'Unexpected Things

[OfficerDonNZ]

I thought I'd post the reboot of our story 'Time Displaced Sith - Alternate version' It starts about two years before Episode IV begins. Sadly there may not be that much of it posted before my sub runs out in a little over a month. Hoewver if what you read peaks your interest you can find in on FFN under the name 'Unexpected Things'

 

EPISODE IV: PROLOGUE

 

Year 3651 ATC

 

Darth Vader stood at his customary position near the front of the Devastator’s bridge and gazed at the vast expanse of stars beyond the transparent windows. It was one of the few things he still found soothing in any meaningful way as he recalled the vague memories of having done so as a boy on Tatooine. The irony was not lost on the man who had once been Anakin Skywalker.

 

His slight meditation was disrupted by the Force suddenly flaring up around him and, under his mask, Vader frowned as he tried to figure out what it meant. Within the churning waves of the unseen entity he felt the two strong and powerful Force signatures. He frowned - these weren't newborns and the signatures were strong and trained. In order to adequately describe the feeling, he would have to say that they just woke up from some kind of dormancy. If he had felt them, then surely the Emperor had as well.

 

With a toss of his long black cloak Darth Vader turned and stalked off the bridge and made his way to his quarters. He knew his master would contact him soon. Along the way, as he walked, his own apprentice had fallen into step beside him. Starkiller had been an open secret; while the ever present Rule of Two It was in effect, it didn't stop Darth Sidious from taking and training his secret Force sensitive assassin, Mara Jade. Much in the same way, Vader had taken the young man from Kashyyyk and trained him from a young age. Neither of the senior Sith masters spoke of their “secrets” - ever.

 

“I would assume that you sensed the disturbance, apprentice.” Vader’s deep mechanical voice was quiet and conversational as he addressed his apprentice.

 

“What could it mean master?” Starkiller asked. He kept his pace even with his Master’s and gave him the proper respect. It wasn't the easiest thing, being the young and wild person he tended to be, but years of the constant, belligerent training finally sunk in.

 

The helmet and mask turned and looked down slightly. “I do not know. They could either be potential allies or potential enemies. Either way, the Emperor will likely order us to find out which and take the proper initiative.”

 

The younger man just nodded in reply.

 

_______________

 

“What is thy bidding my master?” Vader asked as he knelt before the life sized hologram of the Emperor.

 

“Rise my friend.” Sidious replied in a kindly manner and even went so far as to smile ever so slightly. Vader went on high alert seeing this, taking note that his master was in a much better mood than he normally showed. It was a sign of bad news to come for someone somewhere. But Sidious had other things - more important things- on his mind. “You felt them then?”

 

“It was difficult not to. It was sudden and dramatic, their…. Awakening.”

 

The Emperor hummed thoughtfully in his own raspy way. “Indeed. It seems Grand Admiral Thrawn’s forces in the Unknown Regions have discovered the remains of some form of carbonite storage facility. Thrawn is of the opinion it was actually a prison where the inmates were entombed in carbonite.” He paused to allow Vader to take in the information before continuing. “Whatever the case, his men discovered two of the carbonite blocks still functional and those entombed within still alive. Impressive considering Thrawn estimates that the prison is between three and half to four thousand years old.”

 

Something about the news he was getting proved to be elusive to the mind. To find carbonite is one thing, but to find living things encased within after that many eons was a farfetched fantasy for any scientific nut. Experimentation has proven that life support systems would need to be maintained for organic material to survive a stasis that long, and after five years there is significant damage to the nervous system that the subject would die shortly after thawing even with the best of medical attention. It was difficult to believe that two life forms could have survived that long being frozen and with no life support systems even in the vicinity.

 

“Then the shift in the Force was their release from the carbonite?” Vader asked.

 

Sidious nodded sagely. “Yes indeed, but it gets better Lord Vader - oh so much better. The two female specimens are both fully trained Sith. Thrawn believes them to be Master and Apprentice.” The old man let out a devious cackle. “Go, Vader, to the Unknown Regions and retrieve these two Sith from the Chimaera and bring them before me. If the master refuses, kill her but I want the apprentice alive!”

 

“Very well,” Vader said. “As you wish my Master.” He bowed and the hologram of the Emperor faded from view. Starkiller walked over and stood beside his master, his hands behind his back as he stood erect and solemn.

 

“Are you really going to kill the master?” Starkiller asked.

