Star Wars: Heroes of Another Kind

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 168: Annoyances and Anger

Long hours passed. Time was slow when all you could do was wait. It just hung there in the ship, the same way the ship hung in the blackness of space. The only thing to give any kind of sense of movement was that huge floating ring, a black nothing in the center of it. At least the rest of space had little white holes of light here and there, giving some semblance of sanity in the universe. Some proof that the ship wasn’t alone in the vast galaxy. Some hint that maybe, somewhere out there, all of this really mattered. Except within the blackness of the ring. Sometimes simple words were all that could describe complex situations. This was one of them. This was, in its purest form, annoying.

As Shadow sat in the small room of the ship that was technically the lounge. However, there were no chairs, tables, or places other than the metal deck to lounge on. There was, though, a large, open viewport that encompassed a half of the room. Sitting there next to the window, meditating as best was possible in the circumstances, it was easy to lose oneself and forget that it was actually metal all around. But it was impossible to focus completely. Too many worries, too many thoughts, and then other things that she didn’t even understand. The other things were the problem, really. Worries and thoughts were old problems that could be worked through. But the rest was just...distracting in a way that didn’t make any sense to her.

And of course, right on cue as usual, there was a soft hiss on the other side of the room as the door opened. Opening her eyes, Shadow turned and looked to Akan, surprised to see he was holding something. She got to her feet as he quietly walked over and noticed the thing in his arms was Tobias, curled up and probably still asleep. Through their link, she could feel Akan running through a question but instead of letting him ask it, one of those other things took hold and she asked quietly while reaching out towards the small, black furred child, “May I...?”

There was a pause, and it was obvious that Akan had been surprised by that. Another moment passed before he nodded somewhat uneasily and carefully handed the jai over. She awkwardly cradled Tobias in her arms, watching as his stub of a tail twitched slightly. The soft purring noise didn’t falter at all and after a couple of minutes of silence, Shadow said quietly, “Brat or not, he is the future. It is our...our responsibility to protect that for him.”

Akan raised an eyebrow at that, taking a quick second to glance past her and out the viewport, “You alright?”

“I don’t know,” she said slowly after having to think about it. Turning, she walked over to the viewport again, “This isn’t like what we’ve done before, Akan. We’re not just trying to save our own tails anymore. My...our people are out there and they are going to die without us. And if we go, its even more likely that we will die.”

“The two of us can’t make that much of a difference,” Akan said, his voice flat and easily expressing the worry over that.

She glanced over her shoulder, “You’d be surprised. But you do deserve to know that we’re probably not going to live through this.”

“I hate feeling like I’m just along for the ride,” grumbled Akan under his breath, picking up on the fact that she was only including him to be polite.

“This is my burden, Akan,” Shadow said sharply, though quietly enough to hopefully not wake Tobias. There was a fierce look in her eyes, though her voice calmed again, “Your honour is harmed enough by even being with me. I’m not going to let you bring yourself any lower just so you can be a noble Jedi.”

Akan nearly threw up his arms in frustration and barely managed to keep his voice at a normal level, “Honour?! What the hell does honour have to do with anything”

“Everything!” she snapped back harshly, turning to face him so she didn’t have to keep hurting her neck to look over her shoulder.

“I don’t care!” he was yelling now, forgetting about Tobias and for some reason unable to control the sudden...anger, “Honour doesn’t matter! I’m not here to be some tourist! I am here to fight. To help you. You have no right to prevent that when you know you need my help!”

Before she could yell back at him, Tobias woke up with a wail. Shadow glared at the screaming little child before storming over to Akan and shoving Tobias into him. As Akan tried to quiet the child, Shadow said slowly and dangerously, “I have every right to! I know where we are going better than you. I know you better than you do! You are not ready for any of this. You’re barely able to stop acting like a child and you want to run in there lightsaber ablaze?! That won’t work here, Akan.”

Without another word, she stalked off past him and out of the lounge, fuming to the point that she was nearly physically steaming. Akan was just as angry, but had been left to try and quiet the still screaming Tobias. And after that finally happened, the child drifted back to sleep again. It left Akan to look out into space, out into that damned emptiness within the huge ring. Through it all, though, he couldn’t help but shake the feeling that there was much more through it. More than even Shadow realized. But when he tried to reach out to her through the link, he was surprised to find a wall there. A nothing.

It was an emptiness as black as the spot within the ring. Through the Force, Akan could feel Shadow as a bubble of boiling anger somewhere else in the ship...but through the link, nothing. Nothing. Even with Tobias there in his arms, Akan couldn’t help but being overwhelmed by the feeling of loneliness. So overpowering that he found himself unable to even think anymore. And for the first time, Akan truly understood how powerful the link he shared with Shadow was...now that he was cut off from it.

((A short one, but I'm exhausted tonight. Can't figure out why, either. Got to get back into the groove of updating daily and these will get better again. ))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 169: Homeward

Two days went by. Shadow had locked herself in the cargo bay, meditating and trying not to focus on how stupid Akan was acting. No, not stupid...childish. He was stuck with some damned sense of Jedi nobility that he only used when it was convenient for him. Of course, he seemed to pick the worst times to start spouting off about it. Especially now. Of all times, he had to revert to that now.

And so, after a few hours of fuming on it and simply getting more and more angry, Shadow cut him off. Despite a very quiet voice that objected only once, she blocked their link. It was amazingly easy to focus again. No random thoughts flying around, no constantly being bothered when Akan got bored, and especially no having him picking through her thoughts when she wasn’t paying enough attention. But still...

No. No, there was no ‘but still’. And this was quickly put to rest with a calming technique and then more fierce meditation coupled with a bit of unarmed practice. She was going to need it. It had been a long time since having to deal with anything like what they were willingly walking into.

Akan, on the other hand, wasn’t doing so well. The absence of the link ended up reverting him back to how he’d been after Mare had died all those years ago. It had become something to fall back on, if only for the knowledge that he wasn’t fighting alone anymore. A reason to keep going, reminding him every minute that his life wasn’t just his own anymore. And now it was gone. Silent and blocked off, leaving him alone in the galaxy again.

So he sat there in the starship’s lounge, staring blankly out at the field of stars. He tried to think, to focus through the numbness that had grown again, but couldn’t seem to manage it. Just like when Mare had died. He’d been too weak then, and he’d come out of it a mess. New Republic SpecForce had only allowed him to work for them because of his skill at getting the job done, which was the result of a hatred that had developed for anything that happened to have anything resembling the world “Empire” on it.

