Katha shoved her blaster back into the holster and ignited her lightsaber. With light feet, she sprinted past the gap between two piles of supplies, deflecting a few blaster shots that whizzed towards her and her two companions. They stopped behind the cover of the next pile to assess their situation.
“If we go straight towards that pile ahead we’ll save a lot of time,” Katha suggested. “I know people in Etna 5 who can help me get to my family’s estate safely.”
Oridin gave her a confused glance. “What are you talking about? There will be the last place you want to go now.”
“But my family is in danger. I have to do something to help them!” Katha exclaimed.
“Listen to your feelings Katha, not what Xanin has told you. Your family would be in more danger if you returned now. Xanin wants you to believe that they are in danger from others, so that you’ll return and agree to marry him. But that would only fulfill his intentions because he needs the land you would inherit to base Offworld Mining Corporation from.”
“Offworld? They have been dead since before the Clone War. The Emperor would never allow – ”
“The Empire has no place here. Balmorra is a neutral world. Xanin is reorganizing Offworld and to do so he must have those factory lands. If you wish to help your family leave Balmorra and return later, when Xanin isn’t expecting you to. Meditate on all Xanin has told you. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment,” Oridin instructed in a calm, soothing tone.
“Stop telling me to control my anger damnit! I can think for myself. Do you think I don’t know that Xanin was lying to me? I know his ways. All the more reason to go to my family,” Katha spat, her brow furrowed. “But,” she sighed,” you are right that now is not the time. I need a plan, a reason to return that will not alert Xanin to my knowledge. Let’s get to Etna 5.”
Oridin nodded and motioned for Perin to check the path. “This will be a longer distance than the others were, and we’ll have to run backwards or risk being shot from behind. I suggest we go one at a time. I’ll go first, then you Katha, and Perin will go last. That way we can cover you from both sides.”
“Alright, ready when you are,” Katha said, her saber positioned to cover Oridin’s dash.
Without a moment’s pause, Oridin flew from behind their shelter. Using the Force, he deftly dodged a few stray bolts that managed to get past Katha’s blade. Immediately Katha followed and managed to make it to the destination before a shot was fired. Perin too reached them without incident and only minimal assistance from Oridin’s expert long-range blaster skills.
At this point they were practically at the edge of Etna 5. Apparently Xanin’s people were not too keen to march after them with blasters raised. Katha didn’t blame them because Etna 5 was a rough town. She took the lead and navigated her way through the darkening streets.
Corinna sat at the long dining room table wondering what was taking her husband, Kamrin, so long. The serving maid stood stiffly by a table filled with heated and covered dishes to be served at dinner that evening. But with Kamrin not here yet the food remained covered and unserved. Good thing we don’t have any guests this evening. Kamrin’s lateness would be seen as quite dishonorable. Corinna rubbed her temples trying to fight off a dizzying headache that had just suddenly sprung up.
At that moment a soft chime rang at the front room and Corinna saw another maid scurry toward the door. With an insatiable curiosity, Corinna felt the urge to answer the door herself and quickly followed after the maid. “I’ll answer it,” she called to the girl as they approached the door. The young maid curtsied and immediately hurried to go about her other duties. Corinna’s headache suddenly throbbed even harder as she reached for the door handle, causing her to stop. Then, just as quickly as it had started the headache disappeared completely. Corinna hesitated a moment longer, reorienting herself form the dizziness. When she opened the door no one was to be found, but a glint on the ground caught her eye. Carefully stooping to the floor Corinna picked up the object, which turned out to be a holomessage card. She looked around the area outside the door for someone running off or walking away . . . no one. Closing the door behind her, Corinna touched a panel on the card to play the message. No sound but a slow scrolling text appeared on the small screen.
I have information on the whereabouts of your sister Katha.
Meet me in the city gardens at 1300 tomorrow.
Tell no one the contents of this message.
Corinna’s lips spread into a small smile. This could be wonderful news to bring home with me next month, she thought.
“Everything alright dear?” Kamrin’s voice said, startling Corinna out of her thoughts.
“Oh . . . ” she stuttered, “Yes, everything in fine . . . just got a lovely message is all.”
“Ah I see. What does it say?” Kamrin inquired.
“Nothing important,” Corinna lied with a smile, “just an invitation to tea with a new acquaintance. You don’t know her yet. She is . . . well” Corinna paused, her eyes seeming to fill with tears, “She . . . was a friend of Katha’s”
Kamrin moved to embrace Corinna. As he did she took the moment to slip the card into a pocket in the fold of her dress and exchanged it with a silken hankerchief.
There was a sudden pounding at the door. A figure moved towards it in the near darkness with a blaster in hand. The figure slid back a panel and said in a female voice, “Who are you?”
On the other side of the door, Katha was relieved to recognize her friend’s voice and quickly replied, “It’s Katha, Kate.”
A pause followed as Kate identified her. “Katha! You’re alive . . . After the Imperial reports we thought for sure they must have caught you.” Kate stopped again as she noticed Katha’s companions. “Friends of yours?” she inquired.
“So to speak,” Katha replied vaguely, “They are friendly anyway.”