 

The only sound for several moments was Vader’s mechanical breathing. Starkiller knew it was wise to wait for a response, whether he got one or not, before he spoke again.

 

“No,” the older man finally said. “I am not as short sighted as the Emperor.” He turned to face his apprentice. “We do not yet have all of the facts.” The masked man walked over to his desk and activated the comm unit. “Captain, locate the Chimaera and plot a course to rendezvous with her, maximum velocity!”

 

“At once Lord Vader!” the captain replied.

 

Less than a minute later the two force users felt the Star Destroyer make the jump to hyperspace.

[OfficerDonNZ]

EPISODE IV: CHAPTER ONE

 

TIME DISPLACED

 

In the medical bay aboard the Chimera a redhead was pacing the space while a dark brunette was asleep on one of the medical beds. Nathrrya was trying to wrap her mind around what had happened to her and her companion thus far. She bit her bottom lip as she stopped long enough to look at the younger woman, who was connected to several IV units that pumped different kolto into her system to attempt massive repairs brought on by the four thousand years of carbonite imprisonment both women had just suffered.

 

The redhead couldn’t believe the amount of time that had passed. Four thousand years! The last thing she remembered was seeing this blast of light and Force energy coming from Valkorion. Her companion, K'natara, had been on the far side of the platform nearest the door to the large throne room, being held by the Zakuulan knights. Nathrrya had been near the throne with Valkorion and his son, Arcann, arguing about the traitor he was to his mighty Sith empire, which he so thoroughly abandoned for the world he newly created that would squash both the Empire and the Republic.

 

As Nathrrya tried to wrap her head around it the mechanical beeping and buzzing of the monitors connected to K'natara began to go off and make a din. It pulled Nathrrya from her memories and to the present where she then rushed to her companion’s side just as Doctor Lokin and his team entered the bay to check on the other Force sensitive woman.

 

“She’s destabilizing,” one of the nurses stated, hitting a few buttons on the console next to her. She looked towards Lokin and he frowned, nodding his head.

 

“Very well. Full kolto submersion,” he said. The team went right to it. Nathrrya grabbed Lokin by the collar of his doctor’s robes and pulled him close to her, her eyes intensely blue.

 

“She’s all I have left,” she told him in a deep whisper. “If she dies in your care you’ll regret it.” To make her point her eyes flashed yellow and the good doctor nodded, fearing for his life. He’d dealt with Lord Vader before as well as the Emperor himself, but that didn’t mean he liked being very close to any Sith, especially one he had never met before.

 

Nathrrya held his gaze for a while but it faltered. She sighed and released his robes. “Truthfully, I’m more worried about the state of her mind after all of this. I’m sure you’ll be able to physically heal her.” She turned her head to watch the doctor’s team as they prepared K'natara for the submersion. A transparent breathing mask was placed securely over her mouth and nose and she was given black shorts and a tank top to protect her modesty. “I fear the woman I used to know will be gone forever when she wakes up.” Her words were sad as she watched the team lower the younger woman into the green liquid and secured the top of the tank. Nathrrya didn’t know what she was going to face once K'natara woke from her coma. Whatever it would be it scared her and the worry showed plainly on her face.

 

Lokin was taken by surprise at the compassion voiced from the redhead about the other. His eyes softened along with his demeanor. Even though she was a Sith, in this moment she was just another person concerned for the well being of her companion and that was something he could respect. “I will do everything in my power for her, my Lord.”

 

Nathrrya nodded with a slight smile as she hadn’t been called my lord in a very long time. She withdrew to the far side of the med bay to give Lokin and his team room to work and watched the doctor from her corner and wondered if he was related to another Doctor Lokin that she knew from her time. It was unlikely, but one could never be sure.

 

Twenty minutes later Lokin approached the older Sith woman. “We’ve done all we can for her right now,” he said. “We now have to wait.” Nathrrya nodded and looked at the green tank with her friend now floating in the center of it. Lokin hesitated. “My lord, quarters have been arranged for you--”

 

Nathrrya cut him off with a shake of her head. “No Doctor, I’m staying right here. If Tara wakes up and I’m not here… well, let’s just say you don’t want to experience what almost happened when Admiral Thrawn released us.” She glanced beyond him to the woman again. “She’s strong in the Force and unchecked. Without me here to help she could implode this vessel without a second thought.”

