Chapter 76

Wedge handed Yarmod his infocom.

"The Grannd Traveler should approach Palomintar Four on the rear side. Do you know if their ship has a cloaking device."

Yarmod shook his head. He still couldn't believe Wedge Antilles' cooperation with Liane's plan.

"Now get going, Yarmod. Time is running out. The Grannd Traveler is a much faster ship than the Astræga. They probably will be nearing the Palomintar System by now," Wedge urged, "I have initiated you as a Jedi Knight, so use your Force skills to contact Ian or Liane. Ask them to make contact with the Astræga immediately. I want to discuss Liane's plan with her personally."

Yarmod Martan rose and walked to the cockpit of the Astræga. The plasma flashes of hyperspace traveling were whirling along the windscreen. For a moment he watched those plasma flares, while he contemplated about everything that had happened on board the Astræga, since he and Wedge Antilles had left Tatooine. He sat down in the co-pilot seat and reached out to the Force to Ian Tydon.

'Ian, do you copy,' He said through the Force.

It took a few moments before Yarmod heard the voice of friend through the Force.

'Anything wrong, Yarmod, you sound a bit odd? Having troubles with master Antilles?' Ian asked.

'Not at all. I'm fine. Have you reached the Palomintar System already.'

'We're leaving hyperspace within three hours. Why?'

'Tell Yarnick to approach Palomintar Four from the rear side. He should land on Tyr not on Myr, and keep the planet between the Grannd Traveler and the coordinates of the Tychorion, and that imperial star destroyer. I'll send you their positions, now. Oh, and avoid Gold Squadron, Wedge told me.'

Yarmod felt his friend's many unanswered questions through the Force.

'Yarmod, we've planned to land on Myr, near Ribana' Ian objected, after he had cast a glance on the figures.

'Yes, that's what we don't want you to do. Ask Yarnick Grann to connect to the Astræga, before the Grannd Traveler reaches the Palomintar System.'

'I will tell them, Yarmod, but I think Liane will object against master Antilles' plan,'Ian said.

'Convince your sister, that Wedge and I support her and her mission.'

The telepathic connection through the Force disappeared rather abruptly. Yarmod looked through the windscreen and saw the reflection of himself without the padawan's braid. Thinking about all the new developments since he had left Tatooine with Wedge Antilles, he slowly rosed and walked back to the control room.

"I've explained what you've told me, Wedge, to Ian. They are reaching Palomintar Four in about three standard hours."

Wedge Antilles looked at the synchron of the Astræga.

"Did you ask him to tell Yarnick Grann...?" He said, as the infocom system of the Astræga started flashing, indicating an incoming message.

"Master Antilles," Threepio said, "There's a message coming in from a Corellian freighter HAD731VN. Shall I activate?"

"Yes, Threepio," Wedge said and walked over to the console.

Almost immediately the holo-image of Yarnick Grann appeared.

"Commander Antilles, this is captain Yarnick Grann of the Grannd Traveler. Ian Tydon has asked me to contact you. We're on our way to Palomintar Four as you probably know."

"I do, captain. Did Ian Tydon also tell you that you should stay away from the continent of Myr to avoid the two space cruisers that are orbiting the system and my Gold Squadron."

"He did, but your suggestion to meet on Tyr is crossing our original plan. I agree with you there is a danger, because our ship isn't equipped with a cloaking device. We're traders as you know, but we know many tricks to stay out of sight if that's your problem," the captain of the Grannd Traveler said with a grin, "And our adopted sister Eilidh sharply objected against your advice. She wants to talk to you. Here she comes."

Liane's image popped up.

"Wedge, what are you up to?" She asked.

"Staying with you, and give you all the support you might need, Liane," Wedge said, but he felt her suspicion.

"I'm not going back to Na'ctaMagh'Ba, Wedge, if that's what you're thinking about," Liane said stubbornly.

"Calm down, Liane. Yarmod has explained to me what you have in mind and why. You want to confront that guy who is calling himself Darth Golluth, right?"

"Yes, I have to, Wedge, and I don't want you or Luke, or anyone else to keep me out of sight anymore, oh, and don't call him Darth Golluth, for he isn't a Sith Lord. He is just Trevor Matrik, a disgraced admiral of the imperial fleet who has lost his assignment on the imperial fleet. Thanks to his stupid actions and decisions the emperor no longer favored him. Despite he seemed to have kept his rank of admiral he was send to Morantan as a staff member. And errand boy, as Anakin called him. Trevor Matrik is a fool, Wedge. He always has been, but his plans are dangerous," Liane said out of breath, but immediately she continued, "Wedge, I've had three devastating Force visions, They weren't just nightmares, as Luke tried me to believe on board the Millennium Falcon. Trevor is planning to use Luke for some his malignant ideas and I must prevent that. Luke means a lot to me, more than anyone else in this galaxy."

"Liane, will you, please, listen to me for a moment without interrupting me. First of all; I don't want to bring you back to Dalmaran, for you can't go back to the residence. After the attack Dar... Trevor Matrik surely knows you've been hiding there. Mon Mothma's residence isn't a safe place anymore for you, but you might need he... support from your friends. That's what I'm offering you. I'm taking those Force visions you had about Luke laying on a stretcher as a corpse, very seriously. Luke has been my Jedi master; he's my best friend. Like you I want to prevent that Trevor Matrik will do anything harmful to him, but Luke has told me, that Dar... Trevor is possibly protected himself with an army of droids, some of them real killer droids. You and Ian, assuming your former guard has more or less developed the same skills as Yarmod Martan, can't take on a group of heavily armed droids on your own. Yarmod and I want to support you too, and defend Luke and you against Trevor's droid army."

Wedge Antilles' words seemed seemed to temper Liane's objections.

"What do you have in mind, Wedge?" She asked in a fully controlled way.

"Ask the captain of the Grannd Traveler to hand over the ship to Ian, and let him pilot it to Tyr, the other continent. Ian knows the coordinates of Cantamaga, the settlement where the exiled Quelans live. Yarmod and I will follow shortly with the Astræga and meet you there."

"And how will we get to the other continent where Trevor has sought coverage? Yarnick and his brothers agreed to land near Ribana, because Ian told them that's where he has seen Trevor."

"If Yarnick Grann tries to land on Myr the Grannd Traveler will probably be intercepted, and brought on board the Tychorion, or, in the worst case, on board the Basilisæa. In the last case you all will be kept prisoner. If Yarnick lands on Tyr we can make further plans to get to Myr more safely and unnoticed"

"Why would the Grannd Traveler be intercepted?" Liane asked determinedly.

"There no time to give you a full explanation now. You must have heard about the peace treaty between the New Republic and the remains of the Empire: the Provisional Imperial Council on Coruscant. One of the agreements is, that no foreign spaceship may land on any of the planets of the Palomintar system, with the exception of Ktafunda on Palomintar Six. The Tychorion is at a stationary orbit above Palomintar Four observing the continent of Myr closely. The Basilisæa, orbits Palomintar Six at the moment. Gold Squadron is cruising between Palomintar Five and Six. If one of the star cruisers intercepts the Grannd Traveler, the ship will brought on board with a tracker beam and its crew will be under arrest. That's why Ian has to fly the Grannd Traveler and land on Tyr. If the ship comes out of hyperspace near Palomintar Four from the rear, the side of the continent of Tyr, the planet will be between those orbiting space cruisers. Besides Tyr is covered with a high layer of thick clouds which might prevent the discovery of the Grannd Traveler or those clouds might interfere the ship's approach. Those clouds probably disturb the read-outs on the Tychorion and I hope on the Basilisæa as well."

