Alien Crossfire: Chapter 2

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Anakin Solo sat in his cabin staring at nothing. Every light he had was blazing, tossed against the wall of the room were the black pants which are all that remains of the set of Vader armor which he wore for so long. Part of him was glad that he was dressed in the browns and tans of Jedi robes again, while another part of him sorely missed the comforting weight of the armor.

Yet another weight has settled onto him though, a weight that has sunk onto his shoulders, lodging there and refusing to budge.

It was the weight of everything that had happened, the weight of everything that he had done. All the soldiers killed. All the Peace Brigade killed. The destruction of Myrkr. The slaves on the worldship orbiting Myrkr. Even the dead Vong.

Those weights accompanied the one that still clung to his heart over failing Tahiri. Of not being able to rescue her. Of leaving her body behind on Vjun.

The other large ache in his heart was for the Jedi he had killed due to his blind rage and grief. A weight as heavy as his failure to save Tahiri.

Corran.

The grief slammed into him once more. It was a palatable thing, heavy and suffocating. Anakin’s body hitched slightly from the sobs that he was restraining, and he screwed his fist against his eyes tightly, trying to keep from just breaking down into tears.

The door buzzed and Anakin looks at it for a second. A nicety is all that was. He was under no pretenses that he was not a prisoner here, under guard, his door locked from the outside, anyone but him able to come and go as they pleased.

And as far as he was concerned that is how it should be.

The door buzzed a second time, and he realized that whoever wanted to see him was going to stand on protocols. "Come."

The door slid open revealing Luke Skywalker standing there. Anakin could smell the pungent aroma of bacta, and assumed that his uncle had received bacta patches for the wounds he received in the fight they had.

He glanced away from Luke, not wanting to make eye contact, but an odd gurgling noise dragged his attention back to his uncle.

Luke stepped into the room, and the door closed behind him, the silence laid heavy and thick around them. Both of them were suffering from the same thing, the same pain, the same grief and neither was sure how to react to the other.

"I brought someone for you to meet."

Luke sat on the cot next to Anakin, levering his arms slightly to reveal a small infant, a little over six months old, wrapped tightly in a blanket. The only exposed skin was a smooth face, featuring a slightly upturned nose and a small dimple on the chin. Anakin looked down at the tiny being, amazement decorating his face.

"His name is Ben."

Anakin watched his cousin for a few minutes. Finally he leaned back, and focused his attention on Luke.

"What’s going to happen to Nelani?"

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You’re not concerned about yourself?"

Anakin shrugged slightly. "I betrayed you and the Jedi. I killed Corran. I gave into my hate and anger. I let my need for revenge override my common sense and what I knew was good and right. I destroyed Mrykr." He looked down, tracing a pattern on the sheet with his finger. "Whatever my fate is, I will accept it. I know I probably deserve worse. But Nelani… Nelani didn’t do any of that. She’s innocent and will make a good Jedi." He did not say "unlike me" even though that was what he was thinking.

Luke stared at him for a moment. "Nelani has been assigned to Master Tionne to finish her training. We need all the Jedi we can get. I would like to think that would include you as well."

"I don’t deserve it."

Luke stood up. "Maybe, maybe not. I’m sure Mara would say I am just being naïve, but I don’t think you’ll fall again. You know what it’s like now. You know how the Dark feels. You know where that line is. Are you going to cross it again?"

Anakin looked up at his uncle, and could feel the tears threatening to fall once more. "I don’t know. I honestly don’t know if I’ll cross it or not. I want to say I’ll never do it again, I want to make that promise, but I honestly don’t know if I would be able to keep it."

Luke nods his head. "I wouldn’t have expected any other answer. Now come on."

He stands up from the bed, walking towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

Luke turns slightly to face him, and lets out a small snort of amusement. "You’ve been locked in this room for nearly a week now. You need to get a bit of exercise or you’ll go soft. And I can’t have my Jedi going soft now can I?"

Anakin opened his mouth to speak, but was not surprised when nothing came out. It took a moment for his mind to finish wrapping itself around what his uncle had just said. As comprehension dawned, he dropped back down onto the bed.

"You-you still want me to be a Jedi?"

Luke chuckled slightly. "Like I said, Mara might have called me naïve, but I always believed that everyone deserves a second chance."

Anakin could feel his mouth working again, but did not hear any sound coming out of it. A second chance? A chance to still be a Jedi?

"I don’t deserve it, Uncle Luke. I failed. I promised you that I wouldn’t fall to the Dark Side, but I did."

Luke inhaled deeply and slowly blew it out. "Anakin, you made some mistakes, and did a lot of damage. I’m not saying you didn’t, but now you need to more forward. If you want to consider it atonement for what you’ve done that’s fine, but you’re still my apprentice, and I’m still going to train you to be a Jedi."