 

The doctor thought about that and finally sighed. “I see your point. Very well, you can stay but please remember to try and rest. You are still under medical supervision and recovery yourself.”

 

“Don’t worry doctor, I will.” Nathrrya replied as the man and his team left. It didn’t take very long before she began to pace the floor of the medbay.

 

---

 

Nathrrya swore she would wear a line in the floor in front of the kolto tank where her friend was still floating serenely. She lost track of the time that had passed since the Doctor and his team had put K’natara in there and left the redhead to supposedly rest. Nathrrya was far from able to relax and be calm. Not even simple meditation was able to ease the discomfort of the situation. At one point she felt a shift in the Force as two other Force sensitives stepped onto the ship. One was quite strong and the other, while not weak, was random and wild. If she had to guess another Sith Lord and his or her Apprentice were on their way to see her and K’natara.

 

When the door to the medbay opened she slowed her pacing and turned her head slightly to see Admiral Thrawn and Captain Pellaeon entering the room. As she continued her steady rhythm of pacing she caught the glimpse of two other figures also entering the room behind the captain and admiral. They had to the be the two Sith she sensed. She stopped briefly to nod in their direction but said nothing.

 

The four visitors only looked between the two women, the redhead pacing and the dark brunette floating in a tank of green kolto. Every time Nathrrya turned in her pattern she saw this and after several rounds he was thoroughly annoyed to the point where she stopped directly in front of the tank and faced them, arms on her hips and a scowl on her face.

 

"What the kriff do you want?" She glared at the men. It was clear that Pellaeon was uncomfortable at the woman’s choice of attire. Thrawn, on the other hand, was there when the two were released from the carbonite and was looking at nothing different from then.

 

The Chiss admiral cleared his throat and gestured towards the other two Sith males. “This is Lord Vader and his apprentice, Starkiller.”

 

Nathrrya looked at the man all in black and the younger man next to him, clearly unimpressed by their presence by the look in her eyes. She frowned deeper as she took them in. Vader didn’t indicate any care for the situation and the boy… he seemed more interested in what was behind her. Nathrrya admitted that he had guts… or he was really stupid.

 

“Hey nerfherder! If you know what’s good for you, you’d do well to advert your eyes from my apprentice!” The unspoken threat lingered between them and Starkiller pulled his eyes from the tank and glared at the redhead, a scowl forming on his face. He took note of the sudden drop in temperature and how it began to create condensation on the outside of the kolto tank.

 

Starkiller was not amused by the woman's words and his hand instinctively went to the hilt of his lightsaber. Lord Vader turned his head to his apprentice with a silent warning to him to hold still. The young man caught this from the corner of his eye and he begrudgingly dropped his hand to his side and inched back away from the woman he was about to approach.

 

“We merely wish to speak to you," Thrawn said. "There is much we don't understand and it's clear that you don't as well."

 

"Kriff off," Nathrrya growled. She turned in her place and she briefly looked up at K’natara before turning back to them. “Look, I don’t give a damn what you have to say right now. I’m not going anywhere until she wakes up and I’m not interested in having you all stay here until she does. So, get the kriff out before I make you leave.” To make her point she unleashed s small wave of Dark Side energy, her eyes flashing yellow to emphasize.

 

"You are in no position to demand such things," Vader's mechanical voice said. "You are within the boundaries of the Empire and are subject to its laws, as is your young companion. I am to bring you before our Emperor, as you are of considerable Force sensitivity."

 

Lord Vader sensed a shift in the Force signature of the other woman. Around him there was a blast of energy and the three other men with him went flying to get pinned against the walls of the medbay. Vader’s own energy counteracted that of the redheaded woman’s initial attack and stayed planted where he was. Only his cloak moved while the other three were pinned to the wall. Nathrrya took several threatening steps towards Lord Vader, her eyes now solidly yellow, but the larger man did not move or sway.

 

“I have been released from a frozen prison after four thousand years. My apprentice is gravely ill, physically and possibly mentally, and I’m in one hell of a bad mood. The last thing you want to do is push me. You will regret it.” After a moment staring into the blank eyes of Lord Vader’s mask she finally backed away and released her hold on the other three souls in the room. The admiral and captain lost their balance and had a bout of vertigo while Starkiller was on his feet and ready to tackle the woman head on. He was ready to teach her a lesson.