"We'll see you on Tyr, Wedge. Thanks for taking time to explain this to me," Liane said calmly and composed.

Wedge started laughing, but looked at her attentively.

"I'm beginning to know you better and better, Liane. You're never taking things for granted. It's a good habit for a ... Jedi Knight to remain cautious and observing, young lady. Yarmod and I meet you on Tyr."

"We'll be waiting for you. Oh, eh ... Wedge, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I really appreciate your help," Liane said and Wedge saw a grateful smile appear on her face. Her image disappeared and the image of Yarnick Grann appeared.

"I have followed your conversation with Liane, commander. We'll see you on Tyr," He said.

Wedge closed the connection and looked at his companion.

"How much time before we reach Palomintar Four, Yarmod?"

"Ten hours from now, master. We already on top speed, we can't get there any faster."

"We'll use the remaining time to discuss some possible plans, for we need the cooperation of the governors of Cantamaga, and ask them to support any of those plans to get our company to Myr."

Doran Whain moved cautiously along the main passageway to a hidden portal in one of the unused caves. He wanted to avoid the main entrance of the underground hiding place, as he didn't want to meet any droid which could report his nightly wandering.

After his first visit to Ribana he had seen the hidden stairs in the lower cave where he had left the speeder. A secret investigation after his second trip had revealed that those stairs were leading to an unused cave with a low ceiling. The passage was narrow and appeared to have been rarely used. Bent over and supporting himself with one hand against the cave wall, he had found that the cave led to another abandoned passageway which was connected with another narrow corridor which led to a series of caves without purpose. Finally he had found a hidden deep crevice that led off the main corridor.

Doran followed the unused caves and passageway until he entered the last cave which led to the stairs. He crept through the narrow passage and descended the staircase. He saw the speeder and for a moment he was tempted to use it, but he shook his head and left the lower cave.

Once outside, he didn't walk down the sloping path that descended from the ridge to the lower foothills. Instead, he remained hidden among the wild bushes on the right and managed to reach the spot from where he could absolutely not be seen from the main entrance. Just as he wanted to descend the sloping path further to the foot of the ridge the sound of a speeder caught his ears. The noise became louder and suddenly Doran saw a speeder approaching along the slope of the lower hills. Quickly he hid himself in the undergrowth.

The tracker inside the collar of his uniform jacket buzzed and Doran breath a sight of relief and press the tip of his left collar to answer the buzz. He left his hiding place and ran down the path to the plains around Ribana. The noise of the speeder had died out to a steady hum. The vehicle stopped as the driver saw him .

"Get in, Doran. We have to leave this spot immediately. I haven't sensed any probe droids, but we have to stay on our guard." Luke's familiar voice hushed.

Doran jumped at the backseat, looking amazed at the big Wookiee at the passenger seat.

"No probes out tonight, Luke. I deactivated them before I left. I will release them when I'm back." He said panting a little, "Why did you take the risk to meet me here."

"I thought it would be better to accompany you to the place I had in mind for our secret rendezvous. Your nocturnal excursion might be noticed as you ran across the plains toward the hills to the west. I don't know how familiar you are with this area. We might have missed each other."

"What so urgent, Luke, that you want to see me earlier."

"We talk about that after we've reached the trench valley. May I introduce my friend and assistant Chewbacca," Luke said pointing at the Wookiee.

"Please to meet you. Never met with a Wookiee before," Doran said.

Chewbacca grunted a kind of welcome.

Meanwhile Luke steered the speeder in western direction, still keeping the dense overgrown foothills to the right, before he stopped at a hollow, where the first row of western hills turned southward He turned to Doran.

"This is a safe spot to pick you up with the speeder for future encounters. As you leave the main entrance, keep to the right through the bushes and undergrowth until the hill slopes steeply downhill. Once at the foot of the hill, you'll find me at this overgrown hollow."

Doran looked at Luke.

"I will use a safer way to leave than using the main entrance, Luke. I still haven't managed to re-program all the droids which might serve as guards. Can you drop me here after our meeting?"

"Sure, I will, Doran."

"By the way, Luke, you seem to know these surroundings better than I do. Where did you get this information?"

Luke grinned and winked

"How do you think I have reached Palomintar Four? Let's say that I have observed these hills and the mountain ridge from above to find a safe spot to land. "

They both laughed. Luke started the speeder and turned left following the valley behind the western hills. Doran vaguely saw that there was another row of hills further west. At high velocity Luke drove south. At a saddle between the western hills and a spur of the southern hills the speeder crossed the southern hills and dived down the other side. Doran wondered how Luke could drive that fast while the speeder didn't have its head lights on. Still Luke drove the vehicle at almost top speed, following a winding track along the dark dense afforest vegetation of trees and bushes.

"Hang on, Doran. We're nearing our meeting place," Luke yelled over the engine noise.

Suddenly the speeder plunged down a steep sloping hill. Luke steered to a wall of densely growing huge entangled bushes. Still driving along he raised his hand. Flabbergasted Doran saw how the branches opened up to let the speeder pass. He turned around and saw that the branches took their original position again. In front of the speeder a small clearing appeared and Luke stopped. Doran looked at his host as they had stepped off the speeder.

"The powers a Jedi has are amazing, Luke?"

"A Jedi has no power by himself, Doran. The Force let me use her power to help me. But I must compliment you on your skills. You certainly are a communication expert."

Doran chuckled a little awkwardly.

"It was just fun to try and get our way of communication a little better."

"You did it for fun?" Luke asked.

"Sure, I did. Hanging around in those caves is boring. Every now and then Darth Golluth orders me to send orders to his minions on different planets who are looking for the daughter of Darth Vader."

Chewbacca grunted a nasty comment. Doran saw the angry look in the Wookiee's eyes.

"I seemed to have said something wrong, Luke, didn't I?"

"You'd better never refer again to Liane Solichor if you mean Darth Vader's daughter, Doran," Luke said, while he silenced Chewbacca, "And it's about her, that I wanted to meet you earlier, Doran. I know, you can't give me complete openness about your mission and your mandate, but I have a strong believe that Liane Solichor is part of your mission, for Darth Golluth has attempted several times and is still attempting to bring her to this planet. Probably you have to prevent that she will set foot on Palomintar Four. Yet you just have admitted that you're instructing Darth Golluth's spies and minions to find the whereabouts of Liane Solichor."

Doran Whain looked at Luke and saw that the young Jedi was wearing a different kind of outfit, more impressive with a ceremonial look.

"The triarchy on Coruscant has serious objections against her, Luke. She might be a threat to the peaceful co-existence of the Provisional Coruscant Council and the New Republic."

"What kind of objections, Doran?" Luke asked, silencing Chewbacca again, "What kind of threat might she represent?"

"Are you protecting your sister, master Skywalker?" Doran asked defiantly.

"Liane Solichor isn't my sister, Doran. I asked you, what kind of threat Liane Solichor represent according to the triarchy on Coruscant?"

"Luke, you are protecting her because your father is also hers."

Luke shook his head.

"Liane Solichor is the legitimate daughter of Severini Solichor who once was the Jedi healer in the Jedi temple. My father, Anakin Skywalker, is Liane's foster-father. She is no relative of him."

