Ok guys, this one is short and sweet...that's because its just an interlude...but as yiou will all probably be able to tell...this will NOT be over in four moves...I promise.
Chapter 21: Interludes
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…..
The troops and pilots settled down as chimes sounded in the briefing room of the massive warship. An older woman, dressed in a clean white gown stood at the center of the briefing room and politely waited for everyone to settle down.
When she finally spoke it was with a calm and wise voice, a voice used to being heard on a senate floor debating weighty issues of galactic import.
“The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come.”
The assembled troops began to mutter among themselves.
“The data brought to us by the Bothan spies pinpoints the exact location of the Emperor's new battle station. We also know that the weapon systems of this Death Star are not yet operational. With the Imperial Fleet spread throughout the galaxy in a vain effort to engage us, it is relatively unprotected. But most important of all, we've learned that the Emperor himself is personally overseeing the final stages of the construction of this Death Star.”
A volley of spirited chatter erupted from the crowd. Lando turned to Nien Numb and who shrugged at Lando’s expression of surprise.
“Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” she stated gravely, sorrow etched on her face, sorrow for the many millions of lives that had been lost in the terrible civil war that had torn the galaxy apart for so long now. “Admiral Ackbar, please.”
Admiral Ackbar stepped forward and pointed to a holographic display that had sprung up as the lights dimmed in the center of the briefing room. The hologram depicted the Death Star's force field and the Moon of Endor.
“You can see here the Death Star orbiting the forest Moon of Endor. Although the weapon systems on this Death Star are not yet operational, the Death Star does have a strong defense mechanism. It is protected by an energy shield, which is generated from the nearby forest Moon of Endor. The shield must be deactivated if any attack is to be attempted. Once the shield is down, our cruisers will create a perimeter, while the fighters fly into the superstructure and attempt to knock out the main reactor.
There was a concerned murmur.
“General Calrissian has volunteered to lead the fighter attack.”
Lando nodded slowly at some of the comments from the surrounding pilots
“General Madine.”
Madine moved to the center of the briefing room.
“We have stolen a small Imperial shuttle. Disguised as a cargo ship, and using a secret Imperial code, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator.
The assembly began to mumble among themselves.
“That sounds like fun.” Lando drawled.
“I will personally be leading this mission.” Madine announced sternly, many of the rebel commandos nodded knowingly. There simply weren’t enough experienced commanders for such an endeavor. Madine had trained these men, so he knew precisely what to expect from this hardy bunch.
Many eyes slowly drifted to the front of the briefing room, to a row of empty seats, all empty save for Lando and Nien Nub. The heroes of Yavin would normally sit there, but as everyone knew, in no small part to Imperial propaganda, the heroes were all gone.
The briefing quickly broke up and Lando made his way to General Madine.
“Sir, the mission sounds like its going to be extremely dangerous, perhaps I should relinquish fighter command and join you planetside. I’m far more comfortable on my feet.” Lando offered.
Madine smiled grimly.
“General Calrissian, although I appreciate your offer we need someone like you in fighter command. Quite frankly we’re in need of heroes at the moment.”
Lando fought the urge to blush. Instead he smirked.
“Me, a hero. You’re right about one thing, general, the Alliance is desperate if they’re looking to me as a hero.” he laughed and nodded to Madine before walking away.
Lando paused at the empty seats. He wondered what Han was feeling, frozen in a block of Carbonite, floating in Jabba’s palace, nothing more than some obscene decoration for the bloated one’s pleasure.
He had been in that nest of scum for several weeks, trying to find a way to help Leia spring Han from imprisonment. One night when secretly meeting Leia in Mos Eisley, he half jokingly said to her: “Security in that palace is so damned tight, it would take a Jedi to get Han out of there.” As the words left his mouth he knew he should never have spoken them. Leia’s eyes lit up and she nodded to herself as if she had been waiting to hear just that phrase.
She patted Chewie on the shoulder and got up.
“If a Jedi is what we need then that’s what we’ll get.” she vowed.
