Chapter Seven

 

 

As Aerick stepped out of the simulator, he realized his flight suit was drenched in sweat. It was no surprise, seeing as how he’d been in the simulator for over an hour. He had flown two simulated missions. The first mission was escorting the fleet to Sullust before the battle of Endor. After succeeding at that mission, he was put through the battle of Endor for a second time. However, unlike the first time he flew it, this was a simulation. And, unlike the first time he flew it, this time, he was shot down just as he was escaping from the exploding Death Star. As he stepped out of the simulator, he was confronted by Krinu.

“Yes, Lieutenant Commander? Can I help you?”

“Sir, what’s going on?”

“I was re-qualifying,” Aerick said, pulling off his helmet. “I thought that was obvious.”

“That’s not what I mean, sir.”

“Then perhaps you’d better explain yourself, Lieutenant Commander.”

“Well, Commander Sandskimmer hasn’t left her quarters since 2100.”

“That’s not that bad. Maybe she’s still asleep.”

“Sir, I meant to say that she hasn’t left her quarters since 2100 two days ago.”

“Two days? Damn. Can you talk to her?”

“I tried, sir. She says she doesn’t want to be bothered.”

“Dark Lords of the Sith. This is all my fault.”

“Sir?”

“Never mind. Can you finish up for me here? I have to go do something.”

“Aye, sir.” Aerick spun on his heel and headed towards Crystal’s quarters.

“Whaddya wanna bet that something’s going on there?” Flight Officer Renn Shrike asked Krinu.

“No bet. There is. I know it for a fact.”

 

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Aerick walked down the hall and stopped in front of Crystal’s door. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his flightsuit and pressed the door chime.

“Go ‘way,” A muffled female voice called from inside. Aerick pressed the door chime again. “I said, go away!” The voice cried. Aerick sighed and punched in a sequence on the door’s locking panel. The door clicked and opened. Aerick stepped into Crystal’s quarters and the door closed behind him, plunging the room back into near darkness. He let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting and took a step towards the bed. Crystal was lying on the bed, still wearing the same outfit she met Aerick in two days prior. Aerick sat down on the bed next to Crystal and placed his hand on the small of her back. She started, then sat up and whirled around, holding a vibroblade to Aerick’s throat. When her eyes focused on his visage, she gasped and dropped the blade into Aerick’s lap. He placed the weapon on a table and wrapped his arm around Crystal. She fell into his arms and started crying. Aerick stroked his hand through her hair as she cried and whispered words of comfort.

The pair sat on Crystal’s bed for about a half hour, Aerick holding Crystal while she cried. The pair were silent, aside from Crystal’s sniffling and Aerick’s murmured words of comfort. As her sniffling slowed, she stood and walked into the refresher. She walked out a few minutes later, her eyes dry and puffy and her clothes a little cleaner. Aerick stood and straightened his flightsuit.

“Feeling better?” He asked, breaking the silence. Crystal nodded. “I think we need to talk,” Aerick continued. “About what happened the other day.” Crystal nodded again, taking a drink of water.

“That’s better,” she said, clearing her throat. “Yes, I think we should talk. I want to apologize about…”

“No,” Aerick interrupted. “You have nothing to apologize about. It was all…”

Aerick was interrupted as the ship’s alert lighting.

“Come on, Crystal. I need you functioning. Can you fly?”

“Yeah. C’mon.”

 

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Aerick sprinted towards his X-wing, Crystal jogging alongside him almost effortlessly. As they passed her ship, she broke off and jumped up to grab the ladder leading into her cockpit. Aerick’s X-wing was sitting right next to hers and he climbed up into his cockpit, donning his helmet as the canopy closed.

“Savior, begin power-up procedures,” Aerick addressed his R2 unit as he input his authorization code. Savior tootled and the X-wing’s four engines started whining as Aerick flipped the switch that started the power converters and sent power thrumming through the ship. His comm went active a few moments later.

“High Flight Squadron, this is Lead. Call ‘em off by number.”

“This is Two, four lit and in the green.”

“This is Three, primed and ready.”

“This is Four, active.”

As the rest of the squadron called off their readiness, Aerick dialed his inertial compensator down to 98 percent and shunted engine power to his shields, charging them to 200 percent. As soon as High Flight Twelve reported in, Aerick switched over to the main comm channel.

“Control, this is High Flight Lead. What’s going on?”

“HF Lead, we’ve received a distress signal from an area near the Obroa-Skai system. We’re scrambling two squadrons of fighters, you and Lightflash, to answer the call. Allegiance will be following as soon as possible.”