You will be defeated, apprentice, Vader said. Starkiller nearly snarled. She is much too strong for you. Witness what just occurred and stand down. You are no use to me dead. The younger man took a shaky breath and forced himself to relax and stepped back to his master’s side.

 

“Admiral, Captain, please leave us.” The Chiss and human glanced at one another before bowing towards Lord Vader and vacating the room. What they felt was enough to keep them wary of the redhead for a long time to come, and leaving the room was a relief.

 

Starkiller kept himself rooted to his place beside his master. As he stood there, trying to calm himself, his eyes began to wander and eventually they landed on the tank with its occupant. He tried to keep from looking in that direction but failed. He just couldn’t stop looking. Other than the fact that the young woman was practically naked he found himself more entranced by the serenity of her face as she floated there in the green liquid. Her black hair floated around her as the oxygen bubbles rose from the base of the tank. He had never liked the concept of full kolto submersion - it unsettled him - because it brought back the memory and the discomfort of his own experience waking up submerged in a similar way. Still, he fought the urge to stare.

 

For the briefest of moments the woman in the tank opened her eyes and moved about in the weightlessness of the kolto. The movement was subtle and not enough to fully wake her. Starkiller assumed she had to be being given a gaseous anesthetic through the face mask to keep her from waking up. Whether or not she actually saw him in that brief moment he couldn’t be sure, but something just felt strange. The Force fizzled at the back of his mind and he wondered if the other two Force users could have sensed it as well. They two were still deep in argument about Lord Vader bringing the two women before the Emperor and the redhead was still not having it, regardless of what Lord Vader said.

 

“Listen bucket-head, I’m not going anywhere until my apprentice wakes up and is out of that damned tank!” Starkiller had to suppress his amusement at the unfortunate nickname his master just received. The more sensible part of him wondered why Lord Vader was even allowing such verbal abuse. “She is in no physical state to go before anyone, especially not some dim-witted Sith who thinks he’s the emperor! Trust me, he’s not as powerful as you think he is. I know a powerful Sith when I encounter one and the only reason I can sense him all the way out here is because there aren’t any bloody Force sensitives left in this kriffing galaxy!”

 

Lord Vader watched her with a passive disinterest as she continued on her rant. She repeated the data of her four thousand year stint in a carbonite prison - the woman was apparently hell-bent about making sure this was very well known - after her tirade she rounded back onto Starkiller, who was still looking at the other woman.

 

“I swear to the nine Corellian Hells that the way you keep staring at my apprentice I would venture to say you’ve never seen a near naked woman. You’re lucky she’s unconscious!” She narrowed her eyes at the younger man as he frowned and then scowled back at her. In the back of her mind she had a right to think that the boy had a crush on K’natara - but that was the last thing she needed right then.

 

Lord Vader, for one of the few times in his life, didn’t know how to respond to the woman’s spewing. He studied her and watched as the Force seemed to settle around her. All that could be heard from the all-black Sith was his mechanical breathing. In return, Nathrrya studied him just as intently. For her it was difficult to read him. His Force signature was swathed in what seemed to be endless amounts of pain that he was constantly in, though the man was good and hid it well. He also kept his mind liberally shielded - every time she went in to probe his would lash out at her violently enough to make her wince with mental discomfort.

 

“Shouldn’t the two of you be dead, then?” Starkiller had actually paid attention to some of what the woman was raving about. Her gaze moved to him and he mentally berated himself for such a blatantly idiotic question. But the reaction from the other woman wasn’t what he had expected to get in return.

 

“We should have,” she said with a sad smile. “But for surviving that long in carbonite… only the Living Force could do something like that. I can’t fathom why.”

 

“If you truly are from an age long passed, how can I be certain of your claims?”

 

The redhead didn’t say anything right away. Lord Vader watched her carefully as she seemed to be working through what she would respond to his question. Nathrrya knew he had made a valid point. While she didn’t know all that had happened in the four thousand years she was asleep she had to venture and only hope that whatever happened in her original time made the test of history and survived this far down the line.

 

“How’s your Sith history?” she asked. When Lord Vader said nothing she bit her lip. “Have you heard of Vitiate, the Sith Emperor? Or perhaps the man called Valkorion?”

 

Lord Vader continued to say nothing but Starkiller spoke up when his master remained silent. “I know that name. There is an old legend that states Valkorion was the strongest Sith Lord in the galaxy, but he was defeated by his son, Arcann, who succeeded him as Emperor but the Reclamation Service hasn’t found any proof to confirm nor deny that.”