“Leia, wait! There aren’t any Jedi anymore, the last one was your friend Luke and he’s…” Lando’s voice trailed off as he saw the look of determination on her face. Lando began to shake his head. “Leia that is a BAD idea. He’s become Vader’s right hand, we have to let that go.”
Leia stared down at him, fire in her gaze.
“I won’t abandon him to the shadow, Lando. If you don’t care, then go on your way. I don’t expect you to understand.”
Those words stung him. He knew that despite Leia’s reassurances to the contrary she blamed Lando on some level for this whole debacle. Luke turning to the dark side and becoming a Sith Lord, Han frozen in carbonite in the hands of Jabba the Hutt. It all came down to Lando’s betrayal and he knew that he had much to atone for.
He did not have a chance to say much more as Leia stalked out with Chewie in tow. Next thing he knows, she’s run off with a few ships and Rogue squadron in search of Luke. It was a disaster for the Rebellion as many pilots and men that were more loyal to heroes like Leia and Luke followed Leia in her mission to confront Luke and bring him back to the light side.
A rift had formed in the ranks of the Alliance that were not healing.
Nien Nub stood by Lando’s side and said nothing.
“I guess we’re stuck on this mission. My only problem is that I’ve never flown an X-Wing before? You?”
Nien Nub said something in his sing song language. Lando nodded.
“Yeah, I thought as much.” he replied softly.
“This is not the way it was supposed to happen.” Madine said with a grimace as he watched his men and the pilots filing out of the briefing. To a man, not one of them looked in the least bit hopeful.
“The loss of General Solo, Commander Skywalker and Princess Leia have left a hole in the ranks, a hole that may be our downfall.” Ackbar replied dejected as he watched his men scurrying to their stations. The fleet would be going to hyperspace shortly and then they would face the dreaded Death star.
“Solo would have been perfect for this assignment. He had just the right mix of daring and charisma that might just have pulled this thing off.”
“Not to mention the presence of a Jedi on this mission would have increased our chances of success.”
“Pity about Leia.”
“Gentlemen.” Mon Mothma stated coolly as she stood in the circle between Ackbar and Madine.
“Madame president.” Madine replied with a short nod.
“I assume the talk has turned to Princess Leia and her friends.”
“You have to admit, Madame president that this mission is precisely what the heroes of Yavin are good at.” Madine began.
“General, perhaps you did not understand our position on this matter. But Leia Organna has betrayed the Alliance. She took off on a mission of personal import, taking with her several ships, each and every one a valuable resource to the Alliance, particularly on the eve of this battle. Several of our most elite squadrons, trained by Luke Skywalker, another traitor, who seem to have more loyalty to a single man than the Alliance.”
“Madame president, they are fighting men, you can’t expect them to live up to ideals and philosophies dreamt up in the ivory towers of High Command, they follow leadership and courage, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo had these virtues in great abundance. As I recall, High Command trotted commander Skywalker out every chance they got as a symbol of the Alliance. You got young men and women to join your Alliance BECAUSE they wanted to follow that young man not some murky ideals.”
Mon Mothma blinked. Shocked that Madine would speak so roughly to her, but then again, Madine had once been among the ranks of the Empire and he had little patience for High Command. It was a habit that had exposed the still gaping wounds caused by the defection of one of their greatest heroes, the loss of another and the treason of a born leader and a member of the High Command itself.
“Madame president, General Madine has a penchant for speaking out of turn. Let us retire for now.” Ackbar stated diplomatically.
“That’s alright Ackbar. I have a suicide mission to plan.” Madine said roughly, feeling the pain that many felt when they saw the heroes that had inspired them so rudely treated and discarded by the Alliance they fought for.
“General. You must understand our position. We were the Alliance before Luke Skywalker and his band appeared on the scene, we have been sacrificing and undertaking suicide missions since this rebellion began. We are still that same Alliance now. This movement is greater than one person, it has to be otherwise we are no better than the emperor.”
“If I did not believe that, Madame president, I would not be here right now. But that idea does not nullify the fact that we are going into this final battle without our greatest assets.”