But somehow, through what should have been an impossible course of events, he was brought back from it. Sure, it had taken leaving the New Republic and three long years of freelance work, but without any of that he would have never met the Verpine named Ansion. He’d died and been reborn...literally. And not long after his physical rebirth, a mental one came from the assistance of Jen and the constant fallback that the link with Shadow had provided. And now they were both gone. They were both gone, and he couldn’t help but feel at fault for it. Just like Mare. Just when things were working, Akan always found a way to screw things up and get people killed.

Unlike before, though, no cold hatred or anger grew out of being cut off from the link. Instead, he just went numb. Akan sat there unmoving, his mind focused on nothing as he stared blankly into that hole in space that the Alraxian ring created. Even Tobias couldn’t get anything out of him, no matter how loud he wailed for food or to play or just for simple attention.

On the third day of waiting, the makeshift comm unit Shadow had built flickered to life. She had been working through a rigorous series of exercises to hone her body and mind but was hyper-aware of her surroundings. This meant that the second a hint of a change appeared on the unit across from her in the cargo bay, she stopped what she was doing and moved over to sit in front of it. In a moment, the flickering formed into a well crafted and slightly blue tinted three dimensional image of the Empress. Her mother did not smile, though her eyes seemed to hint at something more than the somber look Shadow had gotten used to seeing over the years.

In slow, deliberate tones, the Empress said simply, “You will be allowed entrance. Coordinates have been transmitted with this communication. We will meet you there to bring you home.”

There was a pause in which the Empress gave Shadow the chance to speak, but she didn’t. When the awkward silence ended up lasting too long, the older Alraxian simply inclined her head before her image flickered away. Shadow sat there just staring at the now empty space for a long moment, her mind going over her mother’s last word. Home. And despite all the danger, all the fear, and all the death that awaited her there, she couldn’t help but smile. Home.

With a quick speed she pulled out the datapad that had been lodged into the makeshift comm device, getting to her feet and walking over to the exit of the cargo bay. Shadow unlocked the door, which opened with a swish to the cool air of the ship’s main corridor, and walked straight to the cockpit. Her longer legs took her there in at least half the time that it usually took, and she took no time to look at any of the doors she passed by. Only a couple of them were open, both of which had piles of boxes or chairs that Tobias had managed to drag in to climb and hit the switch to open them.

In a matter of minutes, Shadow was in the pilot’s chair and had uploaded the nav data to the starship’s computer. Shifting uncomfortably in the relatively small seat, she then got the sublight engines online and positioned the ship in front of the gigantic ring...waiting. Five minutes passed with nothing happening other than a beep from the computer to indicate the hyperspace coordinates were plotted and ready. But that meant nothing.

The only accessible hyperspace route lay through the ring, and the fact that it had a black center instead of stars showing through was a hint to not attempt flying straight through. Not that many wayward travelers happened upon it, but there were those one in a million chances that had to be planned for. Besides, what other system in the galaxy could attest to such amazingly perfect border control?

Then the blackness within the ring shimmered. It shimmered in a way that black nothingness shouldn’t be able to do, and slowly small white dots began to seep through. Like an oozing liquid, the light from the distant stars slowly poked through until the veil had completely faded away. Shadow smiled again, before reaching for the hyperspace levers. Shadow had seen this a thousand times at least...the stars slowly extending, more and more until suddenly they shot past and the galaxy ahead became a swirling, endless blue tunnel. But never before had she been so nervous. Home. Home and then what? The planning had only gone this far. Beyond this, everything was going to have to be made up on the spot.

Not that this was a bad thing, of course, but it was definitely something that the Alraxian people wouldn’t like. Of course, they’d like being killed by the war droids created by a traitorous member of their race much less than change. At least, that was the assumption.

((Seeing the Revenge of the Sith trailer has me all geared up for some crazy lightsaber action. Sadly, not much of that for a little while...May 19th can't come soon enough.))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 170: Silent Welcomings

An hour in hyperspace, and then Shadow brought the transport back to realspace. The blue of hyperspace gave way to a distant, binary star system. The light from the two small, blue stars bathed the cockpit even from the great distance they were from the stars. But that was all there was. Two stars and the blackness of space. Silently, Shadow waited, her eyes watching both the ship’s sensors and the endless black beyond the viewport.

It only took a few minutes of waiting before there was a shift in the distance. Watching anything revert back to realspace was always disorienting, as the object always seemed to stretch into place while at the same time appearing out of no where and into where it stopped. After Shadow’s eyes refocused from watching just such an occurrence, she couldn’t help the hint of a smile. Besides, no one was around to see so did it even matter it was there? Sitting there in space, occupying a huge amount of the former blackness that filled the viewport, was a ship similar to Loki. Similar enough to remind her of the ship, a painful reminder of a lost friend.

But this ship was much different. It was literally comparing a child to a parent, similar but still unique. And the ship would have dwarfed Loki. Though it held a shape close to Loki’s, the ship was larger than a Super Star Destroyer. The full ten kilometers of the Empress’ ship was hard to really comprehend without a form of reference, but Shadow knew how bit that Thor was. She could imagine a moon nearby, with Thor taking up a large amount of its surface.

A short, one word communication came through, and Shadow didn’t even respond to it. There was no response needed other than to follow the instructions. So she maneuvered the starship towards the gigantic ship, bringing the sublight drives online and watching the blackness slowly disappearing from the viewport in front of her. It was only a few more minutes before the ship set down within one of the large landing bays. The fact that they were allowed to set this metal ship down inside of the Empress’ flagship was something Shadow hadn’t expected.

Without looking out the viewport to the landing bay outside, Shadow powered down the ship’s systems and stepped back out of the cockpit. She found Akan sitting in the lounge, and wordlessly pulled him to his feet and led him to the ship’s exit. Tobias wandered after them, looking bored but not overly energetic for once. Instead, he just padded along after them, with Akan walking like a lifeless zombie behind a stiff, emotionless Shadow. It was really a wonderful way to present themselves for the first time.

The access ramp down, Shadow led the way to the soft, cream colour deck. The whole landing bay was the same cream colour, though not even all over. It seemed to flow like water. Standing halfway between the metal ship and the entrance to the landing bay was a large group of Alraxians. Twelve very large, very dangerous looking Alraxians flanked two others. The royal guards looked nervous as the Empress and Emperor approached the metal ship and the three who had walked off of it.

Immediately, Shadow fell to one knee, her face looking straight at the cream coloured deck. Tobias gave her a curious stare from behind, almost looking like he was considering the possibility of pouncing her while she wasn’t paying attention, though he did nothing. Akan just stood there, staring somewhat blankly at the Alraxians who now stood within arms reach of them.