"What?!" Doran exclaimed, "but how ...?"

"Your exclamation shows that my words have astounded you, for you only know Liane Solichor as Darth Vader's daughter. You also know that I'm the son of Anakin Skywalker who went by the name of Darth Vader during the reign of Emperor Palpatine. So you concluded that Liane Solichor is my sibling."

"My father adopted Liane Solichor as his daughter and taught her his Dark Side knowledge, That's threat she posses to the triarchy, for if she would meet Darth Golluth, he wants to learn the Sith lore from her, which is an important part of his plan to revive the Empire."

"What ever she is or where she's descending from isn't relevant, Luke. Liane Solichor has learned a lot of wrong knowledge. Knowledge that must never be spread again in this galaxy," Doran commented.

"I fully agree with your conclusion about the Sith knowledge, but Liane has inherited the strong influence of the Good Side of the Force from her mother. Growing up in hostile environment under regime of Emperor Palpatine with Darth Vader as her teacher and foster-father her life on Morantan has been a long struggle with the knowledge he taught her. From the beginning she knew that what she had to learn from my father was evil and wrong."

Luke looked Doran Whain who clearly showed Luke's words hadn't convinced him.

"Might be, Luke," Doran remarked cautiously, "but after the New Republic detained her on Irithim she escaped with a discontented senator who wanted to overthrow the government of the New Republic. Your High Court has sentenced her to the Wegoyy prison. For a long time nothing was heard about her and the assumption was that she had perished in the Wegoyy deserted after she had been tortured, but then the news spread that you had returned with her to Irithm."

"I'm surprised that you're relying on incomplete information, Doran. Yes, she was tortured during her detention on Wegoyy. Her memories were wiped out, using the forbidden imperial mind drug. Some traders pitied her and took her on board their ship. By accident she ended up on Endor where the Ewoks took care of her. In their village she discovered that she could be a great help to the Ewoks using her Force-sensitivity in a more caring and friendlier way. All the time that she was suffering from that severe kind of amnesia, I have been looking for her by order of the Supreme Chancellor. Visiting Endor during one of my many travels I found her and brought her to Irithim where the Supreme Chancellor who knew what had be done to her, was so kind to find a solution and stop the attempts of Darth Golluth who had send spies and bounty hunters to capture her, until the New Republic would settle the threat Darth Golluth poses to her safety and freedom."

"Don't try to fool me with your arguments. I'm a Jedi, I can see through people, even read their minds and yours is telling me that, although I have given you some new information about what has happened to her, you still don't want to look at what has happened to her from a different point of view. "

"Doran, you don't know Liane Solichor the way I do. Nobody in this galaxy knows Liane Solichor better than me. I've seen her struggle with the knowledge my father has taught her and how afraid she has been about her Force sensitivity. I also have seen how she managed, one step at the time, to have more confidence and believe in her use of the Good Side of the Force. Finally she made up her mind and asked me to become her Jedi master and guide her further along the Jedi path. Liane Solichor, Doran, is my Jedi apprentice, my padawan. She also is a special protégé of the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic, the lady Mon Mothma who allowed her to stay safe at her beautiful underground safe haven."

"So the New Republic is hiding her on Na'ctaMagh'Ba?" Doran commented.

"Yes, and your earlier remark that you're instructing Darth Golluth's spies and minions to find her, have convinced me that it must have been you who passed the information of the coordinates of that safe haven on Na'ctaMagh'Ba to Darth Golluth's spies. You gave those villains the coordinates so they could attack the underground residence of lady Mon Mothma, but luckily their illegal presence was observed and intercepted by the Dalmaranian See Guards. Doran, I would like to hear a truthful answer of you: what is your mandate regarding my Jedi apprentice?"

Doran Whain shook is head.

"I'm sorry, Luke, you might see her a your Jedi apprentice, but Liane Solichor has met Trevor Matrik while he had been assigned to the staff of Darth Vader's stronghold. There is a strong believe among the leaders on Coruscant that he has witnessed the lessons and teaching she has learned and practised. I not only have to keep and eye on what Trevor Matrik is up to, I also have to prevent that Liane Solichor will land to Palomintar Four and team up with Tre....

Doran couldn't complete his sentence as Chewbacca let out an earsplitting howl, grabbed the young imperial officer at his jacket and lifted him. Luke quickly intervened.

"Chewie, put him down. Let him tell us what his orders are."

With ferocious grunt Chewbacca dropped Doran. The young man straightened his jacket and look at Luke and the Wookiee. A long pause followed in which neither of them spoke. Luke patiently waited until Doran would continue. Finally the young imperial officer hesitatingly went on.

"You're right, Luke, that regarding my mission, it seems illogical that on the one hand hand I must prevent that your Jedi apprentice meets Trevor Matrik, and on the other hand I also are informing Trevor's spies to hunt her down and bring her here. This certainly must feel as some form of betrayal to Liane Solichor, your Jedi apprentice, maybe also to you, after what you've told me about her."

Luke nodded and waited for Doran to carry on.

"I must admit, that I never expected that my undercover mission would be detected, but I've made a serious miscalculation about the skills and the abilities of a Jedi Knight. Luke. What you've said to me strongly accuses me of behaving immoral."

"Immoral isn't the word I would use, Doran, but at least your behavior doesn't make sense to me. You're an undercover agent with a tremendous track record and your expertise as a communication expert is unmatched, but you certainly hadn't enough information about my involvement with Liane Solichor, to come to the conclusion, that at a certain moment you would have an encounter with a Jedi Knight."

Doran shook his head.

"I knew about your involvement, Luke. You participated in the raid on Morantan where she had been captured and brought to Irithim. You went to Ortel to rescue your sister, but you also brought Liane Solichor back to Irithim. You had permission to visit her, during her detention on Wegoyy. After those traders took her on board their ship you have been roaming the planets where their ship has landed and after you had found her on Endor you stayed there with her for a long time, before you fled with in your private space craft after Rand Phylotar had sent a group of Wegoyy elite guards to Endor. Finally you brought her to Irithim with the Millennium Falcon, as had been the mandate you had been given. There's only one thing I haven't been aware of, that you would meet the former Quelan leaders of Ribana somehow and that you learned what happened to their way of life, after Trevor occupied the caves under the mountain ridge as his abode."

For a moment Luke was flabbergasted and Chewbacca grunted something that sounded like a laugh.

"Luke, I know who you are and after you told me that you see it as your obligation to help the Quelands of Ribana I thought it would be an idea to team up with you. After what you have told me about your Jedi apprentice I'm almost certain that you also don't want her to come to Palomintar Four. Luke, I still want a kind of alliance between us."

"I have accepted what you propose at our first encounter, but after what I've heard from you now I first want an answer to another question: Is there also is an agreement between you and Darth Golluth?"

"There's absolutely no agreement between me and Darth Golluth. I'm a hostage. Part of my mission didn't go as planned.

"You are being held hostage?" Luke said with a frown.

"Yes, I told you that when I enter Trevor's underground hide-out all my belongings were confiscated. After I finished the work he ordered me to do, he refused to let me return to the Basilisæa."

"And he forced you gives his spies and minions order to look for Liane Solichor."

Doran nodded.

"Luke, my intention was to carry out my uncover mission from the Basilisæa. I was assigned as the first chief communication technician. However, I wanted to find a way to have a look at Trevor's system myself. Have you heard about a communication hack on Quoith?"

Luke nodded. He wanted to comment, but Doran continued.

