The Ruins of Dantooine (27 page)

“The escape pod’s been jettisoned,” one of the others told him.

With the last bit of strength she had, Dusque placed her hand on Luke’s arm and struggled to sit up. “You’ve got to stop him,” she whispered, “before he gets back to his base. Finn is a …” She fell back weakly before she could say the word
traitor.

“Blast,” he said. “This anticoagulant isn’t clotting her fast enough.” He ordered one of the Rebel soldiers to retrieve something from their ship.

“Not important,” Dusque mumbled. “You’ve got to stop him. Not important …” Her voice trailed off and her lids started to close.

“Yes, you are,” she heard the young man with the ancient eyes whisper in her ear, and she wondered
if that would be the last thing she ever heard. Before she faded away, she realized it was a worthy eulogy.

“You
are
important,” he said.

The heavy mists blanketed the Emperor’s Retreat like a shroud. Standing a solitary watch was a rigid figure. Dressed in dark clothes, Finn listened to the lonely cry of the peko peko. For some reason, the sound reminded him of a woman wailing. Even though it was raining lightly, he didn’t seek shelter, as though he wasn’t worthy of any protection from the elements. Or perhaps, it was because he didn’t seem to feel anything anymore.

“Commander Darktrin,” a deep voice called.

Finn turned about and marched off the stone balcony into a lushly carpeted hallway. The gold-trimmed crimson rug was meant to look sumptuous, but now it reminded Finn of a river of blood—and no matter where he turned, he had to walk through it. Standing in the center of the hall was Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. His black armor gleamed like polished ebony, although it seemed that rather than reflect light, it took it all in to some secret place like a black hole. The only sound besides the rain was his mechanical breathing.

Finn had only been in Vader’s presence a few times in his service to the Empire. Three of those occasions had been to witness the deaths of men who had failed in their duty to the Dark Lord. Because Finn had been instructed to retrieve and return with the Jedi holocron, he suspected he knew what was about to happen. Strangely, he didn’t feel afraid; he just felt numb. It was as though when he had stabbed Dusque in the heart, he had cut out his own, as well.

“Yes, Lord Vader?” he asked respectfully.

“Your transmission from the Rebel shuttle was incomplete,” Darth Vader began without preamble.

Finn lowered his head. “I understand, my lord. I failed in my task to the Emperor.”

“Yes,” Vader agreed heavily.

“I welcome any punishment you deem fit,” Finn said, raising his head to stare into the skull-like breath mask that forever hid the Sith Lord’s face from view.

Finn stood for some time in Vader’s presence. Not a word was uttered. The only sound remained the heavy intake and exhalation of Vader’s breathing. Unconsciously, Finn found himself breathing in time with him. He did not turn away from Vader’s unblinking stare.

“While it was incomplete,” Vader eventually continued, as he started walking down the hallway, “several names did come through.” He paused and waited for Finn to walk by his side. “So, in a
broader sense, the mission was not a total failure,” Vader continued.

“What will you do?” Finn asked.

“Several different agents will be dispatched soon enough to remove the Rebel threat from our midst,” the Dark Lord explained. “Since you have been gone, we have had an increase in recruits. Some show great promise, while others …” He left the statement unfinished.

“And the others, my lord?” Finn inquired, not out of any real interest but because he felt it was required of him.

“And when the others die in their attempts, it will be no great loss,” the Dark Lord finished without any emotion.

“While I have decided to let you live,” Vader continued, “I have not yet decided what punishment is fitting for your failure.”

“I understand, my lord.”

“I am somewhat at a loss to understand,” Vader continued, “why you were not able to transfer the holocron over to my agents at the Dantooine outpost.”

“My lord, I did not realize the woman had placed those charges around the base. I was caught as off guard as the other agents were.”

“Ah,” Vader breathed. “The woman you killed aboard the shuttle.”

“Yes,” Finn said, almost tripping over the words. “She turned out not to be what I had anticipated.”