“Copy. You heard Control, High Flight. Let’s go.” Aerick kicked in his repulsorlifts and shot out of the Redemption’s hanger. He was followed moments later by the rest of the squadron. “Savior, I need a course.” His R2 tootled and a string of coordinates scrolled across his translation screen. “Thanks. Transmit that to the squadron. Oh, and get that to Lightflash Squadron too.” Savior warbled. “All right, High Flight. Hyper on my mark.”

“Lightflash, hyper on his mark,” another voice called over the comm.

“Coming up on our jump point. Hyperspace in three…two…one…mark.” The two squadrons leapt into hyperspace with a flicker of pseudo-motion.

The jump lasted ten minutes, and, upon reversion, they noticed that the space surrounding Obroa-Skai was littered with the remains of four Assault Frigates and almost three wings of X-wings. An Imperial-class Star Destroyer was visible for a moment, then it vanished with a flicker of pseudo-motion as it jumped into hyperspace. Immediately, Aerick’s comm unit lit up.

“Obroa-Skai Control, this is the New Republic Squadrons High Flight and Lightflash.”

“Thank the Force you arrived. We were afraid our distress call would go unanswered.”

“What happened here?”

“It looks like a hit-and-fade attack. One Star Destroyer, identity unknown. When the New Republic sentry craft entered the system…I…I can’t explain it. Four Assault Frigates should’ve been more than a match for a single Star Destroyer.”

“Why was that Star Destroyer here?”

“I don’t know. We think they were doing a data-dump, but what they were looking for…we just don’t know. We think they were related to an earlier attempt to slice into our central computers.”

“An earlier attempt?”

“A couple of scout ships were hanging around. We tried to follow, but we lost them.”

“I see. Allegiance will be here any moment to follow up. We’re going to check out the debris from those Assault Frigates.” As Aerick was talking, the Allegiance dropped out of hyperspace and entered into a standard orbit above the planet.

“High Flight Lead, this is Lightflash Lead. We’re returning to Allegiance.”

“Copy. Warm up the caf. We’ll be there shortly,” Aerick quipped.

“Roger, High Flight. We’ll keep your chairs warm.”

“Thanks, Lightflash. High Flight, form up. We’ll make a few flybys and then return to Allegiance.”

A flurry of comm clicks followed his statement. He pulled his X-wing into a tight turn and angled towards the remains of the Assault Frigates.

“Savior, punch up sensors to full. I want a full scan for life-signs, active electronics and anything that might signify an area that would be able to contain an atmosphere that could support life.” His R2 tootled an affirmative and started scanning the closest of the ships.

“Three, take half the squadron and check out the more distant wrecks. We’ll take these ones.”

“Copy, Lead. Eight through Twelve, follow me. Bring your sensors on-line and search for anything anomalous.”

“Lead, this is Four. I’ve got something on my scanners.”

“Savior, patch into Four’s astromech. Download what he has, then send it to my screen.” Savior warbled an affirmative. A moment later, the picture of a group of huddled, body-shaped thermal images showed up on Aerick’s screen.

“Four, which ship are you scanning?”

“The near one.”

“Copy. Allegiance, this is High Flight Lead. We need a rescue shuttle here. We’ve found survivors.”

“Allegiance, this is High Flight Three. Better make that two shuttles. We have survivors here, too.”

“Uh, make that three shuttles, Allegiance. Found survivors here, too.”

“High Flight, this is Allegiance. We’re sending out four shuttles. They’ll take over for you. Meanwhile, you guys come on back.”

“Copy. You heard the man, guys. Let’s head home.”

 

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When the squadron returned to Allegiance, Aerick and Crystal walked towards their quarters.

“Did Redemption send over the squadron’s stuff?” Aerick asked.

“Yeah,” Crystal replied. “Some of the crew members sent the boxes over to our quarters.”

“Good.” As they came to Aerick’s quarters, Crystal slowed and stopped a few steps away.

“Aerick, we need to talk.”

“I agree. But do we have to do it out here?”

“You’re right. Let’s go inside.” As the pair stepped into Aerick’s quarters, Crystal spun him around and planted a kiss on his cheek.

“What was that for?” Aerick asked, bringing his hand up and brushing the spot she had kissed.

“I wanted to say thank you.”

“For what?” Aerick seemed a little confused at this.

“You could’ve turned me in for that little breakdown I had.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I wasn’t in my right mind. According to Fleet Regulations, you could’ve grounded me for it.”

“Why would I want to do that?” Aerick asked, sitting down on his bunk. “After all, if it weren’t for you, I’d be dead and the squadron would be without a leader. I would never think of grounding you for something like that. I might suggest some help, but I would never ground you.”