"The hack was deliberate and with consent of our two governments. It was a coordinated action between me and a group technicians on Quoith. I intended to set a trap for Trevor to find the precise coordinates and detailed information of the communication system which he was using to receive those secret messages relayed to Palomintar Four.

On board the Basilisæa I established a first elementary connection between Trevor's system and a shielded partition at the communication system on Quoith. The technicians on Quoith had prepared copies with information about you, your sister, and Liane Solichor that would surely pique Trevor's curiosity. The content of those file had been modified, several identification markers had been added, among them mine.

The techs on Quoith deliberately leaked the access code of the shielded partition and spies of Darth Golluth seeking information about Liane Solichor informed Trevor. Trevor accessed the partition, he accessed the files, added some nasty comments at them to alert the Supreme Chancellor and downloaded the files to his system on Palomintar Four.

From the Basilisæa I was able to monitor what Trevor was doing. After he had accessed the files I had all the exact information of his system. I warned the techs on Quoith and provided them with my findings.

From the beginning of our joint action we had agreed that the techs on Quoith would enter his system to put some malware on his system. But when Trevor made that downloads I agreed with Quoith that they would also destroy the downloads. I have to admit that your techs did a splendid job, not only did they destroy the downloads; they also managed to erase and disconnect his whole system, making it look like a complete system crash. From the Balisæa I monitored the shutdown, but what happened next I hadn't anticipated.

Trevor seemed to have become outraged, he is known for his fits of bad temper, and ruined all his communication equipment. Using some outdated communication droid he managed to seek contact with the Basilisæa, in a desperate attempt to connect to the outside world. I informed admiral Vestor, the commander of the Basilisæa about the urgent message Trevor's communication droids managed to relay.

Trevor's request, better say his demand, to admiral Vestor, included an immediate visit to Palomintar Four of the Basilisæa's with the ship's most sophisticated technician and a list of equipment admiral Vestor had to provide from our spares. The admiral took me down to Trevor's hiding place. I was thrilled, because I finally could fulfill what I had in mind from the beginning.

After I had seen the completely messed up system Trevor demanded that I had to stay and restore his system. His treatment was a straight out torture. In the beginning he had me chained to the wall of one of the caves; he also gave me some kind of electro pulses if I opposed him, and refused to let me return to the Basilisæa.

"Trevor wanted me to establish his access to Quoith, so he could get those files again. This all happened shortly after I was held hostage.

Trevor ordered some of his killer droids to deny me food, drink and sleep. They only served me foul water to drink and something mashed that tasted horribly. Frantically rummaging through his system I found a list of communication systems located on different planets. The one on Na'ctaMagh'Ba, a forbidden continent on Dalmaran, drew my attention.

As an undercover agent I know that the few scientists who were living there, never used sophisticated technology. I understood that the system might be connected to the place where Liane Solichor could be, for Mon Mothma's communication system had connected to Na'ctaMagh'Ba every other day.

Because of the treatment I underwent, I had become less alert and when I found the coordinates of Na'ctaMagh'Ba I had become so tired that I handed Trevor the information in exchange for some rest. Next Trevor demanded that I would send his spies to the forbidden continent to get Liane Solichor. The blokes I sent did much more than I asked them. I only ordered them to confirm my finding. In stead they attacked the place in an attempt to infiltrate. "

Gradually he became more reasonable about my presence and demanded that I should stay as his communication officer. It became my task to establish and keep contact with his many spies who were looking for Liane Solichor. Trevor even ordered me to send spies to Ktafunda and capture a guy called Ian Tydon who was supposed to be a Jedi. I had to do as Trevor ordered, for his killer droids were monitoring constantly what I was doing. Those nasty machines reported everything to him. More and more Trevor demanded me to be his loyal servant. Luke, I have overestimated my capacity as an uncover agent this time and my foolish pride has brought me into this trouble."

Doran's voice had become shameful after he had finished his words. Luke watched him and began to feel much sympathy for him.

"How is he treating you now, Doran?" Luke asked friendly.

"Showing him I'm loyal, he has made me a colonel in his future space force," Doran said with disgust in his voice.

"A colonel? So he is trying to buy your loyalty by giving you a promotion?"

"Luke, I still have to pretend I'm a loyal servant. I've seen what might happen, if he becomes suspicious when I would openly thwart his plans."

"He scares you," Luke concluded.

"He does, Luke. I'm unarmed, whatever I possessed has been confiscated. I have been searching everywhere to find out where he might hide my belongings. I especially want to have my infocom back for it's programmed to connect to Coruscant directly. I can send a report, using his system, but I have to remain constantly on my guard if I use those secret frequencies to make contact with Coruscant."

Doran looked straight into Luke's eyes.

"Luke, I'm not a very useful ally at the moment, I fear. If you want to team up with me, I will do whatever is in my power, but fighting a droid army is beyond my skills. Most of them I can reprogram so they will act less aggressive. I fully understand after what I've told you about the attack on your Jedi apprentice on Na'ctaMagh'Ba, you've become suspicious about my undercover mission."

Luke raised his hand.

"Not at all, Doran. I still stick to our agreement. Maybe it's lucky coincidence that you're staying in that underground network of caves Trevor uses as his hide-out. We need to work out plans which will be beneficial for your mission and mine. Carry on the way you're doing. Don't flatter him, just act casual and be careful making contact with Coruscant or receiving any information. That reminds me: Did you as I told and destroy those five datacrons."

"Partialy, Luke. I tell you in a minute or so. Let me please tell you how I tried to turn my involuntary stay with admiral Matrik in my advantage. Staying inside that dark unpleasant cave network I not only started to reprogram his droids but I also made some tiny amendments to Trevor's system so I could again send out encrypted reports to Coruscant, to Quoith and even to the system the Supreme Chancellor on Irithm uses."

Luke nodded, but felt highly surpised.

"Let's talk about possible future use of the amendments you made after you finished your story," he said.

For a moment Doran was silent then he continued.

"After I realized that Trevor wouldn't let me return to the Basilisæa I began working to expand his communication system further so I could establish a connection with Basilisæa as I had done for my connection with Coruscant. Coruscant was easier for I only needed a possibility to report about the progress of mission. With the Basilisæa I also wanted to receive answers. Admiral Vestor send me the information I've stored on those datacrons. The information wasn't unfamiliar to me, for I had read Trevor's files already on Coruscant. However some files are still puzzling me for they are unreadable, I mean, their content is not in Standard Basic."

"Not in Basic?"

"No. Two different ancient languages were used and neither looked familiar to me. After we'd met I thought I might ask you to have a look at them. I thought that those two files which I can't read, might contain important information. I have hidden all the information I received in my uniform as I did with your tracker."

Doran fiddled with the rank insignia on his left sleeve and pulled out a very tiny datacron."

"I've copied all the files to this small device. I only need an infocom to read them. Can I use yours again."

Luke looked at Chewbacca and nodded. The Wookiee grab in the bag he carried and handed an infocom to Luke.

"Here's the infocom I promised you, Doran, and here's my old blaster. As a Jedi I rely on my lightsaber. The blaster I kept as a keep-sake from old times."

Luke hooked the blaster from his belt and handed it to Doran.

"Thanks, Luke. This is more than I expected after I heard to your accusations."

He activated the infocom and look up at Luke.

"This is a very recent model, isn't it."

"The latest. Don't ask where I got it. I won't tell." Luke grinned.