The door clicked as it was unlatched and Katha walked in followed by the two men. A soft glow now shown around the room as a few lamps were lit.
“I was surprised to still find you here. Figured you would’ve shipped out to the Rim by now. Uh . . . by the way, what was this about Imperial reports?”
Kate chuckled at Katha’s delayed reaction. “Oh nothing much, just your usual treason and intrigue. Some rich girl from Balmorra disappeared while on assignment, suspected of withholding evidence concerning a rebel spy inside the Imperial government. You know how it goes.”
“Xanin? Isn’t he that guy you were betrothed to? What does he have to do with your resignation?”
“Everything. Let me put it this way I didn’t resign. Xanin set it up so that I would come back here and marry him. All just so he can reorganize Offworld,” Katha explained.
A few gasps and chuckles echoed throughout the dim room as Katha mentioned Offworld. Kate spoke up. “Offworld eh? That’s . . . not good. Would be very bad for our business you know. So, I suppose you’ve come here for our help?”
“Yes, but not with Xanin. I don’t want anyone else involved. I just need transportation and more importantly somewhere to lie low for a while. Understood?”
“Perfectly. What about them?” Kate asked, indicating Perin and Oridin.
Before Katha could reply, Oridin spoke up. “Actually, we’re Rebels. We have to report back in a few days. So, we won’t be troubling you much longer.
Katha glanced at Oridin who did not glance back. Perin silently observed them both.
“Great, then let’s get you three a place to sleep. I dunno about the rest of you but I’m exhausted,” Kate said, attempting to break the suddenly awkward silence.
The group scattered to different doors. All were ready for a good night’s sleep.
Tyker waited in his hiding place until after it was quite dark. He knew Corinna was well within his reach for he had felt her delight at the news and then her sudden twinge of fear when her husband walked into the room. He had also seen her put on an act to successfully hide his message to her in her pocket. This may be easier than I thought, he said silently to himself.
A brisk walk brought Tyker back to where he had hidden his speeder. He hopped in and returned to Offworld’s developing headquarters.
Once in his private quarters, Tyker opened up his datapad to review the information he was going to disclose to Corinna. His story told that Katha was in fact alive and that Xanin knew this. He was keeping this news away from Corinna and her parents because Katha was plotting with Xanin’s help to murder her father and take over the Sagara family’s factories. They were planning for Katha to return at an unknown time and upon her return she and Xanin would marry.
Tyker worked for several more hours, carefully linking true facts about Katha and Xanin with his own concocted story. He filled in every detail that he could.
Knowing he would need to be awake and alert at his meeting with Corinna, Tyker packed his information into a briefcase and attempted to get some much needed rest.
She fought with all her might but the stranger was too strong.
The vivid red blade pounded against hers over and over, forcing her back.
In a flurry of sloppy but powerful moves she found herself disarmed, the stranger looming over her with the red blade at her throat.
“You will pay . . . you will pay!” the voice said, full of hatred.
The stranger’s hood fell back and she saw . . . herself!
The suddenly the red blade slashed....
Katha bolted out of her dream with a loud gasp, her hand subconsciously flying to her throat. She looked around the room noticing no one else was awake and a little daylight was creeping in from the front room. Quietly, she slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the front room. As soon as she entered the room she realized she wasn’t the only person awake.
“Katha,” Oridin said softly from where he was sitting in the floor. Katha could not see his face since he was facing away from her, but she knew immediately that he had his eyes closed and was meditating. “Something is troubling you. Want to tell me?”
Katha almost shot back that it was none of his business but instead walked over and sat down next to him. “I had a dream . . . except it seemed so much more real than a dream,” she said, her mind wandering back into the scene.
“And . . . what happened in this dream?” Oridin asked, the tone of his voice bringing Katha back into the present.
She looked over at him trying to tell if he knew more that it seemed he did. “I was fighting someone. Fighting with all my strength, but the stranger disarmed me. They held their red saber to my throat and said, ‘You will pay.’ Then the stranger’s hood fell back and I could see who it was,” she explained, pausing to see if Oridin had a response.
“Who did you see, Katha?” he asked, his voice in a comforting tone.
“I . . . ” Katha started, fear rising within her.
“Don’t let your fear guide you. Push it aside and allow it to pass through you and leave you,” Oridin instructed.
Katha closed her eyes for a moment trying to calm her fear. “I saw myself,” she said opening her eyes again.
Oridin nodded grimly. “What you saw could be the fate you would have if you continue on the dark path. You could kill what good there is left in you. Yet,” he said opening his own eyes to look back at her. His green eyes bore into hers. “Yet, there could be another meaning. This person who appeared to be you might be a challenge ahead of you. Perhaps something within you, perhaps an object, perhaps even another person. Remember Katha, though the full scope of the Force is not clear to us, its guidance will help us to understand what we must at the proper time. Though that time may not be as soon as we wish it to be, we will know soon enough to make use of it, as long as we maintain the correct focus.”
Katha was silent a moment as she let all of Oridin’s words sink in. “I need your help Oridin. Will you train me?”