“Still, you put an end to any threat she might
have posed to the Empire. That is partly why I don’t retire you now. And the other,” he rasped, “is because is I still sense great potential in you.”

They walked in silence again. Eventually, Vader stopped and looked at him. “And what of the Rebel base on Corellia? In your report, you make mention of it, and yet I don’t see the coordinates listed anywhere.”

Finn stared at Vader for a long time before he spoke. “The reason is simple enough, my lord,” he eventually said. “When I was taken to the secret location, the Rebels were in the process of breaking it down and emptying the buildings. Former Princess Leia Organa mentioned that they were about to relocate offworld and would send a transmission when we contacted them after our departure for Dantooine.

“Because the woman on board began to suspect my identity, I had to eliminate her before I could find out where they had relocated,” he finished.

Vader nodded. “I see,” he hissed. “Very well,” he said after a brief pause, “we are done for now, Commander.”

Finn saluted and turned to go, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him. Thinking he had nothing to lose, he turned back and cleared his throat. “My lord?” he asked.

“What is it, Commander?” Even though he spoke through a breath mask, there was no mistaking the chill in his tone.

“You said that you sensed potential in me. What did you mean by that?”

Vader walked back to Finn and looked down at him. “You have always been a faithful servant to us,” he began, “but since your return, you seem cleansed.”

“My lord?”

“I sense anger in you where there was none before. And that fire will burn and purify you over time. I am willing to give you that time. For now.” And with that, he turned and departed.

Finn didn’t know what to make of the Sith Lord’s pronouncement. He wandered aimlessly and found himself back on the balcony, watching the clouded sky darken as night drew near.

He’s right
, Finn thought.
I am angry. Vader thinks I’m angry with the Rebels, but I know the truth. I’m angry with me.

The clouds continued to thicken, denying Finn a view of the stars. He leaned his hands against the cold stone railing and stared at the night. He squeezed his eyes shut, but all he could see behind his lids was Dusque’s face. She haunted his every waking moment.

He realized that it was probably some members of the Rebel Alliance who had boarded their shuttle after he’d left. If they had reached her in time, Dusque might have survived. They would have had to return to Corellia with her, however. Her injury was too severe for a medkit to heal. The only gift he had left to give her was safety. So he had lied to
Vader and the others about the location of their base. His heart was his last gift.

The gray skies only served to remind him of Dusque’s eyes, and he realized he had no way of learning if she was alive. He placed a callused hand against his heart, and the single tear he shed became meaningless and insignificant in the rain.

Dusque leaned against the railing and looked out at the Corellian sky. Talus was visible, as well as a few other celestial bodies she recognized. But she wasn’t really looking at them. The dark sky reminded her of Finn’s eyes, and how she could almost lose herself in them. Even though he was gone, she remembered every line of his face. What troubled her most was the look he had worn when he had stabbed her in the chest. She couldn’t decipher it, and that haunted her. Absently she scratched at the mostly healed scar near her breastbone and didn’t notice that a door had opened behind her.

“What are you doing standing out there in the cold? You shouldn’t even be on your feet yet.”

Dusque turned at the sound to see that Princess Leia had entered her chamber. The woman was always in motion, Dusque thought, and she wondered when she ever found time to rest. Dressed in white, her long hair tied back, she seemed more mythical than real at times.

Dusque shifted completely around but made no
move to step inside. Her sandy hair blew around her in the breeze like a living thing. “If it hadn’t have been for you—” she nodded to Luke, who was right behind Leia, “—I wouldn’t be standing at all.” And she grinned ruefully at him.

He’s blushing
, she thought.

“I’m glad I was there in time,” he said sincerely.

“Yes,” Leia said. “I don’t think you would have survived without him.”

“No,” Dusque agreed, and rubbed at her scar again. “Why were you following?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.

“I had a feeling,” Luke told her.

“His feelings have a way of turning out to be right,” Leia explained. “But when he told me there was something not right about one of you, I’m afraid that I thought it was you. I didn’t know you then,” she added, and Dusque got the sense that she was apologizing.

