Port Lansing

By


Alida D'med leaned her head back against the bulkhead of the transport. Life 
had become much more interesting since she had felt the Force directing her 
to take her Padawan and leave their relatively well-hidden abode on Almas. 

Port Lansing was behind them now, thankfully. It had confirmed what her soul 
already knew: darkness still reigned over most of the galaxy. 

She was conscious of her Padawan in the seat next to her. The girl had done 
a lot of growing up lately. Alida had to remind herself that Kaliandra was a 
Jedi, not a child. Some part of her still wanted to protect the girl, but 
another, better-trained facet of her, reminded her that this was what Kali 
had been prepared for. Alida's Master and countless other Jedi had already 
perished at the hands of those who Darkness controlled. It was time for them 
to pick up where those who had gone on before them had left off. 

Alida closed her eyes. She wasn't even sure where they were going to next, 
but being on this transport felt like the right thing to do, the right place 
to be. And it was a lot more peaceful than where they'd just been... 

***** 

She tried to keep from flinching as a cold blade was pressed against her 
throat. This was not what she'd anticipated her day would be like. 

She found consolation in the fact that she did not sense her Padawan's 
presence within the Empire's base. Kaliandra was shielding, but she was 
nowhere near here, thank the Force. 

The Jedi attempted to control her breathing as fear spiked through her. She 
tamped it down. There is no fear, she reminded herself as the officer 
grabbed her hand. The knife was removed from her neck to be placed alongside 
her finger. Alida sought her calm center, meeting the officer's glare as 
serenely as was possible. She would not show him fear. 

The Emperor approached and Alida's breath caught in her throat. The Dark 
Side swirled around him, almost suffocating in its thickness. Many things 
had changed since she was a young Knight, sent off by her Master, but the 
face of Darkness remained the same. 

Alida controlled the anger that threatened to well up inside her. This was 
the man who had ordered the death of every Jedi, right down to the 
babes-in-arms in the creche. The memory of the searing pain she'd felt when 
her Master had died remained with her to this day. 

There is no death. That maxim had been her only comfort during the long days 
of the Purge. She met the Emperor's eyes. If the Force willed that her time 
was over, she would accept it as she had been taught. Her only regret would 
be not being able to complete Kaliandra's training. 

Alida felt the brush of the Emperor's mind against hers as he judged whether 
or not she was telling the truth. A shudder ran through her at the touch of 
such evil. 

She was beginning to regret taking Kaliandra from Almas. The Emperor leaned 
in close to hiss something at her and she changed her mind. No, she was 
right to do this now, even if it meant her own death. The Emperor had to be 
stopped. She chuffed with amusement. She had none of the answers they 
wanted, how frustrating that had to be for them. She gave a mental shrug. 
There hadn't been time for her to learn anything that would have interested 
the Empire. Not what they thought they wanted to know, at least. 

***** 

Alida sighed. What happened now would be as the Force wills, as it always 
had been. She just had to trust in the Force. 


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