 

“Not many know the name,” Lord Vader finally added. Hearing the woman state his name gave her a little more credibility but there was still skepticism on whether or not she truly came from that time. He glanced between the two women and felt something stir within his apprentice just then, something that had been disturbing at best.

 

“Legend and reality are rarely the same, boy, but you’re correct.” Nathrrya shifted where she was standing and scratched the back of her neck briefly. “And I have a feeling I know what you’re thinking, Vader. I was there. I know what happened. Valkorion was succeeded by his son only because I was the one who put a lightsaber through Valkorion’s back.” She pulled her lightsaber from her utility belt. Neither of the males made any move due to the obvious condition of the weapon - they weren’t in danger of her using it but she had no intention to. “I used this very weapon. But he was more Force entity than mortal being. I only killed the vessel, not the man. It caused that explosion of Force energy which knocked me and Tara out.”

 

“Then how’d you end up in carbonite?” Starkiller felt a sense from his master. That was the last question he was permitted to ask.

 

“There were three of us: myself, Tara and a Mandalorian mercenary. When we woke we were all bound and Arcann was gloating about something. His sister, Valyin, was also there and by his side as he sat on the Eternal Throne. She was strong in the Force, just like her father, and was a whole lot crazier. She had a penchant for sadism, that nerfwench. Just for kicks she ordered the Mandalorian executed. Then Tara and I ended up frozen.”

 

Nathrrya took a few breaths and looked at both men for a few moments. “Do you see why I’m not so inclined to being summoned before your master? I won’t just go dropping everything to see him, and he’s nothing - nothing - compared to what I faced with Valkorion.”

 

Vader turned to his apprentice and the two shared something silent between them. But there was a shift in the room suddenly and it was familiar yet foreign. Nathrrya then noticed that neither Lord Vader nor his apprentice weren’t moving. “What the…?”

 

“Sidious is an amateur playing a master’s game.” Nathrrya spun around and came face to face with Valkorion as his Force spirit revealed himself to her. She folded her arms over her chest and frowned.

 

“Speak of the devil and he’s sure to appear.” Her tone was disdainful. “I thought we were rid of you. No such luck it seems.”

 

The ghost smiled as he looked at the redhead. “My dear Wrath, you of all people should know there is no such thing as luck - there is only the Force. But you need not worry yourself. Between your life and that of your apprentice I’ve had all my power drained to sustain you through time. I am now one with the Force.”

 

Nathrrya wasn’t amused and her eyes flashed yellow before returning to their normal blue. Valkorion walked around her and studied the two Sith men. “This one plans to overthrow the one he calls master, but has not acted upon it yet. He has a good start with the boy but it’s not enough… he’ll need allies. He’ll understand in time that he stands before two of the strongest Sith that my Empire could ever produce.”

 

“What the kriff are you getting at?”

 

Valkorion turned and smiled at his favorite Sith Warrior. He began to chuckle knowingly as his ghost faded from view and both Starkiller and Lord Vader returned to normal animation. Both males looked around, having felt something very unsual and not of their time. But it was distinctive and both looked in Nathrrya’s direction. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

 

“That was...different,” she mused.

 

Starkiller had to shake his head and he looked bewilderedly between his master and the woman. “Was that...?”

 

Nathrrya grinned and nodded. “Valkorion, Immortal Emperor of Zakuul. I also knew him as Vitiate, the Sith Emperor. They were one in the same.” She paused for a moment and addressed Lord Vader. “Believe me now?”

[OfficerDonNZ]

EPISODE IV: CHAPTER TWO

 

AFTER EFFECTS

 

The only sound in the medbay came from Lord Vader’s mechanical breathing. For long moments all he could do was watch the redheaded woman and wonder if and how he should respond to the verbal spewage the woman threw forth. Starkiller was also silent, much for the reason that Vader would just reprimand him if he were to say anything. Regardless, if either man were going to say something neither got the chance to. The doors to the room slid open and Doctor Lokin came through, datapad in hand, and very worried look on his aging face. Nathrrya turned towards the man as he stopped and looked between the three Force users. Nervousness was inserted into his already worried face.

 

“F-forgive the intrusion, my lords, but I must speak with Nathrrya.”