Doran had already put the tiny datacron in one of the slots. It's content started to hover above the holographic display. He handed the info com to Luke.

"Here, you can read them all. I have them decrypted."

"Are you allowed to share this info with me?" Luke asked.

"We're partners, Luke. I want you to know what's in these files."

Luke tapped the first file and started reading. After he had finished he looked at some of the other files.

"Those files you can't read aren't written in an ancient language, but in languages used by the Siths and the Jedi. The one written in Sith language I can't read. It's a foul language. The one in Jedieese is a bit more familiar to me, but I still have to figure out the meaning of the words."

Luke closed the files and handed the infocom back to Doran. Doran took out the datacron and deactivated the infocom

"Does your infocom have a slot to read those files. Let me check it out."

Luke took his wrist infocom and handed it to Doran. For moment Doran thumbed the sides of Luke device and started to grin.

"Yes, here it is. Yours is a slightly older model, but it has a similar slot to read these type of datacrons."

He put it in the slot and activated Luke's infocom.

"Here you are? From now on you can read the files as many times as you want. I only hope that you will be able to tell me what's written in those ancient language files. Perhaps you can ask help from an interpreter droid later on. I want you to keep this datacron. It's content might become of some help in the future I can not foresee. The original datacrons you've found in that vineyard building are destroyed. This is the only copy that exist, but I don't want to keep it with me. "

A bit confused Luke took back his infocom.

"Isn't this classified information, Doran?"

"Not anymore. After I took out the encryption module I also declassified it. It's safer if this info stays with you, Luke? You just said that you wanted to discuss possible future amendments to Trevor's system, what do you have in mind."

Luke look at his new companion and used his Force skills to read Doran's mind, but he didn't find anything that could raise his mistrust.

"Doran, the way you manage to contact me was very smart, but from someone like you I didn't expect something else. You're a communication's expert."

Doran laughed.

"You didn't sound amazed when you answered my call, Luke. But now I can contact you now more directly with the infocom you gave me."

For a moment Luke watched his visitor with caution. Maybe it would be a better option if Doran would send any message via the Tychorion, using his procon access code? Procon messages were highly encrypted and unreadable for spying eyes. He could ask general Madine to give the order to transmit any incoming personal messages to his infocom. The slight delay in receiving would make in possible for him to read the message before the holodisplay would pop up. Doing it this way the presence of Han, Leia, and the harvest men on Myr would remain secret.

"Doran, if I wouldn't cooperate and deny you the access to my infom directly, I know, that one way or the other you would find a way to locate my device and hack it. You're the most sophisticated communication expert in this galaxy. No one surpasses your knowledge, expertise and experience." Luke said with a big grin.

"Too much honor, Luke, but I certainly would," Doran grinned.

"So I'll give you the access code to the procon system I normally use on board of the Tychorion. I will inform my superior, that his technical staff will relay any incoming message for me to my infocom immediately, while I'm on Palomintar Four. It would also give you the opportunity to send any information concerning Trevor's action to my commander directly. "

Doran shook his head.

"No, Luke, that's too dangerous. I'm an imperial officer, working for the Provisional Imperial Council. The procon system is the messaging and information system of the New Republic."

"Accessing my infocom directly might be even more dangerous, because the Basilisæa might intercept the messages we would exchange."

Doran was silent for a short moment, then he held out his hand.

"You have a lot of confidence in me, Luke, allowing me to access your personal procon messaging system."

"Sometimes, Doran, opponents have to step over their differences, and help each other, if necessary. I trust that you won't take advantage of it, and try hack the main computer of the Tychorion."

They laughed and shook hands.

"After this combined mission is over, Luke, you should reset your access code and get a new one," Doran said.

"I'll think about that. Maybe I will, maybe not, because sometimes it's advantageous to keep in touch with friends, even if they belong to the New Republic's opponents. Let me enter my access code in the infocom I gave you."

Doran handed Luke the infocom and watched the young Jedi Knight while he secured the access code in the system. With some reluctance he took the infocom back when Luke handed it back. Luke noticed Doran's hesitance.

"As I just said, Doran, friends can be found everywhere, you only have to look for them."

Doran nodded and put the infocom in the pocket of his jacket.

"Tell me, Luke, what do you want me to do concerning your Jedi apprentice, Liane Solichor, for that's what this meeting was all about?"

Chewbacca grunted something Shyriirwook.

"Yes, Chewie," Luke commented.

"My friend wants that you tell your leaders that Liane Solichor shouldn't no longer be part of your mission, whatever might happen in the future and I fully agree with his particular wish."

"What do you mean by those words. Your Jedi apprentice is still living on Na'ctaMagh'Ba, isn't she?"

"She isn't any longer. She has left Dalmaran with her guards and is on her way to Palomintar Four."

"Why, because she's your Jedi apprentice and wants to help you with your mission concerning the Quelan tribe?"

"It's too long a story to tell you in detail now, but Liane's disgust of Trevor Matrik dates back from the time after Trevor had been assigned to the staff on Morantan. During her training and lessons by my father, Trevor has been stalking her, asking her and my father if he could be my father's apprentice too. My father refused and forbid Liane to tell Trevor what she has learned. Their refusal probably has outraged Trevor, and it's very likely that he wants to revenge himself, for it was his dire wish to be trained as a Dark Side apprentice. After the collapse of the Empire he wanted Liane to leave Morantan with him. He even offered her to marry her. Liane flatly refused and made clear that she disgusted him. Since she has left Morantan Trevor has send his minions to capture her and bring her to Palomintar Four. He stills keeps hope that if he could persuade her to teach him those Dark Side knowledge. If necessary by force. "

"Doran, Liane will come Palomintar Four and I intend to support her if she confronts Trevor. You, me and Liane Solichor shouldn't underestimate former admiral Trevor Matrik, for it is known that as a former praetorian guard he is Force-sensitive. If Trevor has learned some Dark Force use he might persuade Liane and that's what I need to prevent."

"I understand, Luke. Although your explanation is difficult to comprehend, I understand your point of view concerning your Jedi apprentice. Like you and me, she wants Darth Golluth to stop and leave this place. That makes three who oppose him."

Luke started to laugh as Chewbacca grunted a muffled howl.

"Well I must admit that I like your senses of humor, Doran. I apologize for my partner's rude behavior. Wookiees are known to have a temper and Liane is a very dear friend of him."

Doran looked still a bit suspicious at the towering humanoid, but Chewbacca patted him friendly on his back as he wanted to confirm Luke's words.

"How fast are you expecting to receive a positive answer to your request to withdraw the mandate concerning my Jedi apprentice?" Luke asked.

"I will report what I have heard from you. What the triarchy will do with my report is no longer relevant to me. Communication between me and Coruscant is a one way only. They can't send me an answer, that was and is part of the agreement I made before I left Coruscant. So ..."

Doran laughed and held out his hand to Luke.

... right from this moment I can tell you that I won't do anything that might harm Liane Solichor in case she might turn up on this planet. I will offer her my help, but I will also warn you if she turns up alone."

Astounded Luke looked the young imperial officer.

"And what if you'll be accused of insubordination later on ?"

"Won't happened. Luke, you know my name is an alias, my uncle, Grand admiral Thai, have send me here, because of my exceptionally track record as undercover agent. He gave me card blanch to handle the situation here as I see fit. Nobody will ever question my decisions as long as Trevor Matrik will be brought on trial on Coruscant or meet his destiny in a different way."