“That’s…that’s very generous of you,” Crystal said, sitting down next to Aerick.

“Commander…Crystal, before we were scrambled, you were going to tell me something.”

“I was?” Crystal furrowed her brow as she tried to think. “I remember you coming to my quarters. But I don’t remember what happened.”

“Commander, have you ever done this before?”

“Done what?”

“Shut out painful memories.”

“I don’t understand,” Crystal looked at Aerick quizzically. “What are you talking about?”

“Crystal, do you remember what happened the second time you came to visit me on Redemption?”

“I only visited you once.”

“I knew it. You are blocking out painful memories, aren’t you?”

“What in the name of the Force are you talking about?” Crystal looked even more confused than before. She pulled one leg up on the bed and tucked it under her thigh.

“You’re telling me you don’t remember what happened?”

“No, I honestly don’t.”

“You don’t remember almost killing me?” Crystal gasped when she heard this.

“No. It’s not possible.” She put her hand over her mouth. “I would never hurt you!”

“It was my fault. I provoked you into releasing your anger. Your eyes blazed with anger, you balled your fists and, somehow, started choking the life out of me.”

“No…no, it’s not true!” Tears started welling up in her eyes.

“You stopped, though. You didn’t kill me. I called you Sith before I blacked out.”

“Why? Why did you do that?” She asked in an accusing tone. A tear started rolling down her cheek a moment later. “Why did you put me through that?”

“I told you that. I wanted you to release tension and to get you to stop bottling up your emotions.”

“You never told me that!”

“I did. The third time you visited me. I told you that, apologized for provoking you and asked you to talk to me about what was bothering you.”

Crystal sniffed, trying to hold in the tears. “And then what?”

“And then, you kissed me.”

“You’re right. I remember that. I kissed you and then…what? I don’t remember what happened after that.”

“I think you do remember. Crystal, you need to let go. Concentrate.”

“Okay. Give me a minute or two.” She closed her eyes and crossed her legs, slipping into a meditative trance. Aerick got up and started putting his quarters in order, waiting for her to remember.

 

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“Renn, what are you doing?” Renn jumped as he heard Krinu’s voice behind him. He spun around and saw her, her arms folded across her chest.

“Dark Lords of the Sith! Krinu, don’t DO that!”

“Renn, were you trying to spy on our CO?”

“No, of course not. I was just…uh…”

“Admit it. You were trying to find out what’s going on between Captain Needa and Commander Sandskimmer.”

“Okay, so I was. So what?”

“What does it matter to you?”

“I’m curious. I wanna try and help.”

“I don’t think Captain Needa and Commander Sandskimmer need your help. Come on, let me buy you a drink.”

“Really? Thanks!”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re a very exuberant person?” Krinu asked as they walked towards the pilot’s lounge.

“No. I really don’t talk to a lot of people.”

“Why not?”

“I just don’t feel comfortable talking to a lot of people.”

“Uh huh. Well, do you want to go grab a cup of caf in the lounge?”

“Sure. Why not.

 

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“I remember,” Crystal said. Aerick bolted upright in the chair he had fallen asleep in.

“I wasn’t asleep!” He said automatically.

“It’s okay, sir. How long have I been meditating?”

Aerick checked the chrono on the wall. “About six hours.”

“That long?”

“I know. I cleaned up my quarters, then dozed off about three hours ago. Anyhow, you said you remember. What do you remember?”

“Everything. I remember things that happened a few days ago. And things that happened a few years ago. And I know why I’ve been blocking them out.”

She stood and picked up a glass, filling it with water. She drank, emptying the glass and refilled it.

“You know I’m a Jedi, of course. But you don’t know I was trained by my grandmother. She was one of the most powerful Jedi Masters of the Old Republic. But, she wasn’t that well known. Probably because she lived on Tatooine and kept her nose out of the Hutt’s business. Which was too bad, because she could’ve been the one to train Anakin Skywalker and he never would’ve turned to the Dark Side.”

“Anakin Skywalker…where’ve I heard that name before?”

“He was trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi and married the Queen of a little known planet called Naboo. She had twins, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.”

“Oh, right. That’s where I heard it. He turned to the dark side and became known as Darth Vader.”

“That’s right. Anyhow, when I was five, my grandmother started training me to be a Jedi. My training was intensive and lasted ten years. When I was fourteen, I went out to trade with the Lars family. I knew their nephew, Luke pretty well. My older sister, Falynn, didn’t like him.”

