she found a ion-lamp. She ignited it and a wide beam of light enlightened the alcove and a large part of the living cave. Quickly she went back to the alcove, where Artoo had already vanished into the dark grotto.

"Artoo, what are you doing? Be carefull. Wait, I'll ignite this lamp." Liane said and walked over to the dark entrance. She heard the muffled bleeps of the astromech droid which seemed to have disappeared along a kind of corridor.

Cautiously Liane held the ion-light in along the walls of the grotto. She saw indeed a dark path that went further inside the mountain. She wanted to step inside, but hesitated a moment, than she went back to the living and lifted a low solid stool. She carried the stool inside her alcove and blocked the hidden door of the grotto. Then she followed Artoo inside the corridor.

"Artoo, where are you?" She called.

Immediately the droid answered. Liane sighed relieved. Carefully she walked on. The path was dry and smooth as were the walls of the corridor. It was all definitely made on purpose. The corridor made a bent and Liane bumped into Artoo who stood waiting in another carved out space. Liane held the ion-lamp above her head to inspect the new space. The room was cramped and was furnished with a chair and a table. On the table Liane saw some writing utensils and a stack of paper. Everything was covered with a slight layer of fine sand. She looked around, but she didn't touch anything. Several questions whirled up in her mind. This must be the place Ben had mentioned. He had told her to look for a hidden room. Why was it hidden? Didn't Ben want anyone to know what he had been doing here? Curiously she sat down on the chair and turned to Artoo.

"This is an odd place. It's dry and cool, but it feels very comfortable. What do you think, Artoo."

The little droid beeped in agreement.

Liane put the ion-lamp on the table near the wall. Now she could see the whole space. She started looking for clues about the use of it. In one of the drawers she found an infocom. She took it out and pressed the power switch. To her amazement the device activate and the soft voice of Ben started to speak.

"Luke has had an accident with his T-16 skyhopper. He and his friend Biggs were racing in Beggar's Canyon when the side fin of Luke's space craft hit the wall of canyon. The craft started spinning, but the boy used his inherited skills and kept aloft. He managed to land the craft without being hurt. I wanted to go over to the two friends, but unexpectedly Owen Lars turned up. He scolded Luke and ordered him to get back to the farm and get a speeder to transport the ruined space craft. I stayed out of sight, thinking about how I could find a way to talk to Luke. Owen Lars is protecting the boy forcefully. Why can't this man see the great potential of the boy? Last time I tried to talk to Luke Owen threatened me, telling he would shoot at me if I would try again. It's so difficult to remain patient and take care of Luke from the sideline. It's been a long time here and still I haven't got an opportunity to work out a good plan. I wonder if the Force will show me the right moment to tell Luke about his destiny."

The message stopped abruptly, but Liane concluded that Ben had recorded this message during his stay on Tatooine while he had been watching over Luke.

Artoo bleeped and Liane turned to him.

"You've never heard this story, haven't you, Artoo?" She asked, then she shook her head.

"Of course, you haven't. You served on that space ship with Leia, but it must have been around the same time. So this is probably Ben's last note about Luke."

Liane started looking around more seriously. The ion-lamp cast its light in every corner of the small room. Except for the table and the chair there was no other furniture, so probably Ben had been using this room to sit here, ponder and think, maybe he did some Force meditation here. But why had this space been hidden behind a secret wall? Ben had lived alone. He could have been doing his meditations in the center cave. Did he want to hide for some one? Had he been afraid of the moisture farmers who saw him as a wizard, a weirdo, a kind of hermit. Could Ben have recorded more on Luke, growing up at the farm of his uncle. Where are those recordings. She scrolled through the memory bank of the infocom, but there was any other message. Her eyes carefully searched every spot of the space and suddenly she saw a metal box at the left side of the table. It was hidden half under the table and stood in the shadow. She had nearly overlooked it. She pushed the chair aside and grabbed one side of the box.

"Can you give me hand, Artoo. I want to look at this box."