"We're going out of hyperspace in ten seconds, ... eight,... seven, ... six, ... five, ... four, ... three, ... two, ... one, ... sublight engines started," Brion the co-pilot commented.

The Grannd Traveler drifted in space at a reasonable distance from Palomintar Four.

"Approach the planet slowly, Brion. Back to hyperspace on my mark," Yarnick said as he looked on a map at the display. "Go!"

The ship vanished into a minor hyperspace lane. Yarnick grinned at Ian's astounded face.

"If you know the hyperspace lanes even the smaller ones, Ian, you always can get away without being noticed."

"What you're going to do now?" The young padawan asked.

"Getting back to Palomintar Four from the rear at lower altitude. Normal scanning of surveillance or reconnaissance ships occurs at an altitude of about three planet diameters. At an altitude below three their scanning scopes interfere too much with the cosmic radiation around the planet. It makes the scanning unreliable, and armed space ships like the Tychorion will ignore those scanning information completely. Next round, Brion, and out of hyperspace, descend below three planet diameters, and get back to our hyperspace position."

"Won't they get any read-out on the Tychorion?" Ian asked.

"Yes, they will, but they only see some tremors around this small hyperspace lane and that's normal, so they won't pay much attention to it."

"Did you do the same with commander Dendicott's ship as he neared Endor?" Ian asked curiously.

"No, the Dendicott virus, as we call it now, is a cycle of resetting and re-activating the navi-computer a number of times. It runs automatically and can't be interrupted unless you stop and reset your completely system. This time Brion and I keep control manually, but, yes, the outcome looks the same. Here we go again. Standby, Brion, and out of the hyperspace lane and descend to one planet diameters. Hey, look those cloud layers, commander Antilles has been talking about, are already beginning to surround us. That's really good, now we don't have to get to hyperspace again. Ian, you should take over now, I'll take the co-pilot's seat, here's the main joystick."

Ian Tydon sat himself in the pilot's chair. He grab the vessel's joystick, reached out to the Force and plunged into the layer of greenish clouds. Yarnick watched the young padawan closely, but as he saw the calm and easy way with which Ian descended slowly through the clouds, he leaned back in his seat. He cast a quick glance at several scopes and raised his eyebrows. The read-outs had gone berserk and ran from one end to the other on the displays. Then suddenly the clouds vanished and amazed Yarnick and Brion looked at the landscape that unfurled before their eyes.

"Wow, hey guys, have a look. This is absolutely a terrific view. Never thought that underneath these clouds such a great diverse landscape would be visible," Yarnick yelled at his brothers.

The four others and Liane entered the cockpit.

"Wow," Bran exclaimed, "Look at those mountains. They are capped with ice and snow. Some of them even are as high as the cloud layer. This is really stunning."

Ian steered the Grannd Traveler to the mountains. He saw the gorge which lead to plains near Cantamaga.

"Strap in, all of you," He commented, "I'll have to bank the ship to get through that gorge."

They all went back to the control room. Ian waited until he got confirmation on a display that all had fastened their webbing. He banked the ship and flew through the gorge without decreasing the speed. Within minutes he reached the other end and descended to the plains behind Cantamaga, where another spaceship already stood.

"Is that the Astræga?" Yarnick asked amazed.

"No, that's the ship with which master Antilles and Yarmod arrived here several months ago," Ian commented, "It's one of our older transport ships and mostly used for diplomatic traveling. These kind of space ship are very slow, but reliable. I'll land the Grannd Traveler next to it."

"You're an excellent pilot, Ian. If we ever need a extra pilot you're high on my list," Yarnick said and patted the young padawan teasingly on his shoulder.

Ian activated the landing gear and hovered the ship in position before he put it down. Yarnick rose and walked over to lower the ramp. The six brothers walked down, followed by Ian who held Liane's hand in his.

'I will introduce you to Toallin and Mugin, Shaayla-Car. They took care of me after my foolish action in Ktafunda.' He said, 'Look, there they are.'

Liane looked at him with a smile. She heard the care and compassion in her brother's voice. The two older men had become his friends for life. Liane saw the two Quelan males advanced, curiously looking at the bunch of brothers, when Toallin suddenly started to smile and increased his pace. Before Ian and Liane had stepped down on the plains, Toallin waved his arm.

"Ian Tydon, welcome back to Cantamaga. We didn't expect you to return so soon. Where are Luke and general Solo and his wife? And who are these ...?"

Toallin stopped in mid sentence. In amazement he and Mugin stared at the six brothers who were waiting aside.

"The Granns!" Mugin exclaimed and walked to the six brothers.

"Welcome, welcome guys. Did you get good money for those aludium crystals we sold you."

Yarnick Grann started to laugh, "Never expected to meet with you again, Mugin Fonaldris."

He turned to Ian with a laugh.

"You completely forgot to tell us the names of your Quelan friends, Ian."

They all started to laugh and Yarnick told Toallin and Mugin how they had sold the aludium crystals to a transparisteel manufacturer.

"We could sell them with profit, Mugin. The guy was amazed about the quality of the crystals, but he regretted that we couldn't deliver more."

Toallin turned to Ian and looked at the young padawan.

"You have changed, son. I should say, you have grown up, you're more mature, more the Jedi you want to become. You're no longer the unsure guy from Ktafunda. And you kept your promise to bring that wonderful girl you have been dreaming of, and whose influence helped you to recover, with you. Welcome to Cantamaga, young lady."

"Toallin, Mugin, I want you to meet my sister, Shaayla-Car," Ian said with pride in his voice.

"Your sister? What happened to the girl you called Liane, Ian?" Toallin and Mugin exclaimed.

Ian laughed.

"Shaayla-Car is Liane, Toallin. We found out that we're the offspring of the same parents. It's an odd story, Mugin. I hope I will have time to tell you all what happened after I went back to Dalmaran with the Millennium Falcon."

"Dalmaran? What about our harvest men? Didn't you bring them to Myr?" Toallin asked.

"We did, but an imperial star destroyer intercepted the Falcon and master Luke had to change his plan." Ian said.

"Let's go to Cantamaga, guys. You probably want some refreshments. We like to introduce you to the rest of our community, and hear your stories, Ian."

Toallin looked at Liane.

"You must have a very strong bond with your brother, may I call you Shaayla-Car?" He said, "He told me he dreamt you had been visiting him in our cabin on Palomintar Six, and the next morning many of his wounds were healed, and the next day he didn't have any wounds at all. I have never seen such a fast recovery."

"Thank you, sir. It's quite amazing to discover that you already have met our old friends the Grann brothers. In the past I have been traveling with them for more than a year. Did they pay you well for those ... "

"...aludium crystals. Oh, yes, more than enough. When we arrived on Palomintar Six we only possessed those crystals and a small stock of our wine. We used the credits your friends paid us for the aludium crystals to build a cabin in the forest of Palomintar Six."

"The same cabin where I have been when I visited my brother?" Liane asked, "For I was there, sir, not in person, but as a Force spirit."

Toallin looked at the young woman with the frank and honest glance in her eyes.

"You're a also Jedi Knight, like Ian, aren't you, Shaayla-Car? Like my daughter would have become, as Luke Skywalker told me."

Ian and Liane stopped and looked the Quelan leader who suddenly seemed bereaved.

"What happened to Chati, Toallin? Tell me," Ian said and grabbed the older man's arm.

