Star Wars Character Cafe -

REDEMPTION

CHAPTER 2

What Flik hadn't anticipated when they returned to the base on Eriadu was the long, boring, and in his opinion, plus that of the rest of the Ackley, unnecessary debriefing to Trin and the other Rebel Officers before he could see his family. He was glad when the debriefing had ended. Chan, Jeana and Zak had all grown in the last year. He had begun to teach Zak a little about the Force, but was very cautious with it and made him promise not to use it when he wasn't around.

"I'm glad that's over with," Flik said to Shiba, who was waiting for him outside the debriefing room. "I sometimes wish it was still just me and you."

Shiba nodded her agreement. "It does get tiresome, but it has to be done. Did Trin say anything about Quan's -"

"Yes. He said that we'll be having a memorial after the next mission. It can't wait, not even to mourn the dead," Flik said sadly, remembering the words of Master Yoda, with some regret, "Mourn not the dead, at one with the Force, they are!" The wolfman wondered if it applied to those who were non-Force sensitive, too.

Shiba squeezed his arm. That was the worst thing, sometimes, everything went so fast that sometimes you couldn't even stop to honour the passing of a friend.

They walked through the hanger bay on the way to the rooms that were their sanctuary from everything and passed Shivron who was busy with some tools. He looked up and saw them coming towards him. Shivron stopped what he was doing and greeted them. Shivron was a small, thin youth with blue skin and light feathery hair. Flik had come to like the Omwatti and embraced him warmly. Shivron tried his best to return the embrace and then he gave Shiba a smile. They were in the middle of proceedings to adopt the Omwatti boy, but it was difficult with the anti-alien sentiments of the Empire and the Alliance was not yet a government, just an organisation of freedom fighters. Flik knew that it would take along time, even with Trin pulling all the strings he could, but at least for the moment, the Omwatti was safe.

"You weren't waiting for us, were you?" Flik asked him.

"I'm waiting for Kaitlin," he answered.

"She'll be a while. You might as well let me take a look at your arm," Shiba informed him. Trin always insisted on debriefing the Ackley separately from one another. Shiba really felt for Kaitlin, being so young and having to report the details of Quan's death alone, but it was done to make sure the others didn't influence their version of events. Shiba knew that Shivron had a crush on Kaitlin, but she wasn't sure if she should really encourage it. Shivron had been through a lot with the loss of his family and Zan had taken an interest in her, though whether the Chandrillian reciprocated that, was another matter. Shiba wondered how many more waifs and strays they would pick up before the war was over. It was Flik's sense of morality that was kicking in now. He had changed from the ruthless bounty hunter he had been when she first met him, or maybe it had been there all along, waiting for someone like her to kick start it again. He was becoming the Jedi once again, though not all at once.

Shiba took Shivron into the small examining room that served as her surgery and took a look at the boy's injury. He still had the top half of his right arm but the lower half had been so badly damaged that not even bacta could have helped it.

"I can still fit you with that prosthetic," Shiba said. "If you want me to."

Shivron looked at the arm that was still encased in the transparisteel case for protection. It would have worked as good as his real one, except the skin tone was flesh coloured, instead of the blue of an Omwatti. Just another way the Empire discriminated against the non-human people of the galaxy. If Shivron had been a Mon Calamari, say, Shiba doubted she would have even found one compatible.

"I'll be fine without it."

"If it's the colour -"

"I said, I'll be fine," Shivron said, his tone quiet.

With that, Shivron left the room.

"Why do you think he refuses treatment?" Flik asked her.

"He doesn't want to forget what happened, I guess. I understand why. When Alderaan was destroyed, I became so bitter in wanting revenge. I partly felt guilty that I'd survived while the rest of my family hadn't."

"I know, I sensed it in you when I met you," Flik said, he reached out for her hand. "Guilt is not an easy thing to live with."

"Thanks for getting me through that time."

"Hey, no problem. You helped me as well, remember?"

Shiba smiled. "That you did."

Shiba broke away from him and walked over to the bacta tank where Zan had been recuperating ever since they had arrived back at the base. She checked the time and saw that Zan was due to come out of the tank. She turned to Flik.

"Do you think I should let him out now?" she asked.

"Nah, I'd say leave him in for a week. Keep him quiet," the Shistavanen replied.

Zan, getting the gist of the conversation, made a rude gesture at them as he bobbed up and down in the tank.

Smiling, Shiba turned to the medical droid and said, "Let him out, but if he misbehaves, he's going straight back in."