Together they managed to pull the box in front, so it could be lifted. Before she put it on the table, Liane carefully put the infocom back in the drawer. The lid of the box wasn't locked, but Liane felt some reluctance as she lifted it. Inside the trunk were two other small metal boxes. On the lids Liane read a few words in Jediese: 'My life in exile' and 'For Luke'. Between the boxes lay a leather pouch. Liane took out the pouch and opened the strings. She spread the leather cover on one of the boxes and looked amazed at the content. On the leather cover lay a Jedi holocron, a small square orange cube. This was a great find. This holocron probably held Ben's recordings of his knowledge. Luke would be delighted. Luke! Was he alright ... stop, Liane. Luke's a Jedi Knight. Stop worrying about him. Remember what you answered Trevor when he stood next to you looking at Luke on that burial pyre: "He is alive, Trevor, you're lying to me, like you've been lying to me on Morantan."

She wanted to take the holocron in her hand, when a bluish light appeared behind her.

'You'd better put this holocron back in its cover, Liane. You don't need it, as you have found my former message to Luke. I recorded this holocron during my watch on Tatooine while Luke grew up with his uncle and aunt. It contains the story of my own life and of Luke's youth as far as I was able to witness it. In two boxes are datapads with the orginal recordings of both stories in Standard Basic,' The apparition of Ben Kenobi said quietly.

"Why did you write them down too, Ben?" Liane asked curiously.

The old Jedi laughed.

'It's the other way round, Liane. I first wrote both stories and later I decided I would record everything in a holocron too.'

Liane nodded.

"Because you weren't sure if those recordings would survive, the holocron would certainly have. And because only a Jedi Knight recognizes a holocron so your recordings would be safe, until Luke would have become a Jedi Knight and would know how to retrieve the recordings."

'Or when a curious young woman by the name of Liane Solichor would intercept an old recording in an astromech droid.'Ben said with a pleasant laugh.

Liane's cheeks colored and averted her eyes for a moment. Ben watched her closely. Was she really strong enough to know the truth? Could he rely on her strength?

'Liane, I've asked you to tell Ian the truth about his birth. I want you to tell him that he is my son. I also said you need more information to fulfill my wish. That is why I told you how to find this hidden cave. I knew you would find the metal box. I knew you would recognize the orange cube as a Jedi holocron. The only thing you need to do now is read the story of my life in exile which starts at the moment I had to flee Coruscant to save my life and fulfill the promise to protect Luke. Please, Liane, read it and afterwards I will be there to answer any questions you have.'

Liane heard a begging tone in the old Jedi's voice. It felt as if the old man would burst out in tears, feeling ashamed about all the mistakes he had made. She felt the sadness of Ben's words in her heart.

"I will read your story, Ben?" She asked on a whispering tone, "And I will carry out the task you've asked me, although it isn't an easy one. You have my word."

'I can only hope, Liane, that after you have read those line, you'll find the strength to tell my son the truth.' Ben said and his apparition disappeared.

Liane looked at Artoo who stood softly humming next to her.

"It breaks my heart to feel his sadness, Artoo. He did, what he felt was right, when he brought Ian to safety. What's he blaming himself for? Well I'd better start reading. Will you help me to get this box to main living and close this room again."

Artoo whistled an affirmative. He extended a pair of utensils and clamped them around the trunk. Liane took the other side and together they brought it to the main living. Liane sat down on the couch and pulled out the datapad out with Ben's recordings about his life in exile.

Han opened his eyes when Chewbacca pushed his shoulder.

"What's the matter, Chewie?" He asked and stretched.

Chewbacca pointed at the console which held a map of their surrounding.

"Hey, pal, what's the Basilisæa doing? She is entering the Palomintar System at sublight velocity."

Chewbacca grunted a long comment. Han shook his head.

"No, I don't think, they have seen us. Look they are heading in the opposite direction. Where is she going to? Let's plot a line along their trajectory."

Han pressed several buttons and a red line showed the possible direction of the Basilisæa. With raised eyebrows Han watched the moving dot.

"They seem to be heading for Palomintar Six? What are they expecting to find there? Hey, wait a minute, could it be that someone has given them information about Ian."

He started to laugh.