“Marix...you do not have to kneel to me,” the Empress said in a soothing voice, her long limbs reaching down and pulling Shadow up to her feet with surprising strength. Mother and daughter then stood looking eye to eye with each other, and it was almost like looking into the past and the future. Shadow really did look like her mother...though her eyes were still aimed at the floor.

The Empress went on anyway, “You’ve grown.”

Shadow just nodded, keeping quiet with all of the guards around. All of whom were gripping their weapons more tightly than usual and looked ready to pounce at the slightest twitch. Shadow’s mother glanced over her shoulder to her mate, and both shared a slight grin, “Quiet as ever...” he nose twitched slightly, and the grin grew very slightly, “You do know that those morphsuits you’re wearing have a very noticeable smell to them...”

“We grew...” Shadow mumbled quietly, “...was all we had to fit...”

The Empress smiled and then without warning, embraced her daughter. Shadow stood there unmoving before her mother pulled back and motioned behind her, “Come. Clothes and perhaps a bath can be arranged immediately.”

And so they were lead off. The moment they were out of the landing bay they had been assaulted by other Alraxians who measured them, made a fuss about whatever it was they did and led them off. Shadow, Akan, and Tobias were given baths, though the jai finally found something to do and did all he could to splash everything and anything within range. Clothes had been dropped off, and they had soon been dressed in them, which Shadow still didn’t like, especially since they nearly put her in a dress. Flowing robes were settled on and then the helpers went to fixing her hair.

Akan had been easy to deal with, as his numb, zombie like state meant he didn’t put up the fight he usually would have to being treated like he couldn’t do anything himself. He was led from the bath to a small, well furnished room, though it had taken nearly three Alraxians to get him there...and they’d almost been carrying him. Once he was in the room, they disappeared off to do whatever else they did, having said something in Alraxian that Akan didn’t hear, though he wouldn’t have understood it even if he had. For a short time, he simply stood there in the center of the room, but eventually sank to the floor on a soft, grey-white rug.

The last however long it had been hadn’t seemed to register for him. Back and forth. Tended to, bathed, clothed, then almost carried and he’d said and done nothing. Lost in his own mind, Akan simply stared into space. He wondered why he’d even come to this place. A place that wasn’t his home...a place far away from wherever that home really was. Many times, he tried to reach through the link but every time was met with the same nothing. The same emptiness.

One of the Alraxians had returned a few minutes later, opening the door and letting a now clean Tobias into the room. It had been an effort to cheer Akan up, as these Alraxians weren’t stupid. One didn’t need the Force to see something was wrong. But Akan just sat there in the center of the room as Tobias did everything he could think of to get attention. After ten minutes, the little Alraxian had given up and was wailing. Quickly, the same attendant as before slipped into the room and whisked Tobias off, though she was outwardly surprised at the thickness of the air within the room. The sheer loneliness was almost tangible in the air, and the Force didn’t make it any better.

So after dropping off Tobias with the other children on the ship, the female attendant went off to do something about this. She went to find the boy’s father.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 171: A New Son

Technically, he was not Akan’s father. At least, from Akan’s point of view it was that way. From the Alraxian point of view, as had been explained by Shadow long before, Akan was now part of the same family. That meant that it a twisted, culturally odd way, Cole, the Empress’ mate and the Emperor, was Akan’s father. Having only met the kid once before, and even then for only a short time, Cole wasn’t exactly the best person in the Empire to be doing this...but then again, maybe he was. Besides, it was probably a good idea to at least get to know his newest son.

The young Red Star who had found him led him back to the room that Akan was in, and Cole nodded his thanks before the door irised open and he stepped in. He was surprised at the thickness in the air, but at the same time had at least been warned of it. The young man was sitting in the center of the room on his knees, curled up slightly and staring down at the rug under him. He couldn’t help but smile slightly at the colour of Akan’s hair...that blue. It proved that Marix at least had some sense of humor.

But noticing that the boy was sitting there, perfectly still, Cole figured it might have been worse than was originally thought and said quietly to the Red Star, “Bring the Empress.”

She nodded, then slipped off down the corridor. Cole took a deep breath, then stepped over and sat down next to Akan, tilting down to try and look at his face, “Come on, boy, you’re not dead, are you?”

Not surprisingly, Akan didn’t move at all. But Cole kept his determination, very carefully putting a hand on the other Alraxian’s shoulder, “Sit up, come on...tell me what’s wrong,” he paused to receive no reaction, then allowed himself a slight grin, “I bet I’d be right if I guessed it had something to do with my daughter...”

That got a reaction. Akan sat up just a little more and his eyes looked very carefully towards Cole. At that, the older Alraxian smiled a little more and patted Akan’s shoulder somewhat awkwardly, “So I’m right. Come on and tell me what’s wrong. You can’t just sit here sulking for the rest of your life, you know.”

Akan sat up a little more, turning to give Cole a somewhat curious look. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find his voice and just gave up again, going back to staring at the rug under him. Cole sighed inwardly. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d hoped. Whatever it was his daughter had done, it obviously was something major. Or it might not be. Mood swings and irrational behavior weren’t all that uncommon after Alraxians grew up for the first few weeks. Cole had seen the worst of it all with his other sons and somehow this was even harder...maybe it was the less violent nature of it.

[Feror...] he called across his own link with the Empress, [Bring Marix with you.]

And then he turned back to Akan, trying a different tactic, “Alright, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. Why don’t you at least tell me your name? Never did have time for that last time we met...”

“Akan,” the young man’s voice was actually surprising to hear, but how hoarse he sounded wasn’t.

Cole nodded and held his smile, “Akan...well, that’s a start. See? That wasn’t so bad. Now, I’m obligated to ask you this next question just as much as your obligated to answer in detail, alright?”

The younger Alraxian turned to look Cole straight in the fact finally, a look of pure confusion on his face. Eventually, Akan nodded, but more out of curiosity than anything. A very large grin grew on Cole’s face, and he patted Akan’s shoulder again, “Good, good...now, you have to forgive this but I’m a father and Marix is my daughter, so this is just a part of the job. You’ll understand one day. How about you tell me how the two of you met and what you’ve been doing up until now? I’d say a father deserves to know what his daughter’s been up to...even if she won’t tell.”

The confused look didn’t leave Akan face, and he couldn’t help but think there was another level to that question that he wasn’t grasping. It took him a little bit, but Akan soon managed to find his voice again and just talked. He told Cole about Ansion, Endor and Jen...about Voort and their hunt for Sadrak...about the Darkwing and the dead world of Arranis...and then about Ket and Nine...and then, finally, Akan told Cole about Nar Shaddaa. His voice remained hoarse and pained through it all, and many times he had to stop to force back painful memories, but once it was done and over with, Akan could speak at a steady rate.