 

Nathrrya walked over to the man and gave him a calm look, but the anxiety radiating off the doctor wasn’t making her feel any better. “What is it?” she asked. “It can’t be good news if you look like that.” She paused for a moment. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

 

“I’m afraid not, my lord,” he confirmed, clearing his throat and tapping his fingers on his datapad. “I had blood tests done on both you and your companion. Yours came clean and healthy save for the mild carbonite poisoning which you are already recovering from. Tara, on the other hand… is a little more worse off than you.”

 

His preamble to his news didn’t roll over well. Nathrrya knew the doctor was stalling because he was afraid of the news he was about to give her… or he was afraid of her reaction. On a bad day that would be the case and this was already a pretty bad day in Nathrrya’s case. “Spit it out, doctor. I’m a big girl for Force’s sake.”

 

The doctor licked his chapped lips and cleared his throat again. He even went so far as to shift from one foot to the other. “My lord, Tara’s blood tests came back with high markers of certain female hormones. I had the blood tested and retested and even tested it personally to confirm the results.

 

“Tara was pregnant when she was frozen in her carbonite prison. Based on the markers she had to have been at least a month into her second term. Not long enough to show physical signs but long enough to have a fetus develop.”

 

Nathrrya blinked and felt her head go dizzy. She took a small step back away from the doctor as she struggled to comprehend the data she was just given. Tara was pregnant… again. Nathrrya knew about her first pregnancy and now she had been impregnated a second time. She turned around and looked at the floating young woman in the tank. “Kriffing hells, Tara… why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered. “Did your beloved Mandalorian know?” Most likely not… had her husband learned of her pregnancy - hells, if she knew of it - Tara would not have been permitted to step foot on the Violet Rose. Nathrrya certainly wouldn’t have bothered to tell Tara what Marr had discovered.

 

“My lord?” Doctor Lokin put his hand on Nathrrya’s shoulder to get her attention. She turned back to him, waiting for his next words. “My lord… the fetus is dead. It didn’t survive the stint in carbonite and is the reason your companion is so gravely ill. The decaying fetus is poisoning her body in tandem with the remains of the carbonite toxins. We will have to surgically remove it for her to start recovering, or even have a chance at recovery.”

 

Starkiller watched the interchange of communication and couldn’t help but place his eyes on the dark haired floating girl. She was Sith, and what Galen couldn’t fathom was how a Sith ended up married to a mandalorian, or at least in a relationship with one so much as to have a child. It boggled his mind. The Mandalorians he knew of didn’t take kindly to Force users who weren’t on their side.

 

Nathrrya’s mind buzzed and whirred with all that she was told. But she didn’t have to think too long to come to a conclusion before she turned to the doctor with an eerily calm and steady voice. “I expect you to do everything in your power to save her, Doctor. You’re a competent man. Prove it to me.”

 

Doctor Lokin locked eyes with the woman and saw the pleading deep with her blue orbs. For that brief moment he saw another woman, nervous and worried about someone who was obviously very close to her. Back in his internship days he’d seen far too many people with eyes like that and some were able to be please and others not so much. But a Sith lord was trusting him and he could tell that this one was different than those he’s met before. With a determined face and nod of the head he called his team into action.

 

“I won’t fail you, my Lord.”

 

Nathrrya stepped back to allow Lokin and his team to disengage the kolto tank and pull Tara’s body from the green liquid. Her companion was sickly pale when she was placed on a gurney by the medical staff helping the doctor. As Tara was hauled away Nathrrya took a good look at her and noted a small observation: Tara’s wedding band was missing. The redhead frowned. Her memories were beginning to stir again as she recalled Tara mentioning having some issues with her Mandalorian husband. The issues seemed to get worse after the first child was born. But no matter what Tara never removed the ring.

 

Nathrrya’s heart nearly broke. She knew the condition of their weapons were pretty bad from the long period of time they both spent in carbonite. If the heavy durasteel casings of their lightsabers were degraded then it would make sense that Tara’s ring perished when they were released from their frozen casings. She then became aware that the other two men were watching her. She frowned more and her bad mood came back.

 

“You’re still here?” she spat. “Can’t you just… leave me the kriff alone?”

 

Lord Vader turned his head to his apprentice and nodded for the younger man to leave the room. With a slight bow Skarkiller obeyed and stepped back a few feet before turning and walking out of the door, leaving the two senior Sith alone. Lord vader turned back to Nathrrya.