They exited the surgery and greeted Kobrossk, a Trandoshan and Sholinar the Wookiee, that made up the rest of the Ackley as they made their way to their rooms in the Governor's Palace. It was a small operation and officially, Flik and Shiba were employed as bodyguards for Trin. If anyone had done some digging, they would have found out that Flik and Shiba were in fact Rebels, but no one seemed to be bothered about the identity of Trin's bodyguards. To all outward perceptions, Flik was at best a servant, and Shiba was Trin's mistress. Trin kept this impression going by treating Flik like dirt whenever they had company from another Governor or Moff. He always had Shiba accompany him offworld, instead of having his true wife travel with him. Shiba always wore a scandalous costume and put other things into play to keep up the deception and to disguise her appearance whenever they were on those types of missions.

The people who worked at the Palace as guards were all Rebels and security was tight. Because they needed to up keep the image of being Imperial, everyone, apart from the members of the Ackley were human.

There was one part of the Palace where only Trin, Cresentina, Trin's wife, Flik and Shiba had access to and that was their private living quarters. The decor was too Imperial for Flik's liking, but he knew they had to keep it that way to maintain the illusion.

They entered their quarters, passing through the common room, which the members of the Ackley used to socialise and doubled as their briefing room. They found Cresentina, Trin's wife, with their children. Cresentina was a beautiful young woman, who if you didn't know her, gave the impression that she reaped the benefits of being rich and that was all she cared about. Flik knew that wasn't true and if not for her, Trin's deception would have been uncovered by Imperial Intelligence months ago. She was also expecting her and Trin's first child, which meant that she'd been out of action of late.

"Hello, Flik, Shiba," she said.

Flik and Shiba greeted her before they were swamped by Zak, Jeana and Chan. Zak and Jeana were five years old, now and Chan three years. Cresentina left them to be alone, and went in search of her husband.

"Do you want a drink?" Flik asked before he went into the kitchen.

"I'll have the same as you," Shiba replied. "We'll be in the common room."

"OK," the wolfman said as he disappeared through the door.

He mixed up hot chocolate for himself and Shiba and juice for the kids. He had taken a liking to hot chocolate recently, though at that moment in time he would have preferred Corellian whisky, because of the stress of Quan's death. That would be a loss the members of the Ackley would feel for sometime to come. In the past, he used to drink Lomin Ale, but ever since Auoura had died, he'd stayed away from the stuff.

Sometimes, when he and Shiba had an unsuccessful hunt, he would have gotten blindingly drunk at a cantina and Shiba had to literally drag him back to the Forgotten Warrior. It was at times like that when they'd been at their most vulnerable. Briefly looking back over the events that had occurred since Auoura's death, Tek's turn to the darkside and Alderaan's destruction, both Shiba and Flik had seen the worst of each other. Perhaps that was what made their bond so strong.

Putting those thoughts to the back of his mind, Flik carried the drinks into the common room, set them down on the table and sat down in a chair next to Shiba. He brought his mug of steaming hot chocolate to his lips and took a careful sip, testing its temperature, before placing on the table in front of them. The children were occupied with a game of their own on the floor between the table and the holo vid projector.

The peace was interrupted by the appearance of Zan. "Hey guys, turn on the holo vid. It's about us," Zan said, as came through the door. Jeana, who was the nearest, did so, as the rest of the Ackley piled into the room.

A hologram, showing a young woman outside the prison they had sprung Shara from, appeared, spanning the width of the room.

"All we know about the Rebel terrorist group, the Ackley, is that they are being led by the Shistavanen bounty hunter, Flik Sivrak and his partner, Shiba Black, responsible for the death of the late Governor of Eriadu, Agar and for shooting up a Corellian children's home a year ago - "

"That was Boba Fett and a few other bounty hunters, not us," Shiba said. "And we paid to repair the damage."

"Intelligence on the woman, Shiba Black, has revealed that she was once a doctor of medicine and that she came from the planet, Alderaan. Do you, Director Isard, have any idea why such a person would turn to the Rebels?"

"I've head enough," Flik said, getting out of the chair and switching the holo vid off. He looked back at Shiba and saw that she was crying. Flik knelt down in front of her and brushed a loose strand of hair from her face and kissed her.

"I don't believe they blamed us for that - "

"We're Rebels, remember? They have to make us look bad," Flik caressed her hand.

Shiba looked into his dark lupine eyes and sniffed. She looped one arm around his neck.

"I know but can't they see who the real villain in this is really Palpatine?"

Flik yipped bitterly. Even the Jedi didn't see that until it was too late. Instead he said, "The truth will come out eventually."

"The big fleaball's right, Shiba. You should listen to him."

Flik looked up at Zan, his muzzle creased in a frown. "Did you just call me fleaball?" the wolfman asked, a low growl of irritation in his throat.

Zan's reply was interrupted as Trin entered the room. Trin turned the holonet projector back on. "Terrorist attacks like this clearly highlight the need to eliminate the Rebels and their non-human allies. This is Karli Savoyna for Imperial News signing off."