And after Akan was done, Cole had been having at least some trouble keeping the smile on his face. They had been through a lot. It wasn’t surprising, of course, but it was the truth. At the end of it all, though, Akan still hadn’t said what the current problem was. Cole had hoped it would have led him into talking about it but apparently it wasn’t going to be that easy. So, very calmly, he asked Akan, “So what’s wrong?”

But the young man turned away again, looking down at the floor and away from Cole. He sighed. It wasn’t nearly as easy as it might have been. It was almost like Akan was fighting him to keep silent. This wasn’t his area of expertise, and he couldn’t help wondering what was keeping his mate. Considering the situation, though, and the feelings he could get through their link, she was dealing with a similar situation with Marix. Though it couldn’t have been that similar...Marix had never been anywhere near this emotional. She couldn’t have changed that much in the time she’d been gone...

((Another short one for the next couple of days, probably. Yes, its my fault, but I have an excuse! Got a free Sneak Preview of Matrix Online that I can play until Tuesday...very, very fun game and I'm surprised I stopped long enough to write this. ))

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 172: Mother and Daughter

After Shadow had been dressed and her hair ‘fixed’, the attendants slipped out of the small room. As they left, her mother walked in. Shadow did her best not to take notice that they were both wearing very similar things and instead looked back down to the ground again as the two royal guards stepped in behind her mother. The two large guards gave Shadow critical looks, obviously looking for an excuse to use the large weapons they carried. But her mother simply ignored the guards, stepping over to Shadow and putting an arm on her shoulder.

“Something’s bothering you...” she said quietly, almost as if she was keeping the two guards from hearing.

But, of course, Shadow did nothing but stare down at the floor. Her mother let out an audible sigh, and then surprised Shadow by embracing her. Still keeping her voice quiet, the Empress said softly, “I’m so sorry, Marix. I’ve missed your whole life...”

She trailed off, expecting her daughter to simply push her away and keep up her usual ice cold way of acting. But that didn’t happen, and even Shadow wasn’t sure why. She was instead overpowered by a very confusing emotion and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder, crying silently.

Shadow’s mother looked at her daughter in stunned amazement, but very gently rubbed her back, then her ear, until the crying faded into another odd noise from Shadow. It was a soft, but still somewhat pained, purring. Her mother smiled slightly, saying into her ear, “It’s okay...things will work out as they should...”

A buzzing sound from the door jolted Shadow back into the moment. She pulled back from her mother, the emotion completely leaving her face as she said, “E-enter...”

The door irised open and the two guards turned to look at a young Alraxian girl. The brilliant reddish colour her skin had taken easily showed how flustered she was as she bowed, “My lady. Empress, the Emperor...he uh...he wishes you to join him immediately. He said it was...a um, small emergency.”

The Empress nodded her head and smiled warmly to the child, “Thank you, I’m sure everything is fine. If you would clean up here I’ll be on my way.”

As she turned to leave, her mate’s voice sounded through her mind. [Feror...Bring Marix with you.]

[We’re on our way now.] she responded before turning back to her daughter, “Marix, you come, too.”

She then turned back to the door and stepped out, the two guards falling into step behind her and giving Shadow a good push to keep her back. Shadow didn’t react, instead simply following a few paces behind the two guards. Other than her immediate family and a select few others, the royal guards were the only others to know what she was. That had always made them uneasy, a trained killer so close to the Empress, and now they seemed even more on edge than usual.

It was a surprisingly long walk which reminded Shadow just how big Thor was. Immediately, Shadow regretted that thought as it reminded her of Loki. Off in the hands of Nine and Ket...she let out a small sniffle, and in a flash of movement one of the guard’s bladed weapons was at her neck. Hearing the movement, her mother spun around and growled, “What are you doing?!”

Of course, the guard holding the blade managed to look innocent, “I apologize, my lady...I just thought...”

“Thought nothing!” the Empress yelled with surprising force and weight in her voice, “Do not ever turn on my daughter! Do you understand?”

“But, my lady–“

”Never!” hissed the Empress loudly, causing the royal guard to jerk away from Shadow and continue to look shocked.

He stood up straight before bowing, “I apologize, my lady.”

“You should not be apologizing to me!” she snapped with a sharp glare in her eyes.

“Apologize to...?” the guard’s gaze slowly looked over to Shadow, “But–“

”Yes!” the Empress growled violently, far past simply being angry.

“Mother...no,” Shadow forced the words out, slowly and quietly, her eyes back to staring down at the floor.

Her mother turned to her with a shocked look on her face, “He treats you worse than a servant, Marix!”

“I know my place, mother,” Shadow responded quickly and calmly before turning to the guard and dropping to a knee, “I apologize.”

Somehow, the Empress managed to look even more shocked than before, “Get up! Before someone else sees you!”

Quickly and strongly, she pulled her daughter back up to her feet and gave her a sharp look that only a mother could deliver. The guards looked to each other nervously as the Empress turned back and stormed in the direction they had been going already. They fell into step behind her, and Shadow sighed inwardly, glad that nothing else had come of that. Though she couldn’t help wondering where her mother was leading them and what this ‘small emergency’ was. She shouldn’t have been needed for this.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 173: A Family

It was amazing that Akan and Shadow had set out to deal with Ket and Nine, but upon arriving got caught up in...other thing. Truthfully, Shadow had expected it, though not like this. Ceremony, formality, and other annoying things attached with being a member of the royal family, not to mention that she was technically next in line to be the Empress, were all what she had expected. Akan had even been warned of it, though he didn’t completely grasp what it was they were going to have to be dealing with.

But never in a hundred years would he have expected to arrive and completely forget about Ket and Nine. He had never anticipated anything like this happening...but here he was, sitting and still slightly numb as his...adopted father talked on. Adopted wasn’t exactly right, but Akan couldn’t think of what was right, so it worked. Currently, Cole was probing Akan to talk with the assistance of the Force. He was also very good at it.

“You still haven’t told me what she’s done,” Cole was saying, patting Akan’s shoulder and giving him a very fatherly look. After a moment of Akan turning away, Cole grinned and raised up his other hand, “Fine, you don’t have to tell me. Its not that hard to figure out, anyway. You feel alone, don’t you?”

Akan turned back enough for Cole to see the surprised expression on the young man’s face. Cole’s grin grew when Akan mumbled, “How do you know...?”

“I may be old, but I’m no fool, boy,” he paused a moment to shift to a more comfortable sitting position. After it was obvious that he was using the Force to dig a little deeper, Cole went on, “From Marix, yes? She stopped talking with you?”