“Falynn Sandskimmer? The deceased Wraith Squadron pilot? She was your sister?”

“Yes. Not many people know that. And I want you to promise me you’ll keep your mouth shut about it,” Crystal said, shooting Aerick a poisonous glance.

“Of course, Commander. My lips are sealed.”

“Anyhow, I went to the Lars farm to trade and, when I arrived, the place had been destroyed. I saw the family landspeeder flying away and I left, following it. I followed him to a junked Jawa Sandcrawler, then followed him, Obi-Wan and two droids to Mos Eisley. I was about to follow them through town when I received a call from my mom on my comlink.

“She told me that I had to return. My grandmother had been killed in an Imperial raid. Apparently, Darth Vader had learned of her existence and sent a squad of Stormtroopers out to apprehend my grandmother. She fought them off and started to pack. She was caught a quarter mile from our farm and confronted by Vader. According to my dad, who was watching with macrobinoculars, a lightsaber battle ensued. My grandmother was teaching me to use her lightsaber, a dual bladed, staff-like weapon. Unfortunately, Vader was too powerful. She was struck down and died.” Crystal sighed. “I blamed myself for the longest time, telling myself that, if I had been there, she could have lived. I know now that what I believed was impossible. I was only fourteen and a half-trained apprentice.

“When I was going through my grandmother’s things about a year or so later, I found a Jedi holocron.”

“A what?”

“It’s like a miniature holoprojector. But, instead of playing holodramas, the holocron stores the brainwave patterns of any Jedi who fashioned it. It is normally used for training and historical purposes. And, it can detect how much training a Jedi has undergone and withhold information that the student is not ready to learn.”

“So, even if you keep accessing it every year, you’ll never know how much there is to learn.”

“That’s right. When I accessed my grandmother’s holocron, I was able to complete most of my training. She pointed me to the planet Dagobah. She told me to seek out a short, green alien named Yoda. She gave me the coordinates of the planet. I borrowed my father’s ship, a Skipray Blastboat and headed towards Dagobah. As I was heading down to the planet, I saw another ship leaving on the far side of the planet. It was a Rebel X-wing and it was speeding away from the planet like a mynock on fire. I learned from Yoda that it was Luke Skywalker, heading to Bespin to save his friends. Yoda told me he couldn’t train me, as my training was almost complete. He said I had to confront myself before I could be considered a true Jedi Knight.

“I tried my hardest to figure out what he meant. I wanted to be a Jedi so badly. After a year of trying, I went back to Dagobah to ask what Yoda meant. However, when I landed this time, I saw Luke preparing to leave. I asked him what he was doing there and he told me that Yoda had died. He told me that he had a job to do and, with that, he left. As soon as he left, I saw something that scared me nearly to death. I saw Yoda.”

“You saw his body?”

“No. Well, yes and no. The only way I can describe it, is I saw a ghost.”

“That’s impossible.”

“No, it’s quite possible. You see, Yoda explained it. When a Jedi Master dies, his body fades away into nothingness. He said that Jedi are luminous beings and, when they die, they are able to come back in the form of a ‘luminous being.’ That’s really the best way to describe what I saw, now that I think about it.

“Anyhow, Yoda explained to me that I needed to face my fears, to face my past, and to face what I had become. He told me that, only by renouncing what I once was, can I become a True Jedi Knight.”

“What did he mean by that?”

“I don’t know. I asked, but he said that, only after I had been reduced to myself, would I understand.”

“And have you tried that?”

“Of course I tried. I meditated for days afterwards. I meditated for as long as I could. I touched the Force and searched as hard as I could. I saw visions…I can’t even begin to describe. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find what I was looking for. So, I started wandering the galaxy, searching for someone or something that could point me in the right direction.”

“Did you find anything?”

“No. Not yet. I joined Starfighter Command to help in my search.”

“That still doesn’t explain your reactions before when I goaded you into attacking me.”

“Well, I attacked you partly because I was angry. Angry at Yoda, angry at Vader, angry…at the universe in general. And partly because I wanted to feel important. I suppressed the memory because it was painful. Until you called me Sith, I didn’t know that I was attacking you. I thought I was attacking Vader. As soon as you said I was Sith, my vision cleared and I released you.

“I’m sorry for attacking you. Really, I am.”

“I understand, Commander.”

“It’s late, sir, and I’m sure you’re tired. I’ll let you get some sleep now.”

“I’ll be by in the morning, assuming nothing interrupts my sleep.”

“Good night, Aerick,” Crystal said, gently kissing him on the lips. Aerick blushed, then turned and walked out, grinning like a kid.