"We don't know, Ian, we don't know. She disappeared the same day that Cornell and his men, you and master Luke Skywalker and his friends left for Myr. She hadn't slept in her room in Kamalin's house. I asked Luke if he had seen her. We fear that she has fallen victim to the Urams in the nut forests. It was my daughter's greatest dream to become a Jedi Knight."

Liane grabbed her brother's arm.

"Did you say, Chati, Tama-Hinn?" She asked.

Ian nodded.

"As Toallin says Luke thought she was a possible future Force-learner, maybe she even could be a Jedi Knight. We all, Luke, Leia and I, I mean, felt how the Force influenced her. Luke had some talks with her and had asks master Kamalin to make her more aware of her Force potential. And now I hear that she is dead."

Ian shook his head in disbelieve.

"But Chati has gone to Myr with Luke," Liane suddenly said, "Luke told me about a Force-sensitive female Quelan he met on Palomintar Four. She had hidden herself in the Falcon before you and the others went to Myr."

Toallin, Mugin and the Granns stood around Liane. Toallin's face showed a great relief Liane's words were bringing.

"Are you sure, that my daughter is on Myr, Shaayla-Car. Mugin! Then Kamalin has been right all the time! He told Udine and me, that we should stop worrying, that Chati was alive. I have to tell this news to Udine myself. You have to take care of our other guests. Shaayla-Car, please, come with me, and you too, Ian. From the moment that my daughter disappeared my wife has blamed herself that she has always mocked my daughter's ideas and behavior. Come with me you two, you will bring the happiness back to my family."

Amazed Liane and her brother followed the Quelan leader. Within a few minutes they reached Cantamaga. Toallin hurried to the town center and entered the left wing of the town's community building. He beckoned them to follow him to the part of the building where he lived with his family.

"Where's your mother, Talann," He asked his eldest son.

"She's gone to rest, father. Roninn mentioned Mayan's name by accident during our meal, and mother became upset and started crying again. Who are these people?" The young Quelan asked suspiciously.

"Some very good friends, Talann. Call your mother and Roninn and come to the living room. I've just heard great news." Toallin ordered his son.

The young Quelan boy left. Toallin took Liane and Ian to the living, a large room with a beautiful view on the hills around Cantamaga. A few moments later another younger boy entered and nodded shyly at his father's guests. Toallin paced up and down the room.

"Wait here, Ian. I'll get my wife. Oh, there she is," He said and walked over a sad looking Quelan woman, whose face still carried the traces of tears. She looked at Liane and Ian with no real interest. Behind her the eldest son entered.

"Mother, wants to get back to bed, father," The boy said, "She had fallen asleep. I had to wake her up. You know that she doesn't feel her suffering while asleep."

The boy's voice sounded reproachful.

Liane looked at the Quelan woman and immediately felt the great pain and suffering that surrounded her. She walked over and put her hand on the arm of the woman. Udine looked at her with a sad face, and wanted to push her away.

'Don't be scared of me, ma'am,' Liane said, using her soft Jedi voice, 'Your husband told me, about the disaster that has happened to your family.'

In vain Udine opposed Liane's gentle gesture.

"I want my daughter back," she whispered, "I want to tell her she's always been a good girl, and she may follow her secret wish to become a Jedi Knight, for that's what she always has been talking about. I never believed her. I even didn't believe it when master Kamalin tried to convince me that my daughter had the special gift to become a Force user. Master Kamalin wanted her to help educating some of our youngster. He also promised that he would take care of her strange wishes. I've been so stubborn in my believe that it would be a waste of time full of daydreams and fantasies."

Udine looked at her husband.

"Why did you bring these humans to our house, Toallin? Why did Talann have to wake me up? You know I only want to sleep, because then I can't forget we've lost our daughter Chati," She whispered and suddenly she started crying again, "Chati, my dear, Chati, come back, please."

'Ma'am, please, let me tell you something. Something that will lessen your bereavement. You're blaming yourself, for what you've said to her in the past. That's the main cause of your pain and sorrow, ' Liane said in her soft Jedi voice, gently penetrating Udine's mind with her Force skills. She looked at her brother.

'Tama-Hinn, please, take your friend and his sons outside this room. I need to be alone with their mother for a while. It won't take long,' She said using Jedi telepathy.

Ian turned to Toallin who stood helpless and with an unhappy face between his sons, looking at his crying wife.

"Toallin, I've told you about my encounter with my sister in your cabin on Palomintar Four. Shaayla-Car has a special Force talent, she's a Jedi healer. She just asked me to leave her alone with your wife for some moments, come with me, you can tell your sons what my sister has told you about Chati," Ian said and took the arm of his Quelan friend, "Come boys, follow your father and me."

Talann shook his head.

"I won't leave my mother alone with her ," He said stubbornly, pointing at Liane, but Toallin grabbed the boy's arm and pushed his outside the room.

"You've heard what our guest said. Do as he told you."

Liane took Udine to the couch that looked out on the hillside. Udine looked up at her.

"Thank you, young miss. Toallin is suffering a lot after our daughter disappeared, " She whispered, "It is very kind of you, that you want to listen to me."

Liane still held her hand on the arm of the suffering women.

'Can you tell me what you think happened to your daughter. She said still using her Jedi voice

"You're talking to me in a strange way, miss. I can hear your voice, but you're not really talking, but your voice sounds so friendly and reassuring," Udine said and continue in a sad voice

"I've always been unkind to Chati, miss. I never believed in what she wanted. I wanted her to live her life in our traditional Quelan tradition. Quelan girls never did the things my daughter did. I was afraid, that she wouldn't find a husband. I was afraid, that the other members of our community would find her weird. I was afraid, that she would become an outcast in our community. But I never really listened to her; I never really listened to what she was telling me about her secret desires," Udin sighed and tears were dripping from her eyes again, "And now it's too late. Now she will never make that wish come true, because the Urams probably have killed her."

'Let me put your mind at ease, madam. It would do you good, believe me. You have been exhausting yourself, for you keep blaming yourself for not being a caring mother to your daughter, at least that's how you feel it.'

"How do you know, miss?" Udine said looking up at Liane in wonder.

'I feel the cause of your suffering. You are sharing your suffering at the moment with me, and your train of thoughts make me feel very sad too. Your thoughts are telling me that you're blaming yourself of your daughter's disappearance. You're thinking she has deliberately left you, because you didn't want to listen to her. Over and over your thoughts are circling around your daughter and your own behavior in a endless spiral. I want to help you to ease your mind and break your train of thoughts, for you need a clear mind before you can listen to what I want to tell you,' Liane said gently.

'Your husband told me that there's someone in this community who still believes that she is alive,'

"That's impossible. Master Kamalin is lying to Toallin and me. How could he know? He's only her teacher; I'm her mother. If she would be alive, she would have come back home. She always comes back home, even if she has been wandering in those forbidden nut forest where the Urams live."

'So your daughter often wandered in the forest where those Urams live. She did that more than once? What are the Urams, a wild tribe, and enemies of the Quelans?' Liane asked, still using her soft penetrating voice.

"Urums are very dangerous birds, miss. I've never seen them, but the harvest men are afraid of them, and that tells me enough," Udin said.

All the while Liane had held her hand on Udine's arm, when she became aware, that the Force wanted to reveal something to her. Some whirling images began to appear in her mind.