“No, I am not qualified to train you, or anyone else. I’m only an apprentice myself,” Oridin answered without a moment of hesitation.
“Then why do you keep giving me advice?” Katha inquired, her temper starting to rise within.
“Anyone can give a lesson. A child may teach a parent and an apprentice can teach his master. There is always something that the parent or master did not know or see,” Oridin said. “If you wish I can give you advise, but I must report back. This is something you must do on your own. Don’t fear not being trained, if your training is the will of the Force, the Force will find a way.”
Katha nodded solemnly. She was finally beginning to understand.
Luckily, Kamrin had a sudden meeting on a nearby planet and wouldn’t be back for several days, so Corinna had no trouble getting to the garden downtown. Precisely at 1300 Corinna’s comlink beeped, startling her. “Hello?” she answered with a quivering voice.
“Corinna,” the unfamiliar male voice replied, “Go to the building with the green door one block east from where you are. I’ll explain everything once we are inside.”
“How did you get this –?” Corinna started to ask, but the comlink clicked off.
A little more skeptical than before, Corinna walked toward the arranged building, even more determined to find out what information about Katha this man had.
She tried the handle on the green door of the building and found that it was open. Quickly and quietly she went inside. Something within her told her to go down a long corridor to the right. At the end of the corridor the space opened up into a large room where an elegant table was set with two places at one end. A soft noise to her left caused Corinna to turn and look. A tall man with black hair in a short style approached her.
“Thank you for coming Corinna. Please sit down,” he said warmly, gesturing to the chairs set at the table. Corinna walked to sit across from him at the table, noticing that he had piercing ice-blue eyes. She found herself admiring his eyes and handsome features. Suddenly she realized where her thoughts were leading and shook them from her mind.
“Before we start I thought I would introduce myself. My name is Tyker Spince. I worked with Xanin’s father for a while before he died . . . I thought you might be hungry so I arranged for some lunch to be made,” he said seeming not to notice her staring.
“Oh . . . thank you,” Corinna replied, sounding somewhat shaken.
A few minutes later food was brought out and both she and Tyker ate with little conversation. After the meal, someone returned to take away the empty dishes and Tyker lead Corinna to a sitting area close by.
“What I have to tell you may be hard for you to hear. Most importantly, for your own safety I would suggest you did not repeat this information to anyone, especially to Xanin and your family.”
Corinna looked at him with a confused and solemn expression. “Please, if my sister is dead just tell me how and why,” she pleaded.
“Oh, not dead, far from it actually. I said it would be hard to hear because you might not believe me. Katha is in fact alive and well. She is right here on Balmorra in an outlying city. You must believe I speak the truth when I tell you she is plotting with Xanin.”
“Xanin knows she is alive?” Corinna asked, alarmed.
“Yes he knows. Katha has made him swear not to tell, and with good reason. Not only are they plotting together, but also they are plotting against your parents.”
Corinna gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. “Do you have proof of this?” she asked.
“Yes, unfortunately I do,” Tyker replied with a frown. He pulled out a datapad and began showing Corinna various document which she could see were quite accurate. As he showed her each piece of evidence her fears grew into outright anger.
“I need to do something about this, but I can’t do it alone and I don’t dare tell anyone, not even Kamrin. Do you know someone who can help me? Can you help me?” she asked frantically.
“If you will let me I will do everything in my power to help you. We will have to continue meeting in secret though. I don’t want you to be caught up in this before you are ready,” Tyker said in a comforting tone. He placed a hand on her shoulder and though for a moment she told herself to move away something inside made her stay.
“Thank you I – ” Corinna stopped in mid-sentence and grabbed her head in pain as another dizzying headache started suddenly.
“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Tyker asked stooping in front of her.
“I get very bad headaches sometimes. I don’t know why,” she replied looking up at him as the headache melted away.
“Corinna, you aren’t Force-sensitive like Katha are you?” he inquired with an inquisitive glance.
“Yes I am but I’ve never trained, why?”
“That may be your problem. I can teach you to know when a headache is coming and how to decrease the pain to nothing. I could teach you lightsaber combat and how to control the Force too. You will need to know these things in order to save your family from Katha.”
“Alright, I know I could use all the help you can offer,” Corinna replied, “I must stop Katha, even if it comes to fighting her.”
She and Tyker then arranged to meet the following day.
A few days later Oridin and Perin had their ship ready to report back to Eagle. An unknown operative from their group was still undercover in the Offworld complex and had been able to get the ship sent to an allied hanger where Perin had swiped it.
Over the last few days Oridin had instructed Katha in meditation techniques and they had discussed the Jedi Code principles.
Oridin clasped his hands over Katha’s small shoulders. “Remember to calm yourself and feel the center of peace and serenity within you. Do not act out of anger or fear and you will stay true to the will of the Force.”
Katha nodded and stepped back so Oridin could get on his ship. She returned to where Kate and a few other Black Sun members stood. They watched as the ship took off. Katha turned and spoke to Kate, “I’m going to join BSD for a while and as soon as I get the chance I’m going to Epona to study at the Temple.” Kate gave her a quick hug and then they all returned to the Black Sun house.