Seeing the reaction from Akan’s expression when the words were spoken only proved Cole right. He very awkwardly reached over and drew the boy into a hug, “I know this is hard on you, but you’re home now...the both of you are. You have to understand, though, that the person you knew is not the daughter I knew. I wish I could have known her when you had the chance to...life could only have been better for her there,” he sighed, “Here it is...difficult. Her every move is watched and she has many responsibilities...should she make a wrong move, she could be killed. She is probably...probably believes that it is best to remain silent to protect the both of you.”

As usual, things happened right when they needed to. In this case, the door on the other side of the room opened up and the Empress walked in. She stepped calmly into the room, the two guards quickly taking up positions on either side of the door as Shadow entered last. For a moment, the Empress simply looked down at her mate and her newest son, immediately knowing what was the problem. The boy looked like a mess, both physically and through the Force. He felt terrible.

“Leave us,” she said sharply in Alraxian to the two guards. When they hesitated, she gave them a sharp glare and they then quickly exited.

The Empress then turned her gaze to her daughter as Cole explained the situation as he knew it. It sounded as if they were linked very strong. A rare gift, and one that neither of them likely understood.

Shadow was conveniently staring down at the floor. Akan looked up past the Empress to Shadow, opening his mouth to say something but finding that the words disappeared. When nothing came out, he stared back down at the rug helplessly. Shadow hadn’t even looked at him. She didn’t want to. He might see her tear stained face or her still red eyes...if he noticed...the thought just trailed off into nothing.

“Aren’t you at least going to look at him?” her mother asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had gathered in the room. But there was more than just words with that, the question almost burning into Shadow’s skull...just as her mother had intended. Her face slowly turned a bright shade of red before she spun around and bolted out the door.

“Bring her back in here, now!” the Empress growled at the top of her lungs after her fleeing daughter. After a short series of growls and other sounds, the two guards moved back in the room carrying the struggling Shadow between them. They tossed her to the ground violently and she landed on her hands and knees just in front of Akan and her father.

The Empress then gave a growl and a glare between both her daughter and the guards before signaling them to leave again. Once they were out of the room, she looked up to the ceiling slightly, “Thor, seal the room I’m in.”

[Yes, my lady.] a soft, very Loki-like voice echoed through all of their minds. In a silence that followed, Shadow slowly and carefully looked up and saw Akan. Saying he looked terrible would be like asking Darth Vader if he had a thing for black.

She turned to look away, suddenly disgusted with herself. After a moment of quick decision, Shadow opened the link up to him just slightly. It was enough that some of his thoughts seeped into her mind and she became even more sick with herself. But a little colour returned to Akan’s face, and at the familiar feeling of someone else’s thoughts(no matter how odd that had been before), his own mind started to make a little more sense. Such a small thing as the link had such a powerful effect...so much so that Akan couldn’t help wondering if it really was small.

Seeing some life returning to the boy, Cole looked up to his mate and nodded slightly. The Empress returned the nod and very carefully sat down next to Shadow before awkwardly putting an arm around her lost daughter. Softly, she said to her daughter, “Its alright. Please tell us what’s wrong, Marix...”

As Shadow’s mother spoke, all of them could feel the Force weaving its way through her words. A simple trick, yes, but one that was very helpful. It rarely failed to work, as it did not force the subject to speak but instead soothed and calmed them so that they truly knew it was alright. Shadow looked up slightly, her voice barely above a somewhat hoarse whisper, “I shouldn’t have come back...I...I’ve already failed all of you...”

Her mother brought her into a tight hug, “You’ve failed no one, Marix. You have only just arrived, and there is nothing you can do yet. You know that...”

Shadow nodded slightly, enough for her mother to decide she had said what she needed to say before turning to Akan. The Force flowing through her words for a second time, the Empress asked, “You are my newest son, Akan, and I would not have you suffer anymore. Tell me what is wrong.”

He looked up some, first to Cole then to Shadow then finally to the Empress. Though, for at least a moment, he could have sworn he was just looking at an older Shadow. But it passed, and he found his voice, quietly answering, “I’m alone here...”

At that, the Empress raised an eyebrow, looking to her mate but speaking to Akan, “You don’t look to be alone. Perhaps you should give things a chance here. You should know by now that you have a family here, and that means you’ll never be alone.”

Akan didn’t nod, but he at least looked like he accepted that. Seeing this, the Empress looked between both Akan and Shadow and spoke more sternly, “Links are not something to be taken for granted. They are far more important than either of you seem to understand, and learning that may take years.”

Then she pulled away from her daughter and looked to Cole. He nodded and they both got to their feet. Before leaving the room, the Empress spoke in a much more formal tone, “I’ll be sending a few people in two hours to prepare the both of you and make you look presentable.”

And then the parents left. Akan and Shadow just sat there across from each other without moving or saying anything for at least ten minutes. Then, finally becoming aware of the silence, Akan stumbled out a word, “S...Shadow..”

His voice was forced, and Shadow could hear the tears being fought back. Slowly, he moved over and surprised them both by hugging her, saying quietly, “I’m sorry...I should listen to what you say more. Especially here...I’m sorry for being so...arrogant.”

There was a short moment when Shadow just sat there, perfectly still and with an emotionless expression on her face. It was long enough that Akan couldn’t help but worry her old ice cold manner had come back for good. And then in a second, it faded away and her lips curved into a trembling smile. She hugged him back, resting her head on Akan’s shoulder and ignoring the tears. She had no idea what to apologize for first. Instead of trying and knowing that she’d mess it up anyway, she simply allowed their link to do the work.

A few more minutes went by and Akan sat back slightly before a question found its way into his head. The Empress had mentioned something... “Why do we have to be made presentable?”

Shadow bit her lip, though the weak smile managed to stay, “Remember that thing about you having to swear allegiance? Well, you have to do it before they’ll let you set foot on the planet. I think we’ll be getting there later tonight...”

“Oh...” he trailed off a moment, slightly worried about what all of that really meant. Not that he could avoid it, “And after that...?”

“Get the latest intelligence and then start our hunt as soon as possible.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 174: They Think...

After a two hours, just as the Empress had said, a group of attendants tracked down Akan and Shadow. They had gone wandering, with Akan amazed at just how big the ship was. It was literally a flying planet, with thousands of people on board that he couldn’t see serving any purpose beyond...living there. Just as they had found Tobias playing in a park of sorts, the attendants found them.

To Akan’s surprise, though, there were only two of them. For some reason he’d expected at least twelve. Probably what Cole had said about Shadow being watched so closely...but his thoughts were cut short as they were dragged off from the large, open park into a long white corridor.

