The Rise of the Empire

Chapter 19

I could regret all of this later, but I first had to deal with the crowd that surged over towards me and the Death Watch officers.

I ran down the opposite hall. There was a lift, so I took it and ran back to our room and locked the door. I needed to wait until we landed to do anything more.

To kill time, I decided to take a nap. I didn't realize how tired I was until I layed down and closed my eyes...drifting off into a deep sleep...
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When I woke up, the "we have almost reached our destination" announcement was being called over the loudspeaker. I got up and started packing our things. Instead of going directly to Alderaan, I was goin g to make a quick stop at the temple to drop off Lux's stuff and take a fighter to see Hondo.

I changed into something different so that I wouldn't be as easily spotted or recognized. Then, I made my way towards the landing platform.

It was a rainy day on Courascaunt. I walked off the ship and began to run to the bus station. There were Imperial Transports everywhere, which made it hard to stay hidden. Seeing that my options were limited, I went for the nearest transport. It took me close enough to the temple, but I had to walk a ways to get there.

I walked in the front door of the temple. That was one thing that a Jedi never used to do. There were landing platforms and stuff like that to get in, and visitors used the front doors. Now, the circumstances have changed.

I wasted no time finding my room and dropping off our stuff. Afterwards, I went to go find whoever else was here. I assumed Boba was, but you never know.

I found him in the archives. Kanan must have left. I walked up to him.

"Where is everyone else?"

"They are all dead. The Empire killed every single one of them except the one who came with you. He left after dropping you off."

"Oh. And Barriss? Did she survive?"

He didn't answer. I took that as a no. I sat down.

"I did the best I could. There were just so many of them. I couldn't save everyone."

"I undertstand. Thanks for trying. I guess I have to pay you now so you can do other things."

He nodded, and I handed him a case of credits. Then, he left.

The temple looked abandoned. There wasn't any evidence of a massacre, however, except the blast marks on the walls. I decided to leave them there as a reminder of the past.

I decided to contact Hondo and figure out where Lux is. I found a communications table and tried a few tricks master Skywalker had taught me. Within 5 minutes, Hondo was on the other end of the transmission.

"Ah, what do you want this time Jedi? Your friend? Hm. Sad thing is, I have already agreed to ransom him to the Empire for a large price. Don't worry. Until they arrive, he will be in...um...good care." The transmission then showed Lux in an electric holding cell being zapped repeatedly. The pirates seemed to be having the time of their lives.

"Hondo, you don't know how hard you make it to do anything without getting it personal. I suggest you release him before I get there and do it myself."

"And why, my friend, would I do that? Bad for business! You shoud have figured it out by now! No. Your friend will not be going anywhere until he becomes profit."

I took a deep breath. "Hondo, you have no idea how frustrating you are." And with that I cut the transmission. Looks like I had to do this the hard way.