The images became clear and Liane saw the young Quelan girl who was hiding herself behind a large pillar, looking very intensively at a man who was sitting in a chair with his back to her; the same young girl was walking in a dense forest while on the lower branches of the trees several fierce birds with sharp beaks were watching her from above.

In a next image she saw a young Quelan female about her own age, holding a familiar lightsaber with a green blade. Luke's lightsaber!

A split second Liane's thoughts seemed to become distracted, but she concentrated on the flow of images again.

One image became clearer and she saw the Quelan young woman wearing heavy clothes and weapons, digging out stones. She used the Force to lift the stones and put them aside, relying on her Force skills.

Once again that image vanished and now the young woman appeared before her wearing the distinctive Jedi outfit of a padawan learner. The young woman looked up at a familiar person, standing next to her, Wedge Antilles, dressed in the ceremonial Jedi clothes. The scope of the image changed and suddenly Liane recognized the images she had shown to Luke on Tatooine, when she seen Luke and herself standing among Ian, Yarmod, Wedge, Leia, Han and Chewie.

'Ma'am, I want you to look at what I have just seen, for I saw your daughter.'

"You saw my daughter?" Udine whispered, "You saw my Chati? Where is she?"

'Look at these images, ma'am' Liane said, and softly pressed the fingers of her right hand against Udine's temples. To her surprise the Quelan mother surrendered herself completely to her soft penetration.

Liane concentrated on the Force and the image of the girl in her padawan outfit appeared again. Gently Liane penetrated Udine's mind, so she could share what the Force was showing her with the suffering mother.

"Oh yes, that's Chati, that's my daughter, and she is dressed like that young man who was here with you, miss. Oh, and the other person looks like Jedi master Skywalker who brought Toallin and Mugin back home," Udine whispered in a Force trance.

'You're seeing your daughter as a padawan learner, ma'am. These are images of her future. Aren't you proud to see her this way.' Liane gently asked.

"Master Kamalin said that he would teach her some first lessons about the Force. Jedi master Skywalker had promised my daughter that if she would take master Kamalin's teaching seriously, he would choose some one to teach her more, so she could become a Jedi Knight. The other man who is standing next to her also looks as Jedi master Skywalker? Can I see the image once again, miss."

Once again Liane penetrated Udine's mind so she see the image of her daughter once again.

'Ma'am, what you see will become real, one day. Chati will become the padawan of a Jedi Master. Your daughter hasn't disappeared in that dangerous forest; the Urams haven't done her any harm, those birds didn't they kill her. Your daughter Chati lives and has gone to Myr, ma'am. Master Kamalin, her teacher, didn't lie to you and your husband; he told you the truth. Chati has gone to Myr with Luke Skywalker. Luke Skywalker has told me about her. I'm sure Chati regrets that you've been suffering so much, because she left without telling you and your husband what she was up too. She only hopes that you will accept her Force skills wholeheartedly.'

A long silence followed after those soft spoken words. Liane felt how the Quelan mother opened her mind to accept a new and brighter truth about her daughter. Liane softly repeated her last sentences a few times, in the same way as she has done when curing the Ewoks on Endor. At last Udine sighed deeply expressing happiness beyond words, a smile appeared around her lips and her face brightened.

"It's absolutely true what you've shown me. I feel the truth, it was like I heard her voice in my mind, like she was apologizing for the agony her disappearance has caused," Udine said and looked up at Liane, "Did you say, that Luke Skywalker told you about my daughter, miss? Are you a Jedi Knight, like him."

"Luke Skywalker is my Jedi master. We can easily be in touch with each other. He told me about the unexpected presence of Chati, ma'am. He also has told me that Chati has only just beginning to discover her union with the Force. She still has to learn a lot, before she will become the padawan learner of another Jedi Master. While on Myr Luke Skywalker will take over the task he had ask master Kamalin. He will teach your daughter some basic principles of the Force."

"There are more Jedi Knight, right? There was also a woman dressed the same way as Luke Skywalker. Perhaps that woman ... no I saw a friendly man who will teach my daughter to become a Jedi Knight.

"There are three Jedi Knights, ma'am: Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia Solo, and Luke's friend Wedge Antilles."

"What about you and the other young man who has visited Cantamaga before? He is a very good friend of my husband and his brother"

"My brother and me are still padawan learners like your daughter one day will be. One day our masters will grant us the title of Jedi Knight, but only after we have passed some kind of heavy exam."

Udine began to smile.

"My daughter is very intelligent. At least that's what master Kamalin always told us. I'm sure she will pass that difficult exam. She is a very hardworking student, always curious to learn things I've never heard off. Young miss, did Luke Skywalker tell you how Chati got to Myr? She always was secretly making plans to free our old hometown of Ribana. She wants to revenge us. Did Chati tell you what has happened to us, and why we have to live here in Cantamaga?"

Liane shook her head.

"I haven't met your daughter yet, ma'am. My master has told me about what has happened to the Quelan community in Ribana. I'm sure Chati made a plan to go with Luke and the harvest men to help them. When Luke and his friends left Cantamaga with your harvest men, and went to Myr, Chati must have found an opportunity to hide herself in their spacecraft. Ma'am, Luke Skywalker certainly wasn't pleased when he found out what your daughter has done, but I'm sure he is taking care of Chati, and she can't have a better protector."

Udine looked around the living, before she looked at Liane again.

"I feel so certain about those images I have seen, more certain then when Kamalin told me that Chati was alive, miss. What's your name. I want to reward you one day for your kindness. I've never befriended a more gentle person than you. I never thought that a Jedi would show such a great respect to a Quelan woman, like you did."

"My name is Shaayla-Car, although many of my friends still call me Liane Solichor,"

Udine looked around again.

"Where's Toallin, my husband, Shaayla-Car? He was here, when I came in. I want to tell him about Chati's future, about the images of our daughter you've shown me. What I saw, was so real, for I almost could embrace my daughter, and I'm sure I heard her voice."

"Those images will come true in the future, ma'am. I can't tell when, but what I saw and showed you is the truth." Liane said, "Your husband and your sons are waiting outside this room."

Udine rose and walked over to the door. At the same moment Toallin and their sons entered. Toallin looked at his wife.

"Did Shaayla-Car tell you about Chati, Udine?" He asked and took his wife in his arms.

"Do you believe her? Please do. Her brother has told me, what a great Force gifts our female guest possesses."

Udine looked over her husband's shoulder and saw Ian standing in the doorway. She smiled at him.

"I believe what I have seen, Toallin. I have seen her wearing similar clothes like that friend of you and Mugin. I also saw another Jedi Knight, a man like Luke Skywalker. He will teach her to became a Jedi Knight.

She released herself from his embrace and wrapped her arms around her sons.

Talann, Roninn, Chati lives, she has gone to Myr with the harvest men and Jedi master Skywalker."

Talann shook his head, but started to grin.

"That's typical, Chati, mother. She never informs any one about her plans. She always carries out what she has in mind, and afterwards she tells us what she has done. It has never been different, hasn't it, father."

Toallin nodded with a big smile and turned to Ian.

"Well, son, that the second time that your presence has done us good. This time your arrival, the presence of your sister and those Grann brothers has brought back a great relief in my family," He said.

Ian looked at his sister.

'You've really seen Chati as a padawan learner, Shaayla-Car?' He asked through the Force.

'I did, and she will become a padawan learner of one of our closest friends in the future,' Liane said with a serene smile, not revealing anything further.

Ian looked at her and nodded with a understanding smile.