The taller of the two other Alraxians had started talking in strongly accented Basic, “Your mother has arranged quarters for you. Since we’ll be arriving late, it will just be easier to travel to the palace in the morning.”

Shadow just nodded, for some reason not liking the sound of any of this. There was something wrong here, but she couldn’t yet put her finger on just what that something was. And then they stopped at a door and the taller Alraxian started speaking again, “The child’s room is joined to yours. Your mother has had clothes prepared for you to wear to the feast tonight. Some Needai will be along to assist you before the occasion, so make sure to be here in an hour.”

Then the cream white door irised open to show a very nice sized room with a large bed. Off to one wall, another door could be seen. Toby’s room. But there was still something wrong. They were missing a person. Biting her lip, Shadow very slowly stated the obvious, “...there’s only one room and two of us...”

And of course, the woman just laughed and patted Shadow on the shoulder, “And they say you don’t have a sense of humor!”

With that and a wink, she pushed them into the room and wandered off. Her laughing could be heard as the door irised shut again. Tobias plopped down out of Akan’s arms and charged over to the other door, which opened to reveal a smaller room with a Toby sized cot and a large collection of toys. A devious laugh escaped him and he bounded in to attack something.

Shadow was slowly walked across the large room, staring in horror as her mind started to work things out, “I think...”

But she just trailed off, deciding it was best not to think about. Instead, she looked over the very nice rug and then over to the large wardrobe and then to the bed. Her mouth opened again, “They think...”

Again, she trailed off, but this time walking over to the wardrobe, “But that’s not...and I don’t...”

Opening the wardrobe silenced her again. It was very, very full. On one side, a set of black and gold trim outfits that looked to be for her, and on the other...white and gold trimmed outfits that were too big for her. In fact, they looked like they’d fit Akan perfectly. Not only that, but there were many other things in different colours all through it.

She managed to only turn a slight pink colour before whimpering, “All the clothes are...are...mixed together...” slowly, she looked over to Akan with a wide eyed look, “And they think...”

Cutting herself off, Shadow closed her eyes and willed it all back to the way it should be. There would be another door on the other side of Tobias’ door to Akan’s room. There would be one or two outfits of hers in the wardrobe. Nothing else. Carefully, she opened one eye. Nothing. It was all the same. She managed another whimper.

Akan sighed and looked around a moment. Then, after deciding it was the root of the problem, said very slowly, “Don’t...don’t worry about it. I’ll just um...sleep on the rug or in with Toby. There’s got to be some extra sheets or blankets or something.”

“No,” she said a little too quickly, almost cutting Akan off in the process. Shadow calmed her voice, took a deep breath, and shook her head before taking a seat on the large bed, “You don’t have to sleep on the floor. They’re going to assume whatever they assume no matter what, anyway. Besides, the bed is...pretty big. There’s more than enough room,” her voice trailed off into a growl at the ceiling, “Besides, the Force is conspiring against us! I swear, if you did sleep on the floor something would go wrong. Heat would go out or you’d sleepwalk and end up in the damned bed anyway. And then they’d still assume the same damn thing they would if you sleep on the floor so you might as well take half the bed and sleep comfortably!”

Throwing her hands up in a sigh, she flopped back on the bed and closed her eyes. Fine. The Force was against her. It could be worse. Her mind ran through that a moment and found one way it could be. And if he thought she and Akan were...well...if he thought like everyone else, very bad things would happen. Hopefully he wouldn’t. But then again, Shadow knew the Empire well enough to figure out the damned thing would be across the whole Empire in a matter of hours. There were probably already stories and rumors and...and...she sighed and gave up thinking.

It wasn’t fair. This was supposed to have been simple. Go in, stop Ket and Nine, leave. But no. Of course not. Family had to step in. They had to jump in and start being...being...family! Making assumptions about things they shouldn’t be assuming! It wasn’t fair.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 175: Welcome Home

They had escaped to go explore the gigantic ship for a little while, but didn’t get far. Realizing that they were nearly gone an hour already, they raced back(with Akan taking about three wrong turns and taking up more time) and just managed to slip into the room before the Needai did. And the second the large group of attendants appeared in the room, both Akan and Shadow were assaulted with brushes, combs, and the like.

After a few minutes, Akan carefully opened his eyes to find himself wearing a somewhat loose fitting black tunic with a very shiny silver lining. For the size of the thing, it was strangely light, though he couldn’t help but miss the weight a lightsaber and blaster would add to the hip. Somehow, though, he doubted those would be a good idea to carry, and even if he’d wanted to, it was unlikely he could get past all of these...people. He was trying to ignore them as they were fussing about his hair for the seventh or eight time. Threatening to cut it because it was too long, too messy, and made him look scruffy. Each time they ‘fixed’ it, he ‘fixed’ it back, which got him a lot of glares until they finally gave up on trying.

And then, a half hour after the madness had started, he was out in the hallway standing there and looking lost. Shadow had been pushed off to another room and he suddenly felt very alone without having her to hide behind. At least two of the Needai had attempted conversation with him, but he didn’t know enough Alraxian and they didn’t know enough Basic. It was probably a good thing though, considering the way they were all smiling.

Just as he turned to ask, the door across the corridor slid open silently and Shadow was almost literally shoved out. She took a big, forced step out to stop herself from lurching and falling over, and immediately went a soft shade of red. Shy?! That wasn’t the Shadow he knew...of course, the Shadow he knew wouldn’t have been caught dead in what she was wearing. It was a long, flowing white dress with golden thread etched alone the edges. The bright white fabric was draped off of her, tight across the chest and then long and flowing at the feet. She wore some kind of golden headband, along with a necklace of the same gold colour, and if that wasn’t enough, seeing her hair actually neat, tidy, and in some odd style was shocking on its own.

Akan couldn’t help looking a bit surprised. She looked...well... “Good.”

“What?” she snapped and turned suddenly to give him a sharp look.

“Ah...nothing,” he trailed off just as one of the Needai stood in front of them to give them both critical looks. A few other adjustments were made to the both of them, and then their arms were linked. The woman made a soft purring noise and then motioned for them to lead the way.

Shadow tried to unlink her arm twice before giving up. That woman was dangerous enough without being provoked. This wasn’t fair. Akan’s brain sounded like it had melted and now she was stuck in some dress doing the damned royal thing.

As they walked down the long corridors to who knew where, Akan asked very quietly, even though he ‘spoke’ through their link. [Where exactly are we going...?]

Not turning her head, Shadow responded fairly quickly. [Food...well, eventually food.]

[Eventually?] Akan didn’t like the sound of that.

This time, she nodded just slightly. [That thing you’ve been putting off. It’s a pretty big deal, too. Not often a new Human swears loyalty to the Empire...even less often that Human happens to be a Jedi.]

