Penance - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Whispers, Rumors and Cold Hard Facts

Shortly before her departure Vader sent the last bit of information that he was looking for.  The medical facility on Polis Massa is considered a sanctuary for Jedi on the run and he is hoping to find some information there about the comings and goings after the issue of order sixty six.  He doesn’t tell her what he is looking for just that he is interested in what happened there shortly after sixty six occurred.  He has preliminary records that were provided to him by the Inquisitors, but it isn’t complete enough and he wants her to get a more detailed account of the goings on in that facility.  He gave her a range of dates to look at and had told her to send everything once she had completed her task. 

Upon arriving on Polis Massa Penance finds that Vader has provided her with high security access to all of the facilities medical records.  She is under strict instruction not to reveal herself in any way.  As far as anyone knows she is there conducting a file search, which essentially is true.  It really doesn’t matter that she is a Sith. 

“Dark Lady of the Sith.”  She thinks to herself as she scans the daily logs for the dates that Vader has given her.  It is late and she has been at the scanner for hours checking data and cross referencing arrivals and departures, medical histories and treatments.  All in a vague attempt to try and see some theme where one might not exist.  Even with her new found dark powers, the long hours take their toll.
 
She thinks once more about her title and her role in all of this.  Sometimes it seems too unreal that she is now a Sith.  Still it is better to have some control in ones fate then none at all. 

Vader has only given her a few dates to research, but after the order there were so many coming into and going out of the center that it is proving difficult to sift through all the data.  The only thing of interest that she has seen so far was the appearance of Bail Organa in the facility records.  It struck a cord with her because he is a man of some wealth and could go to the best medical bays on Alderrann.  Why did he come here?  She made note of it and the fact that he arrived alone, but left with a newborn girl, also unusual.  She had known of Organa from her time on Alderran.  She also knew the little girl.  It is common knowledge that Bail and his wife had difficulty conceiving.  Perhaps he black marketed the child.  Highly unusual for the conservative Organa, but if he and his wife were desperate enough.  There was also another flight departure that day, but there was no destination, no flight number, and no vehicle registration.  There was just a blurb in the logs stating that a ship had left the center.  This is a little strange, but given the events that had unfolded at the time it was understandable if some things fell through the cracks.  She thought about including this in the report she has to send to Vader, but if this is the only thing she finds she knows he will be upset with her. 

She is about to give up for the evening when a security breach log pops up.  A flight had landed later that month, no registration, and no flight path.  After cross linking the landing with the security logs and reports she found that there was quite a disturbance with whatever landed.  The security reports stated that a lone cloaked figure made its way to their records department and downloaded everything that happened in the facility for around the same timeframe as the one Vader had given her. 

Penance licks her lips in anticipation.  Wide awake now she cross-references the reports with security filings.  Several troopers and some of the medical personnel were killed when trying to apprehend the figure.  It had made its way into the facility, found what it was looking for, killed many witnesses and left the center in less than fifteen minutes.  The best part is that all were killed with a light saber. 

Penance’s interested has been piqued.  This must be what Vader is looking for.  “How had the Inquisitors overlooked something of this magnitude.”  She thinks as she downloads all of the files.  She doesn’t know what would happen to the Inquisitors, but she has a suspicion that it won’t be pleasant. 

Once she has finished downloading the material she returns to her ship.  She transmits the data and is about to take some sedatives and sleep when and incoming message from Vader stops her.

“Return to my ship at once.”  Vader commands through the COM link.  Setting down the pills she plots an intercept course and enters hyper space.  With the course that she has laid in it will probably be a few hours before she reaches Vader’s ship.  Letting her mind go she eventually drifts off to sleep.

The next morning the troopers come to Kendra’s cell. She isn’t sure what is going to happen, but she’s sure that she isn’t going to be released.  To her surprise they escort her to a bay, give her her light saber back and are about to send her on her way.  She is making her way from the cargo bay to the docking bay when she spots him, one of the men that killed her husband.  As he turns to face her fully a sharp pain grips her abdomen.  It’s his face and his blade she sees cutting her open, spilling her unborn child on the deck of the ship. 

He sees her.  He recognizes her and winks knowingly as she stands there holding her stomach and weeping.  He approaches her and she moves back to the door to get out of the bay.