“We do as we always do, General, as we have always done. We persevere.”
Madine did not reply, he merely snapped a smart salute and stalked away.
“Excuse him, he is young and angry.” Ackbar sighed.
“Admiral, the worse part of this whole argument is that I wholeheartedly agree with him.” Mon Mothma replied with a sad shake of her head.
The black garbed giant slowly approached the throne. Behind the throne itself was a massive window that opened up to reveal the beautiful green orb that was the sanctuary moon of Endor. The giant waited patiently, his mechanical breathing slow and rhythmic. Slowly the throne turned to face him.
“What is thy bidding, my Master?” Lord Darth Vader asked.
“Send the fleet to the far side of Endor. There it will stay until called for.” the emperor ordered in his low rasp.
“What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?” Vader asked cautiously.
“It is of no concern. Soon the Rebellion will be crushed now that young Skywalker is one of us! Your work here is nearly finished, my friend.
“Almost?”
“I want you to prepare the fleet for another mission as soon as this battle is over. You will dispatch probe droids to the Sluis sector and begin monitoring any strange spatial disturbances. As soon as one is detected inform me.”
“I am not sure I understand, my master. Why should we care about spatial disturbances. The rebels much be crushed once and for all.” Vader asked perplexed by the sudden change in his master’s wishes.
“The Alliance faces certain defeat. We must prepare the way for the conquest of a new realm.”
Vader remained silent. His master often spoke in riddles, sometimes he would say things that only became clear years later. It was the awesome power of his foresight. It was a gift Vader was not privy to. None of his training had included such methods or techniques.
“Also send a signal to the Wild Space, I want to recall one of my grand admirals. He shall carry my banner into a brave new world.”
“As you wish.” Vader replied the barest hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
“Do not fret my old friend, you shall accompany him and there you shall return Lord Nemesis to us.”
Vader’s breathing actually paused for a moment.
The emperor smiled.
“All is proceeding as I have foreseen.”
Vader paused as he spied something or someone standing behind the emperor. It was a human figure concealed in shadow. He could sense great power from this one, great enough that it nearly blinded him if he looked upon him solely using the force. The figure seemed to remain invisible to everyone else in the throne room, the only sure sign that he was there was an odd silver glint from his eyes.
“Go out to the command ship and await my orders.” the emperor ordered tersely.
“Yes, my Master.” Vader replied and bowed lowly, keeping his eyes fixed on the mystery figure. He turned slowly and strode out of the throne room.
IN THE 23rd CENTURY
The sand was everywhere. It had even filtered its way into the hermetically sealed canisters of supplies. The wrecked hulk of the once proud and modern space ship was half buried in the earth. Any electronic components that could be used to repair the ship had been stripped from it and the engines had been removed, replaced with standard cargo container. Small gardens were growing in well ordered circles and a primitive but functioning hydroponics garden was gurgling softly in the shadow of the fallen ship.
He remained kneeling on the hard ground, the wind tussling his hair as the sun set behind him, a low orange orb that beat down on his shoulders like an angry god. His hands were bruised and bloodies, one fingernail had been torn away. His knees were ground into the hard rock and sand, blood slowly seeping into the soil around him. He cared not for any discomfort.
She was gone.
That is what mattered at this moment.
“My lord.”
There was only silence. He stared down at the body, carefully wrapped in a metallic blanket, hair gingerly brushed down as the hood was pulled over her head. He could not bear to not see her face, even now.
He gently pulled back the hood and saw the beauty that had won his heart. She had the will and the grace of a goddess. She had defied a captain and him in the space of hours. He honestly believed in those heady moments together, when they stood watching the stars unfolding on the night tapestry overhead that nothing would touch them.
“My lord, may I speak.”
He remained silent, lips pursed in a thought. He could not pray. There were no gods, there could be nothing more than man in this universe. He had seen death too many times, had inflicted so much suffering to think that there was nothing else but his own will.
He thought that she would have liked a prayer.