 

“I’ll grant you the time you need to settle and see to your apprentice. But as soon as she wakes and is recovered, I am bringing your to my master.”

 

“Tara is not going anywhere near your master,” Nathrrya reiterated coldly, “I’m not going to tell you again. Either he is satisfied with me or he gets neither of us. If he’s classic Sith, all I’m going to say is don’t try anything stupid, because I will not be persuaded, intimidated or manipulated.”

 

Lord Vader studied the woman with a frown on his face. Eventually he determined that the woman was too stubborn and steadfast in their current situation. The best he could do was to give her space and actually allow her to have her way for now. He turned and exited the medbay, leaving Nathrrya there among the dull green glow of the kolto tank.

 

When Nathrrya knew she was finally alone is when things began to sink in. She looked around herself at the room, taking in the environment, feeling whatever was there through the Force. More and more she felt the pressure in her chest well and eventually it spilled out through her eyes as tears. She was not an emotional woman, but when push comes to shove and the situation was not in her favor she couldn’t help but let the frustration out in the form of tears.

 

She was alone. Save for Tara, if she survived, she was completely alone. Her first instinct was to pull out her holocommunicator unit and punch in her cousin’s frequency. But he wasn’t there anymore. No one was - Vette, Jaesa…

 

Quinn…

 

She found a comfy little corner and she pushed her back against it before letting gravity pull her weight down to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she rested her forehead on her knees and closed her eyes.

 

“Please…” she whispered. “Please Tara… make it through. Don’t leave me alone.”

 

---------------

 

K’natara woke up and shifted on the mattress of her bed. Her head was hurting and her eyes seemed to burn unusually. She sat up and rubbed them to alleviate the discomfort before she looked around the bedroom she found herself in.

 

The room was blandly furnished with a desk and chair, the bed she was on and some shelves off to the one side of the room. A dresser and vanity mirror sat in the corner on the opposite side and the lights had been dimmed to a subtle glow around the edges of where the floor met the walls. Tara threw her feet over the side of the bed and stood up, taking a moment to gain her composure before she found a robe and threw it over her arms. It was abnormally chilly in the room.

 

It didn’t take very long for her to determine that she was in the captain’s quarters aboard Leyland’s D-5 Mantis. As she opened her senses to the Force she was able to sense the other inhabitants; Mako was up on the bridge and seemed to have her mind thoroughly on whatever she was viewing on the holonet. Blizz was tormenting Gault in the lower levels of the ship near the crew’s quarters. She didn’t sense Torian, but he had to be with her aunt Ada on a hunt, as was usual for Torian to do.

 

Tara made her way out of the room and walked through the ship until she made it to the galley. As she entered the strong, pungent scent of tiingilar assaulted her sinuses and immediately made them begin to drip and her eyes water. But she had to smile at the memory considering she had cravings for the blisteringly hot and spicy casserole during her pregnancy.

 

“Hi Mommy!” Three-year-old Natalie was kneeling on one of the tall bar stools at the table while the large, dark haired man stood over the fire of the stove. He turned his head enough to see Tara and flash her a bright smile.

 

“Good morning cyare.”

 

“Good morning, riidur.” Tara sat down in the seat beside her young and overly affectionate daughter, who promptly wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. The balance was off and the child fell forward and Tara had to reach out and catch the girl in her arms, and Natalie was content to just lay there, giggling, in the warm embrace of her mother.

 

“I like tiingilar!”

 

Tara giggled. “Yes! I know you do. It’s a good thing your buir knows how to cook a good batch.”

 

“Mommy, do I like it because you ate it all the time when I was in your belly?”

 

“No, cyar’ika, you like it because you’re a little Mando.” Leyland served up the plates of the strong food and leaned over to ruffle Natalie’s dark hair. Tara lifted her child back into her own seat and settled the girl down to eat her food before she leaned over the table, grabbed her husband’s collar and pulled him over for a kiss. Natalie giggled watching them but was more interested in filling her own belly than what her parents were doing.

 

The three began to eat and after a few bites something seemed very wrong to Tara. She looked down at the food and saw that it looked just fine, the spice was hot and her cheeks burned like they normally did when she would eat this particular dish. But something was just off, and she didn’t feel well.