“Going somewhere, lovely.”  He snickers as he comes up to her.  “I must say that you look better than you did the last time I saw you.”

Her crying has become uncontrollable now as she begins to cower in the corner of the blast door arch. 

“Maybe we have time to catch up.  Relive some old times.” He leers at her, then bending over her to touch her face.  Looking around he sees that there is no one there.  Reaching out he pulls her up by her arm and says, “Maybe I’ll just take you with me for when I get lonely.”  Wrapping an arm around her waist he begins to pull her towards his ship. 

She struggles to loose his grip around her, but she is too caught up in her own anguish.  Her strength has failed her.  The more she struggles the tighter his grip around her is.

“Oh, we’re going to have so much fun together and I don’t even have to worry about knocking you up.”  He laughs. 

In the back of her mind she can hear the muffled sounds of her own anguish.  Everything is happening in slow motion for her.  The sounds of the bay are muffled and distorted.  In her mind her past comes crashing down around her.  She hears Vader prodding her on and her beloved Quinn.  She sees his face as it went slack when his spirit left him.  She sees her son.  Time grinds to a halt.

“Stop your sniveling.”  A voice commands her.  It’s like a slap in the face.  She
is being dragged she looks around the room to see who it is.  To her surprise the voice responds, “over here sharp stuff.”

Spinning her head around she catches her reflection the polished hull of a ship.  To her horror it’s her face, but the eyes of a Sith.

“So this is how it’s going to be, huh?”  The Sith-Kendra image replies as it floats over the curves of the ship.

“You’re going to let this man molest and abuse us and strip away what little dignity we have left?”  She asks herself.

“What can I do!!”  She responds back. 

“Huh?” Her attacker looks at her.  He pulls her head back using her hair.  “You’ll do what ever I want.”  He says pushing her head forward.

“I’m tired of this shit.”  Her reflection says it’s eyes burning orange against hull.  If you won’t do what’s needed here then I will.”  Kendra then feels as if she is falling down.  Desperately she tries to grab on to something to slow her decent and keep from crashing into the unknown.  Darkness enfolds her as she finds a foothold of something to cling to.  Unbeknowenced to her her body has gone limp.

“Eh,” is all he manages to say her dead weight drags him over.  He peers over her back, a big mistake for once he has leaned far enough, she plants her feet, shifts her weight forward making him compensate by pulling her back.  As he does she brings her head back as hard as she can and smashes in the man’s nose and mouth. 

Screaming in agony he releases her as his hands fly to his mouth and broken nose.  As he staggers back she pulls her light saber and faces him.

“Ou ucking itch!!”  He howls as his nose swells, “I’m oing to kill ou!!” 

“What’s a matter, lovely.  Can’t you handle little ol’ me?”  She says as they begin to circle on another.  “You can’t even get me aboard your ship.”

“I’m going to beat the arrogance right out of you and then we’ll have some fun.”  He grins lewdly at her while pulling his own saber from his belt.

She laughs at this statement.  “And what do you think you’re going to do with that bit of string between your legs.  Tickle me?”  She shouts back.

Enraged he reaches out to the dark side and finds strength within it.  “I’m going to make you beg for it.”

“Really?  The only thing I’m going to beg for is a book so I can fight off the boredom.”

Enraged he leaps at her igniting his saber at the same time.  Soon the fight is joined.

From the onset she is toying with him.  His form is solid, but slow.

“He’s thinking too much.  Not letting the force guide him as he should.  He’s being too picky; wants to impress me with his light saber knowledge.”

Sensing this crack in his form she reacts.  Subtley she retreats circling around to a more open area.  She feels his confidence growing as he moves forward gaining territory.  She fights just enough to keep him coming. 

Strike, counter strike, parry and dodge.  She can see the whole of it laid out before her like a dance.  He has her close to trapped.  Soon she won’t have anywhere to move, he’s nearly backed her into a corner.  At his last strike she moves around him and before he can react she is behind him.  Now it’s him that’s backed into a corner.  Too late he realizes that he has been duped.  Now his moves become deliberate more focused.  His arrogance stripped away he is relying on the force to dig him out of the hole he now finds himself in, but his form is still weak.  As their sabers whir and glance off one another, Kendra doesn’t notice Vader watching from a window high above the ship bay.