He could not grant her this sole wish because he did not know any prayers. Such pathetic superstitions had been abolished under his rule. A quarter of the world’s population under his control and he had very nearly driven the all powerful god from their hearts.
Now when he least expected it, he needed to know something about this silent useless god. Something to ease the pain, something to give to his beloved wife as a parting gift.
The young man cleared his throat.
“My lord, we greave with you. She was a remarkable woman. But you cannot debase yourself thus. You cannot be reduced to this.” the young man pleaded.
Joachim had campaigned with him across a continent. They had warred on the others in their band, but in the end, when the inferior ones had risen like a mob of rodent vermin they knew that only in unity was there strength. Together they fled to the stars, together they defied the mob, fate and death itself. Together they nearly took control of a starship and had started a new empire among the stars.
Now he knelt in the earth, in his own blood and he wondered why he could not pray for the only woman he had ever truly loved.
“My lord, please, let some of the others-“
He held up a hand and it was like a thunderclap. Joachim snapped his mouth shut and stared down at this man they he would have followed to the very gates of hell.
He slowly reached down into the funerary cloth and fished out the small emblem wrapped in simple leather chord. She wore this every day, a talisman, a link to a past that she would never return to. It would be his link to her. The Starfleet emblem flashed in the waning sunlight.
He slowly draped it over his neck. The cool touch of the metal on his bare muscular chest flashed him back to the cool touch of her hand on his flesh. The look of devotion and love in her eyes as he coolly regarded her in the setting sun.
“I loved you.” he whispered and kissed her lips. They were cold. not at all like the hot blooded woman he had grown to know even more on this harsh world.
He turned slowly and his eyes locked with Joachim’s.
“Leave us.” he said.
Joachim began to speak but his eyes betrayed that there would be no protests allowed, he would brook no defiance of his will.
Joachim slowly nodded and hesitantly walked away joining the circle of super men and women who gathered on the outskirts of the ship. many were mourning the loss of their own loved ones and friends.
He deliberately began digging again, his hands scooping out dirt and stones. The grave would be finished, but it would take time, he would be digging well into the night, his penance and his blessing. This small act would purge the impotence that wracked him.
“How the mighty have fallen.”
He stopped and slowly looked up.
“I must say, I have heard of you by reputation alone, but I don’t see much now. You nearly killed James Kirk and here you are on your hands and knees like some beggar from Calcutta digging a makeshift grave.”
He said nothing but coolly regarded the young man with silver eyes. He wore a Starfleet uniform, a little out of date, the cuffs and collar were a sign of this, but a Starfleet uniform nonetheless.
“I shall kill you where you stand.” he said with ice cold calm and determination.
“I think not. It will take more than the product of 20th century genetic engineering to kill a god.”
“A god.” he snorted. “Is that what you think you are. I use to know men like you, they were part of the first batch of engineered superior men. Many had to be put down for mental damage and paranoia.” He sneered.
The silver eyed stranger shrugged.
“I guess then I shall take my delusional self and leave you here in the earth to bury your wife and let you rot on this dying world.”
“I want nothing from the likes of you. I will find a way out of this as I have always done.”
“Ah yes, I would not insult your superior intellect with an offer of escape, but what I offer is revenge.” the silver eyed one said lowly, eyes flashing hungrily.
“Revenge?” he asked quietly, eyes narrowing on the stranger.
“Against the man that left you here to die. The one who left her here to die.”
“Kirk.” he said the name like a curse.
“Indeed.”
“There is a price for everything, and I fear that I will not want to pay this price. If I am to avenge myself on Kirk, I will be the sole instrument of that revenge. James Kirk will rue the day he crossed Kahn Noonien Singh.” he countered.
“Obstinate fool, you kneel there in the earth like some worm and you have the gall to deny yourself and your wife vengeance.”
“All I see is that I am denying your wish. I will have my revenge, I assure you.” he replied stonily.
The silver eyed stranger suddenly smiled and it even chilled his own stony heart.
“But what a fool I am. I am appealing to your pride and that is unyielding. Instead I shall appeal to your heart.”