"Would you care to explain that to me, Sivrak? You know what would happen if they found out about our operation."

Flik stood up and locked gazes with Trin. The wolfman's full height was significantly larger than that of the pseudo Imperial. "Yeah, I know what'll happen. She knows what'll happen - " he pointed at Shiba, yipping bitterly. "Everyone in this room knows what the Empire is capable of, Trin, but I can't plan or be held responsible for every eventuality."

Trin took a step back. The wolfman could be pretty intimidating when his ire was provoked.

"Yeah, lay off him, boss. If it's anyone's fault, it's Intelligence for not realising a camera crew would be there when we hit," Cathos said in Flik's defence.

Seeing he could not win with the Ackley showing a united front, Trin backed down and tried to diffuse the situation.

"We'll have to evacuate the base over the next few days. It'll only be a matter of time before they find us, now. First, however, I have another mission. I've been called to Coruscant on business. Something's come up and I intend to find out what it is. Shiba, you'll be accompanying me as my bodyguard. Flik, I need you and the rest of your team as back up. Kaitlin, you're staying here helping Cresentina over see the preparations for the evacuation."

"When do we go?" Flik asked.

"Tomorrow. Enjoy the time with your wife while you can, Flik."

There was something in his words that made Shiba shudder. When he was gone, she turned to Flik and said, "He's really starting to creep me out, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah. It look's like it might soon be time we found another employer, Shiba."

"If you do, I think there'll be plenty among the Ackley who would like to join you, Sivrak," Artea said. The other members of the Ackley present agreed with her.

***

Shiba slipped on a light and simple night dress and stepped over to the window. It was a beautiful night, full of stars and if you focused on the sky, you could forget that the planet was facing an ecological disaster.

"The next world I'm going to is going to be a jungle world. I'm fed up of all of this durasteel and pollution."

Shiba turned round to find Flik standing there, his fur still damp from the 'fresher.

"Do you want to settle on a jungle world, Flik?" Shiba asked as Flik drew level with her at the window.

Flik took her hands in his. "Just one that ain't all city, you know? I hated Coruscant when I was growing up. I guess it's because I am a predator, deep down. I want to live somewhere natural."

"It's not because you're a predator, it's because of you being what you are: you want to be near life," Shiba stroked his cheek with her hand. They both knew what she meant by the words: "what you are". Even now they didn't talk about his Jedi heritage, not here. Neither of them completely trusted Trin: he was after all, playing the role of an Imperial. Neither of them knew where is true loyalties really laid. The only thing that they were sure of and that was the rest of the Ackley were genuine Rebels, as they had thought against the Empire before they became members of the Ackley. Flik's face took on a playful expression, one that he rarely used except when he was with the kids or alone with Shiba.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself tonight. You've become so serious of late."

"I'm only serious because I want to keep the others alive. Before, when it was just you and me, I didn't have the responsibility that I have now. I'm their leader and I can't fail them by getting them into something they can't get out of," he stepped away from her. "I could do with a drink. Would you like one, too?"

"I'll have hot chocolate again," Shiba answered.

While the wolfman was gone, the soft padded footfalls signalled the arrival of Grebe, a canine of an Alderaanian breed. It had a long muzzle, short, erect ears, a long body and a thick tail. It was brindled in colour and had a white belly and white tip to its tail. It had once been a very common breed on Alderaan, friendly and good with children, but a devoted guardian of its pack. Trin had found her on a visit to Coruscant and bought her from a breeder of rare animals, along with a male called Eyrie. Trin had given them to Shiba as a wedding gift. They had made Shiba both happy and sad because she'd had one while she was growing up and then another when she was married to her late husband, Chan. The dog had been with him on Alderaan when the planet had been destroyed. There were few things that had survived the planet's destruction and though when Shiba found something Alderaanian it had made her happy because it showed that not everything had been lost, it also saddened her because it also reminded her of what had been lost, too. It was similar to the feeling a biologist might have upon seeing the remains of an extinct creature, glad to know of its existence, but sad because it was no longer there.

Flik had been puzzled at first, because he'd never had a pet in his life - such things had been forbidden in the Jedi Order, as they led to attachment. Shiba, upon hearing this, wondered if anything had been allowed! After a couple of months, he'd gotten used to them and even liked them a little when Shiba told him that in the distant past they had been used as hunting dogs, but as that practice dwindled, the animals became a family pet, instead.

She was sat in one of the chairs opposite the bed and stroking Grebe's head when Flik re-entered the room with the mugs, followed by Eyrie.

"Making drinks twice in one day. I'm gonna have to mark this day on my calendar!"

"Funny," Flik said as he handed her one of the mugs and sat in the vacant chair.

"You know, I'd liked you to have seen Alderaan with me, you know, what it was like before it was destroyed."