Anakin stood and bowed his head quickly. "I understand Uncle Luke."

"Good, now it is time for you to practice."

Luke walked from the room, Anakin close on his heels. Together they got on a turbolift and dropped seven decks. The doors slid open, and side-by-side they walked through the halls until they came to a training room. Anakin paused, recognizing the room number.

"What’s wrong Anakin?"

"When Tahiri told me that she wanted to go on that supply run with me and Corran, I was in this room." He gave his head a quick shake, trying to dispel the memories. "Sorry Uncle Luke."

Then he stepped forward, and the doors slide open and he could hear the distinctive sounds of lightsabers being used in combat.

He felt his pulse quicken, a lightness coming to his step. There was something instinctively drawing to him about the sounds of a lightsaber in motion. The hums and buzzes, the crackle of two blades as they slammed against one another.

Some of his fondest memories had occurred when he had his saber in his hand.

Then his grief sliced through him once more as he remembered that it was some of his darkest nightmares that he had carried out with a saber in his hand.

Shunting those thoughts and memories away he looked at the three people gathered in the room. One was an older woman about his uncle’s age, with long silver hair, pointed ears and mother-of-pearl eyes; the second was a man a few years older than his uncle with short white-blond hair. Kam and Tionne Salusar, the married couple who ran the Jedi Academy most of the time. The third person in the room was the one who had attracted Anakin’s attention. She was around his age, with long black hair, pulled into a tight braid.

Nelani.

The last time he had seen her she had been wearing the thin medical garments used by those being dipped in bacta, today she was dressed in the training outfits she always seemed to prefer. Form-fitting leggings and a halter top.

He whispered her name. "Nelani."

Sighing, he felt some of the weight lift from his shoulders as he watched her slide through various movements as she dueled against Kam. She moved with a dancer’s grace, and attacked with a Noghri’s speed and cunning. He could feel the slight stretching of the burn scar on his face which he now associated with smiling as he watched her.

He has missed her, and was enjoying just being in her presence.

As he watched, she paused in her movements, and glanced his way a smile breaking out on her face as Kam swiped his blade in, and knocked hers out of her hands, sending it flying against the wall.

"Point."

Tionne’s musical laughter rang through the room as Nelani began to blush furiously, rushing over to retriever her saber. "Sorry Master."

Kam shook his head. "You need to focus. When you’re in battle keep your mind on what you are doing. Where you are at. But knowing who entered the room is also a good thing to know."

Anakin glanced at his uncle, noting that his face has fallen once more into the stillness that he had always called his uncle’s "Jedi-face." It was a sure sign that this was some type of test, and Anakin had to wonder who the test was for.

He turned his attention back to Nelani and Kam, and noticed that they were discussing something intently, some of the finer points of lightsaber handling or maintenance as they were each waving their unlit sabers. He tried to keep a smile off his face as he noticed that she kept casting glances towards him. An action that was not lost on the older master.

Finally with his body chuckling with laughter, he dismissed her. She gave a quick bow, and darted to Anakin, throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing it tightly.

He was surprised to find his own arms clinging tightly around her slim waist.

Her voice was warm against his ear. "I’ve missed you Anakin."

She leaned away from him slightly, her smile brightening her eyes. He brushed an errant lock of hair from her face, gently tucking it behind her ear.

"And I, you."

Luke’s gentle cough reminded them that they were not alone, and Nelani skittered back away from him, a blush once more turning her cheeks red, even as Anakin feel the fire on his own cheeks.

Her voice was timid. "Sorry Master."

"Do you feel up to sparring against Anakin?"

Anakin watched as a smile once more brightened her face, and can feel a smile stretching his own once again.

"Oh yes please Master!"

Luke held out something to Anakin. "Take it Anakin."

Anakin looked down at wha twas in Luke’s hand, recognizing the hilt of his lightsaber. Hesitatingly he reached out and grasped his saber for the first time in what has only been a week, but felt like a lifetime.

He walked out into the center of the room, still looking down at his weapon. Reaching it, he ignited it with a snap-hiss, and fell into some of the more simple katas, warming up, loosening his muscles after all the time he had spent locked in his room.

Then Nelani was there before him, her saber ignited, and giving a short bow. Anakin returned it and then hefted his saber into a mid-guard.

Nelani’s blade rose in an opposing guard, and she smiled at him. Her mouth moved as she silently spoke to him. He read her lips. I love you.

He grinned, a lopsided slash of the lips that made him look like his father. He replied in the same way, mouthed words without sound. I know.

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