 

When she looked up to question her husband she was surprised to see Leyland wasn’t there. Turning to her right she noticed Natalie was gone as well. No one was there. She Stood up fast and turned around but suddenly she was surrounded by a thick darkness. No lights, no walls, nothing. She stood in nothingness.

 

“What’s going on…?”

 

Her mind was immediately bombarded with the screams of over a billion voices crying out in pain. She put her hands over her ears but nothing could drown it out. She looked ahead in the blackness and saw the planet Ziost with the heavy Force wave that swept over the planet that killed everything in its path. Her heart began to pound, her head felt like it was going to explode from the pain.

 

And then she was falling. A short drop and she slammed into the hard metal grating of a floor within a space station. Looking around she saw lines of golden and brass colored knights with polearms emitting a blue laser sword. Down the path ahead of her she saw a man with a mask covering half of his face sitting on a throne among a raised dias. A woman with yellow eyes and a blade the same color stood over a wounded man. Tara recognized him.

 

“Leyland!”

 

Why couldn’t she move? She struggled against whatever was holding her back, she did everything she could to break the chains that bound her to get to her husband. But all she could do was watch.

 

“This bounty hunter is no fun, Brother.”

 

Tara watched the yellow blade lifted high and then it fell. Everything was silent, slow, as tara watched the dismembered head of her husband fall off the torso and roll along the path towards her. The body slumped before it fell over and the feeling of an agonizing ripping sensation coursed through her mind, through her soul and struck her in such a way that all she could do was scream…

[MishaCantu]

Sorry to hear you will be leaving the forums, but good luck in your future endeavors.

 

I actually like this iteration of your story better than the others, for some reason I seem to connect with these characters, in these circumstances more than the other alternatives. I guess I am just one of those readers who has to feel something for the characters from the first chapter or two to continue reading.

 

Don't get me wrong, the writing was always good, the mixture of character growth and action was there, but there is just something in this particular story line that I find compelling.

 

Anyway, a nice beginning.

[OfficerDonNZ]

Sorry to hear you will be leaving the forums, but good luck in your future endeavors.

 

I actually like this iteration of your story better than the others, for some reason I seem to connect with these characters, in these circumstances more than the other alternatives. I guess I am just one of those readers who has to feel something for the characters from the first chapter or two to continue reading.

 

Don't get me wrong, the writing was always good, the mixture of character growth and action was there, but there is just something in this particular story line that I find compelling.

 

Anyway, a nice beginning.

 

Thanks Misha!

 

Arianna-Vitani and I were bouncing ideas off each other and somewhere along the way Tara went under a massive change in character which will become more apparent once she actually wakes up. We also got the idea of just how did the girls get to where they are in our version of Ep IV? So we came up with this. Starting about two years before A New Hope this will see the girls misadventures as they find their place in Palpy's Empire

[Lunafox]

As I said to you through email, nice job with this. And now, given today's announcement, I'm hopeful that you'll be continuing here, after your break.

 

Thanks for posting the story, keep at it!

[JennyFlynn]

I'm glad to see you repost/reboot this. The original thread has caught my eye many times but I get so ADD some times between reading here, reading my own books and writing that 'in-progress' stories are a bit of a daunting task to take on seeing the length of the threads... and I get lost so easily.

 

I love this take on the story, of your SW waking up in the future Empire during Vader's time and I got a bit of a thrill out of seeing Thrawn mentioned. I adore him. I like Nathrrya, the character you've developed around her so far is very appealing and I look forward to seeing where this goes.

[OfficerDonNZ]

As I said to you through email, nice job with this. And now, given today's announcement, I'm hopeful that you'll be continuing here, after your break.

 

Thanks for posting the story, keep at it!

 

Thanks Luna, glad you're enjoying it so far.

 

Oh yeah I'll be back here with bells on come April Nat has to have her reunion with Quinn!

 

I'm glad to see you repost/reboot this. The original thread has caught my eye many times but I get so ADD some times between reading here, reading my own books and writing that 'in-progress' stories are a bit of a daunting task to take on seeing the length of the threads... and I get lost so easily.

 

I love this take on the story, of your SW waking up in the future Empire during Vader's time and I got a bit of a thrill out of seeing Thrawn mentioned. I adore him. I like Nathrrya, the character you've developed around her so far is very appealing and I look forward to seeing where this goes.

 

Thanks Jenny!

 

It's always nice to know people like/appreciate what you write. It's what keeps us fan fic authors going after all.