"Maybe I could take you to see Uvena III. I've not been there for years, but I think you'd like it," the wolfman said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Yeah," Shiba agreed, "If Trin gives us some time off."

"You'd love it. The main city is called Terhan. It's situated on the northern continent. There is a mountain range to the north, with a forest leading up to the slopes of the mountains and grassland to the south. To the west is the sea and some islands lie not far from the coast. After the Jedi Purge, I made my home on one of those islands. I did not want to be in the city. After living on Coruscant, I didn't want to be around too many people, or buildings and besides, the cities were crawling with Imperial troops. It would have been too risky to be any place I could be recognised. I was alone on the island, except for my mate and my son. The occasional Jedi visited us, but after a few years even that stopped. I expect that the survivors were in hiding, or that Vader had at last caught up with them. I stayed in touch with my sister, who never became a Jedi proper, even though she had the potential and I did teach her some tricks, and she had two children, a dog and a lupa, when they were old enough I was going to bring them back to the island and teach them the ways of the Jedi. The locals often wondered what we did alone on the island, like people usually do, but they weren't afraid of us. It was like they knew that I was there to protect them.

"After the Jedi stopped coming, I knew something was wrong. I went to the mainland and found the place more infested with Imperials than I had originally thought. On my second trip to the mainland, I took Tek with me and we did a little investigating. We met Cherys, whom I assume to be Zek's mother. It was risky business, because although we had been safe until then, asking about Jedi could reveal who we were and put Tek's mother in danger. All of the Jedi I knew to have survived the Purge were dead, except for Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom I could find no news of, and my father. I checked on my sister and found her well, even though I'd not heard from her for sometime.

"Tek was a teenager at that time, a little older than the Omwatti boy is now. I took a job as an Imperial Scout to cover up what I was really trying to do, find my fellow Jedi. Yoda, I never found, but I tracked Obi-Wan Kenobi to the planet Tattoine.

"He gave me a cold reception at first, because I'd broken my commitment to the Jedi Order, but when he learnt what I was doing, he put that to one side. For years, he had thought only himself and Yoda to be the only Jedi left alive and it was from him I learnt what had happened; that Anakin Skywalker had betrayed the Order and turned to the darkside. He told me that he was overseeing the future of the Order, but I said to keep the details to himself, for if Tek I were to be captured, it would be best for us to know nothing of his plans. Tek was in Mos Eisley while I was visiting Kenobi, with Cherys, and probably a good thing that he was...

"It wasn't long afterwards that Vader caught up with my father and destroyed him. Tek had learnt enough of the Empire's tyranny from Cherys and after the death of his grandfather, he went to confront Vader and Palpatine - "

"I know the rest," Shiba cut him off. She knew it was as painful a subject to him as Alderaan's destruction was to her. "I guess you want to kill Vader now."

Flik shook his head. "Vader is as much a victim in all of this as your husband, as we all have been. I know who Vader was before he was turned. He was a good man, one of the most annoyingly idealistic ones I've known. Vader maybe my greatest nemesis apart from Palpatine himself, but he was also one of my greatest friends."

"Even after the destroying Alderaan, you really think he's your friend?"

Flik tried to make light of the situation, but as soon as he said it, he regretted it. "The destruction of Alderaan led me to you, didn't it? You led me to my grandson. I don't condone what he did to your homeworld, but sometimes things happen for a reason, the will of the Force. I don't like it, but sometimes, it's necessary."

"You've thought of this a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Don't speak to me of it. It frightens me! The will of the Force! It asks for too much!"

"I'm sorry, Shiba. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to find something positive about what's happened. If we don't, it will be our destruction."

"I know, Flik."

"Your sister, what happened to her? You've not spoken of her until now."

"It was about six months before Alderaan...I'd been having these visions, dreams warning me of some terrible occurrence about to happen. I went to my sister's home and found it ransacked. She was dead, I assumed, even though I found no body. Her mate was dead, too. There were Stormtroopers around, so I knew the Empire was involved, but I found no trace of my sister's children. They were gone. I searched for them, thinking that the Empire had taken them, but I didn't find any trace of them, even there, nor of my sister. I can only hope that she escaped with them, but as we have seen, the Empire is not averse to doing terrible things to children of non-human species. It would have been worse for them if they found out they had any connection to the Jedi."

"That's terrible."

"I should have sought them out after what happened with Tek, but I had a hard time getting Vader off my tail. I would have put them in greater danger if I'd sought them..."

They sat in silence for a while, contemplating on their fate.

"Be weary of the Emperor, Shiba. Don't trust him. I wish I was going with you so I could keep you safe, but I can't. This is something you must face alone. No matter what happens, I love you, Shiba."

He kissed her gently, lovingly, once again they had found comfort in each other's love. The forthcoming danger was forgotten as they drew strength and courage from each other.