[I’m not a Jedi.]

[To everyone else you are.] Shadow said simply as they rounded a corner down another long corridor that they still couldn’t see the end of. [I hope you know what you’re doing by now. Loyalty and honour are paramount among our people, Akan. Promises are not made unless they are held. You’re making a promise here, a serious one. You are going to be swearing to protect any of your clan mates if they are wronged, just as they will do for you.]

There was a pause as Akan thought about that. But really, what other choice was there? None. He sighed slightly just as they entered a gigantic, open chamber. It was filled with Alraxians, hundreds of them...no, thousands at least. A short path was made leading around a larger group and up to a circular pad raised about five meters up. As they walked towards it, all of the Alraxian’s eyes watched them. There were smiles, pointing, talking, and for once, Akan was glad he couldn’t understand Alraxian. Considering that Shadow had gone even more red, it was probably a very, very good thing.

Finally, they walked up to the raised section to see twelve guards around it. In the center, was a large, glowing circle and the Empress and Emperor. Both of them were dressed in clothes hauntingly similar to what Shadow and Akan wore, which somehow was unsurprising. At the edge, Shadow was held back at sword point, another thing that surprised Akan. Those looked metal...sharp, too. If those were so dangerous to Alraxians, why in the name of the Force did each of the guards have them?!

The Empress’ voice snapped him back to the moment as she asked him to morph Human. He did so, not noticing the fact that his clothes still fit perfectly. Instead, he realized just how much taller all of the Alraxians were. Shadow was probably back there grinning, too. It’d been so long...

All around, he could see large smiles forming on the faces of all of the Alraxians. Upon seeing him as a Human, the nearest guard nodded slightly and stepped to the side. Taking the cue, Akan very slowly stepped into the circle opposite of the Empress. Cole withdrew a small dagger with an elegantly carved hilt and a deep set rune and handed it to the Empress. She took it and then looked to Akan with a smile before stepping forward and placing the very sharp metal blade against his neck, “It is better to throw yourself onto this blade than to enter this sacred place without the intent to keep your word. How do you enter?”

A hushed silence literally swept across the room. All eyes were on Akan...Akan’s eyes were down on the hilt of the blade that was at his neck. For a moment, he’d actually expected Shadow to tell him what to say. There had to be a formal, correct answer to that question. Quickly, his mind ran through unfamiliar territory until he found something that might just be right, even if it wasn’t the expected answer.

“With serenity of mind and peace of heart,” he said slowly, not raising his voice but having a feeling the entire ship could hear him just fine. It was a slight alteration of the Jedi Code, and felt oddly appropriate, though he couldn’t help but wonder why he was back to the whole Jedi thing yet again.

The circle glowed slightly around them as he spoke, and the Empress held a neutral expression as she spoke again, “You will swear to stand by your Enai, whoever she may be, in times of sickness and health?”

“I will.”

There wasn’t another slight glow from the circle at that, but the Empress continued, “In times of prosperity and in times of war, you will stand by her and abide by her laws?”

“I will.”

“By your mind and your heart, you will keep this promise for as long as you live?”

“Yes, I will.”

A smile crept onto the Empress’ face, “Your promise is set, and your loyalty now lies with the Enai.”

The blade was pulled back and Akan had a feeling there was probably something else he needed to do. A quick half second later, he figured it out and bowed as best he could manage. He’d joined the military because it was easier to salute than bow...and besides, there was a right way to salute. With bowing, you might get it wrong and then what? Off with the head if you were lucky. But then again, Akan didn’t really know much about royalty beyond the old holodramas, so that skewed his opinion a good bit.

As he rose, the Empress held out her hand. Akan took it and she smiled warmly, “Welcome to the clan. Please, return to your true form.”

Akan did so before he’d even realized it, and suddenly figured out that he’d been answering the same way. The Force. She was using the Force to get answers out of him...but it was invasive or forceful, instead, simply looking inside him and making sure he answered truthfully. And now as it faded away, Akan felt suddenly drained. His mind had been opened for the Empress and others to see, and that wasn’t something that was easy on anyone.

He swayed slightly, disoriented and for some reason unable to stand up straight anymore. Shadow noticed this and was allowed through by the guards. After having rushed over to steady him, she hugged him slightly and smiled until the realization that all of those people were watching...no, eyeing them. The emotion faded from her face and she instead pointed over Akan’s shoulder to the open window there, “Look...”

Hanging there in the viewport was a large, blue and green planet with wisps of clouds here and there. Circling the planet were three brightly coloured moons, two of which almost looked like miniature versions of the planet while the third was a reddish colour. Shadow couldn’t help a smile again at that, “Welcome home...”

“Yeah...home...” Akan smiled weakly, his voice quieter than usual and sounding as drained as he looked, “Um...where is it?”

“Open your eyes,” Shadow whispered, grinning suddenly and trying not to laugh.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 176: All That Time, and We're Just Here for the View

After Akan was given a few minutes to recover, they were all led by the guards to a large, rectangular table that seemed to just go on and on. They ate an equally large meal, and Akan had given up on the questions of ‘What’s this?’ after about ten minutes when he decided that the names weren’t anymore comforting than how the food looked. But at least it tasted good. Very good. But he was starved, so anything was likely to taste good.

An hour or so later, they were allowed to go back to their quarters. Of course, a contingent of Needai accompanied them and once they arrived in the room both Akan and Shadow were helped to change into more simply nightclothes. If Akan hadn’t been so drained, he’s have complained. He was sure he still knew how to put on clothes just fine by himself, even if no one seemed to like what he chose to wear.

When the Needai finally left, Akan had enough energy to poke his head in to Tobias’ room. The toys had been scattered around and some of them had been built into a kind of fort. It took Akan a moment to find the little Alraxian who had dragged his cot off to one corner and then passed out...under it. The only indication of that was a short, stubby blue and black tail sticking out from the blanket draped over the cot. Akan managed a tired grin before plodding over to his little corner of the big bed and collapsing onto it, asleep in just a few more moments.

Shadow had paced some, thinking on a thousand things that barely even made sense to her. There was still something wrong. She’d tried to get at least some information on any other attacks or even intercepted communications, but it seemed like there was nothing. Nothing at all. Under any other circumstance, it would have seemed as if she was being blocked out from the information. But she’d worked around that, prying in places she truly shouldn’t have been prying when no one was looking and turning up nothing at all.

But that still gave her a bad feeling. Nothing meant one of two things. Either there truly was nothing, and Ket was biding his time for some disturbing reason, or someone was blocking the information. But not from her, from everyone. Neither of those possibilities were good ones, and both were merely speculations on Shadow’s part. Finally frustrating herself too much, she found a comfortable spot to lay in the bed until sleep finally took her.