“It’s all right,” Dusque said easily. “Finn fooled me, too. Here I was, thinking that I was going to face the enemy, and he was with me all along, like some false shadow. I’m sorry I didn’t learn the truth before he got his hands on the holocron. What do you think happened to him?”

“Since our scouts haven’t seen or heard anything, I can only assume that either he died in space or was executed for not fulfilling his mission. Otherwise,” Leia reasoned, “he would have exposed us and our base, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“What’ll happen now?” Dusque asked, uncertain if Leia’s hypothesis made her feel better or worse.

“Well,” Leia said with authority, “we were able to get all the information from the shuttle. As best as our technicians can tell, it appears that Finn downloaded the data from the holocron, but wasn’t able to transmit all of it to the Empire.”

“Do you know what names he managed to send out?” Dusque asked.

“No,” Leia replied seriously. “The technicians can tell how many packets of information were sent out, but they can’t say which.”

Dusque shook her head. “So what will you do now?”

“I will be sending out agents to every name that we retrieved, not only to activate them but to warn them, as well. Since we have no way of knowing who might be in danger, we’ll have to find them all.” Leia sighed. “It won’t be any small task, either. These people are spread throughout the galaxy.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to destroy the holocron sooner,” Dusque told her.

“Don’t be,” Leia consoled. “You did all that you could.”

“Dusque,” Luke said, and looked at her earnestly, “you did the right thing. And I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

He turned to the Princess. “Leia, we’ll talk later about this?”

“Yes,” the Princess replied. And with that, the ex-farm-boy from Tatooine left.

Leia faced Dusque, and her brown eyes softened. “I should go and let you get some rest.” She laid a gentle hand on Dusque’s shoulder. “You do still need it. And I’m sure one of our surgical droids can remove that scar.”

Dusque moved one hand up to trace the long, knotted lump of scar tissue. “No,” she said eventually. “I want to keep it. It’ll remind me where my heart is.” And she grew silent.

“You will always have a place here, with us,” Leia told her.

Dusque looked at Leia. “Thank you.” She held out her hand and Leia clasped it warmly, covering it with both of hers.

“No,” she corrected Dusque gently, “Thank you. I could not be more proud of your actions if you were my own sister.”

Dusque lowered her gaze, suddenly moved. Leia released her hand and started to leave. As she reached the door, she turned and was once again a commander in chief. “Now get back into bed. That’s an order.”

Dusque smiled. She thought again how tactful Leia was, always seeming to know the right thing to
say at the right time. The ex-Senator must have been a very effective politician in her time.

Dusque walked back out onto the balcony. One thing that hadn’t changed was that she still felt more comfortable under the stars than under a roof. She was glad there was a certain amount of constancy still left in her life.

“Ah, Finn,” she said aloud. There was no hiding the bitterness in her voice. “I look at the sky and I see you.” For a moment, she couldn’t speak, couldn’t even think about the pain he had caused her.

Although she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, she was filled with hatred. Much of it was directed at Finn. She hated him for being weak, for betraying her and the Rebel Alliance, for not loving her enough to leave behind his allegiance to the Emperor. But most of all, she hated herself for still loving him.

“It’s because of you that I’m here. That much I owe you,” she admitted. She thought about what Leia had said about Finn being dead, but couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it. It was the only explanation that made sense; otherwise the Imperial forces would have already come down on their heads. And yet, she doubted.

The wind picked up, but Dusque didn’t notice the cold. She stared out at the stars, her hair blowing about her face in a great cloud. Besides hatred, she was filled with a great conviction.

“You’re out there, somewhere,” she whispered
into the night. “When we meet again, we will both know who we are: a traitor and a Rebel soldier. May the Force help us both.”

I would like to thank Eban Trey, my favorite Rodian, for showing me around the galaxy, and my husband, Roderic, my favorite test player. And a special thank-you to Sue Rostoni and Haden Blackman for all their information and guidance. Finally, to Shelly Shapiro for steering me through the whole project.