“You will find that even more sterner than my pride. I have no room in my heart anymore, the only one that I shared it with lies at my feet, a testament to my failure as a leader and as a superior man.”
“Allow me to enlighten you.” the silver eyed stranger replied with a cold smile. His eyes flashed and suddenly Kahn found himself lying in a bed, fire in his head. He struggled but could not move, slowly an object came into focus in his field of vision.
It was his own face, worry and anxiety stamped on his proud features as another person was trying to administer some makeshift anesthetic, made from the crushed leaves of a plant not far from the landing site.
What is this? he thought.
The fire in his brain raged. He screamed in agony but the voice was not his own. It was her’s. He realized what was happening and it chilled him to the soul. He was experiencing Marla’s death. The final moments as the things hatched in her brain, as they finished devouring what was left of who she was leaving her nothing but an empty husk. No longer would she paint dashing historical figures. No longer would she hold him in the night as the worries and weight of leadership weighed on him like a mountain.
She would no longer be Marla McGivers.
She would be dead and he would be alone.
The hardest part of all was playing before his eyes.
His own blasted impotence before this threat. He would have crushed a hundred men single handedly to protect her. He would have conquered cities, entire continents to please her. He could do nothing now as the parasites finished killing her. And he felt every agonizing moment, he could feel them writhing in his head. The expression of horror and frustration on his face maddened him.
He reached out to touch her, at least he saw this for he was now Marla and all he could feel was the fire and pain.
“Kahn!” he heard himself call out as the final burst of fire blazed across his vision and he heard the agonized squeals of the birthing parasites as everything went black. They were the only things she ever gave birth to. They had always wanted to have children. This was an abomination of that dream.
Kahn stood alone in darkness, the fire in his brain gone.
The silver eyed stranger suddenly appeared, stepping out of the inky darkness.
“So you see what she felt, and you refuse to avenge that?”
The accusation hung in the air. Kahn stared into the stranger’s eyes. He could see his won face staring back at him in those silver orbs.
“She suffered greater than I could have imagined.”
“At least she died quickly.” the silver eyed one said with a hint of scorn.
“Leave me.” Kahn said and started to turn away.
“She was with child.”
Kahn froze in mid turn.
“If you don’t believe me, check. She won’t mind, she’s dead.”
Kahn looked up at him with a steely gaze.
“It was a boy.” the silver eyed one stated with finality. Kahn closed his eyes and lowered his head as if he had been stabbed.
“I will leave you now.” he stated quietly after a long moment of silence.
“I will avenge myself on Captain James T. Kirk, and I will do so even if I have to make a deal with the devil.” Kahn stated gravely.
They locked eyes for a long moment, neither one flinching.
“So be it.” Gary Mitchell said with a nod.
Four pieces materialized by his side of the board. One was the bust of a proud looking man with glowing red eyes, carved out of sapphire blue stone. One was an onyx stone breathing mask, one was a cracked Starfleet insignia wrapped in a leather thong and the last piece was a small representation of the death star.
Q noted this without any expression of surprise.
“Overkill?” Q suggested.
“In the old earth sport of baseball, one would say that Nemesis was up at bat and I have my new batters on deck.” Gary replied icily.
“Are you so afraid of him that you would array such powers against him?” Q pressed.
“Q, I fear no man. I could reach out right now and stop his heart with a thought.”
“But you won’t.”
“It would be beneath me.”
“Instead you array these odds against him, hardly fair you know.”
“You miss the point of the game.”
“I thought this game was about exploring human nature?” Q replied wanly.
“It is. I find that Starfleet had a wonderful way of teaching command staff about human nature…it was called the Kobayashi Maru.” Gary grinned as he deliberately placed each new piece on the board. He glanced up at Q. “The no win scenario.”
Q nodded. He glanced down at board and a shadow of a smile crossed his face.
“Wasn’t Jim Kirk the only one to ever beat the no win scenario?” Q asked innocently.
Gary stared hard at Q. A frown slowly crossing his face and somewhere far away thunder crashed in the distance.