"Very well, Chewie, this give us the opportunity to reach Palomintar Four unnoticed. Forget about our plan to jump from planet to planet and set course to Palomintar Four. I'll feed the navi-computer with the coordinates of our last rendez-vous point in the deep ravine.

Chewbacca let out a roaring growl, indicating that he too was laughing. He started the ion-engine of the Falcon again and slowly the space ship turned and started heading for Palomintar Four. Han checked the coordinates of Palomintar Four again and activated the navi-computer.

"Jump to lightspeed, Chewie. We will reached Palomintar Four in six hours," Han grinned and flipped the hyperspace lever.

In her tree house, Chati awoke with a start. Somewhat dazed, she sat up and looked out the opening. It was light, probably near dawn, but what had suddenly awakened her? For a moment, she felt the urge to lie down again, but a sudden, powerful feeling came over her again, and it grew stronger. What was it? Suddenly she knew, and she closed her eyes, surrendering to what the Force wanted to tell her: the Millennium Falcon was on its way to Myr! Chati leaped from her bed and jumped down. She ran to the community tree house and climbed the rope ladder to the wide entrance. Inside, several harvesters were already preparing for their new workday.

"Chati, you're early this morning. Want to give us a hand?" One of the men asked.

"I will in a minute, Lamon. Where is master Cornell, or master Wollin?"

"Cornell and Wollin are already gone to the plateau." Lamon answered.

Chati nodded and left the large tree house again. She ran to the rope ladders which lead to the plateau. and ascended in a hurry. Once at the plateau she looked around and saw Cornell and Wollin at the end near the high wall. She ran over to them.

"Master Cornell, master Wollin, the Millennium Falcon is on its way to Myr."

Cornell turned around.

"Who told you that, Chati?"

For a moment Chati was taken aback.

"Master Cornell, shouldn't you go down the base cave, to tell general Solo, we're living up here. If the general lands his space craft on the grassy plain in the ravine, he will probably start looking for you and the others in the base cave. He doesn't know we went up here, for when we arrived Ben asked him to go to back to Dalmaran immediately, because the general's ship had an unexpected confrontation with some other space craft."

Cornell looked at the young woman.

"What do you know about the way the general managed to brought us here?"

"Master Cornell, I was hiding in the ship. I got a little bruised and bumped to and fro while the general's ship avoided the other vessel. Ben, told me that his sister, master Ian, the general went back to Dalmaran to ask for help."

Cornell and Wollin started to laugh.

"Well, Chati Fonaldris, the bumpy ride has been a kind of punishment for you, but who told you that the Millennium Falcon is coming back now. Did Ben also tell you that and when did he tell you, for he is inside that underground riverbed doing further investigations."

Wollin interrupted.

"Cornell could it be, that Ben somehow knew as a Jedi that his brother-in-law is on his way, before he went to the underground riverbed?"

"He hasn't spoken about it, Wollin, but I know that the general promised to return to Myr as soon as possible. Maybe, we should go to the base cave and see if the Millennium Falcon has landed."

"Master Cornell, if you go to the base camp, may I join you. I want to apologize to the general for hiding in his ship."

"Maybe I should ask him to take off again, Chati, and bring you back to Tyr."

Chati was shocked, but then she saw the twinkle of a laugh in Cornell's eyes.

"I will not send you back, Chati, without talking to Ben first. My Jedi friend is very fond of you. I guess he has already taught you several things he can do with his power. I saw the two of you walking together behind the camp site these last weeks. He told me that you're a Force-sensitive Quelan woman. So I won't send you back to Tyr, without consulting your Jedi teacher, but it's a good suggesting to join master Wollin and me as we go to base to welcome the crew of the Millennium Falcon. Let's go to the camp site. We're not really needed here, the others know their work, so the three of us can descend to the base cave. Maybe we should check with the others if we need to take some equipment from the cave to the camp site here."

They went to the rope ladders and climbed to the top of the wall. Cornell and Wollin went over to the community tree house. Before he entered Cornell turned to Chati.

"Get to the beginning of the descending path and wait for us there."

Chati nodded and saw Cornell and Wollin enter the community tree house. With relieved sigh she left the camp site to the beginning of the path that lead down to the base cave.

To be continued...