It was hard to determine how long one slept in a starship. The soft rising sun of any planet was far more comforting to wake to than anything there was aboard a ship, if only for the fact that you could have a relative idea of the time. Instead, on ships, one simply awoke when they awoke and found their own odd sleeping rhythm. When Shadow awoke, she was relatively sure it had at least been a good few hours. But how long she had slept or even if she was still tired were not on her mind.

She was warm. As her brain interpreted the waking world around her, she blinked slightly. Not only did Shadow feel warm, but there was an odd constrained feeling too...as if she was closed in. And then she noticed that what she assumed to be the blanket in front of her eyes was moving slightly. Back and forth in a rhythm that coincided with the sounds of deep breathing. Akan. Right. No surprise...but...slowly, she tilted her head up to see him inches away, lying there with...his eyes were open. He was awake! The hair on the back of her neck and her tail fur rose slightly as she gave him a confused look. How had he gotten so...so close?! And why did she feel so constrained, still?! Tilted her head slightly, she saw an arm that was resting over her. Oh. Oh!

Akan’s eyes were open and he looked to be awake enough to be equally surprised. From the link, she could tell he had awoken in a similar confusion, and through it, they both came to a mutual agreement and sprang apart to the opposite ends of the bed. Akan eventually sat up, staring blankly at the wall across from him and opening his mouth to apologize. He didn’t, immediately sensing that it would only turn Shadow’s confusion into anger. That wasn’t something worth dealing with.

Thankfully, the door irised open and a few Needai slipped into the room. In a flurry of movement that Akan hated to admit he was getting used to, they were dressed and then ushered out and down the hallway. Apparently, they were late and had slept in. There was snickering and grinning at the end of that being said, and that did nothing but worry Akan even more. Shadow was right about this being annoying. Quickly, the two of them were ushered to the docking bay and into a smaller ship, which immediately left the much larger Thor and started straight for the planet below.

Akan watched quietly from the observation lounge as the large, blue green planet of Alraxia grew in size. Within moments, they had entered the atmosphere and the ship was traversing across endless forests and rivers. It was truly a beautiful planet, like nothing he’d seen anywhere else. Of course, Akan had been so used to the Core worlds that seeing any stretch of forest was unusual. Passing farther south, the forests gave way to grassy plains, and Akan noticed at least two large green things moving around.

Shadow pointed out that those were the dragons. Powerful and dangerous creatures, obviously, but something to be respected as much as feared. And then, as suddenly as the plains had appeared, they passed away and a great sea replaced them. The water was calm, and a clear blue green colour. Off in the distance, Akan spotted a few islands but the ship never passed over them, instead banking more eastward. From the shining and glittering sea, they passed over land again. It looked similar enough to what he’d seen before, but there was far more life to be seen moving around...though he didn’t actually pick out any dragons this time. Hills rose up and trees grew over them, thick and dark in many places.

And then, amidst the trees and backed near low mountains, Akan saw the palace. It was shaped like a gigantic U, a white marble colour encompassing all of it. The outer edges were dotted with smaller houses of many different shapes, a few with small pools of gleaming blue water near them. Slowly, though, they gave way to larger towers that eventually ended in the center with the gigantic, cylindrical shaped building. It seemed to be even more white than the rest of the place and there were courtyards littered everywhere among a few other buildings that surrounded it. Here and there, Akan could see small plant like structures. It only took him a moment to notice one literally opening up while they descended.

“Flowers?” he raised an eyebrow and turned a confused looked to the silent Shadow.

She showed no emotion, as usual, and then explained, “Are you surprised? Ships are alive, clothes are alive...why not the buildings too?”

“Good point,” Akan shrugged, “Something bothering you?”

“I just want to get to what we’re here to do,” Shadow said flatly, “The sooner we deal with Ket and Nine the sooner we can leave. It seems like my family has other plans, though.”

Akan did his best to look reassuring despite having barely any knowledge on the details of the situation, “It could be worse.”

“Oh, trust me, it is worse,” her response was grumbled and tired as the ship slowly set down on the flower-like landing pad, “You do know by now that its not me who has to deal with this. It may be my honour that’s tainted by Nine, but my mother is still Enai and this is her fight.”

“Wait...so you’re telling me we’re coming here to just lounge around while others do the fighting?!” Akan looked genuinely surprised at this, which only served to annoy Shadow. He should have figured out what was going on by now. If he spent less time playing with his lightsaber and more time using his brain he might have understood these things and figured out what she was avoiding.

“For now,” she answered quietly, finishing it in her mind but doing her best to keep it from him. For now...at least until her mother was challenged by Nine. Then the problems would arise. It was bound to happen, too, and how could the Empress refuse a challenge from such a disgusting enemy? It would be expected of her to fight. Shadow knew the outcome of that fight all too well.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Akan’s voice was just as quiet as her’s, and he probably hadn’t even meant her to hear that.

The ship set down and as Shadow stood up to leave, she said over her shoulder, “You and me both.”

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Chapter 176: Summons

The Empress and a few others had already arrived at the palace earlier in the morning, and so as Shadow and Akan walked down the access ramp there they all stood again. The Empress, the Emperor, a cadre of royal guards, and a couple other Alraxians. One, a deep ebony skinned Alraxian with only slightly lighter hair and an old look to his face, caught Shadow’s eye, if only for a second. Recognizing him right away, and not ignoring the two child guards flanking him, she quickly looked straight to the Empress again. Ignoring him wouldn’t make him go away, but right now it was the best she could do.

The Enai simply inclined her head to them with a smile before falling into step in front of them. She and her mate led Akan, Shadow, and the guards through a series of green courtyards and fountains and everything else Akan associated with those cliched tales of royalty. There were Alraxians all over the place, all with different markings and colours, and every time that Shadow was spotted there was cheering. So much so that Shadow was having trouble fighting back a blush.

And then they were inside the corridors of the huge palace, weaving through hallway after cream colour hallway. They passed doors with markings on them that Akan didn’t recognize, though he assumed it was the written form of the Alraxian language. Eventually, the Empress led them to a section of the palace where none of the doors were marked. Akan had gotten good and lost by now, having taken so many turns this way and that, that he wondered if he could every escape the place and see sunlight again.

Then, almost suddenly, they stopped in front of a door. Shadow’s mother turned and smiled warmly to the two of them, “Here we are. Clothes have been made in advance for the both of you so that shouldn’t be any problem. The jai is already with the other children in the nursery. If you require anything, well...I’m sure you know how to use the palace, Marix.”

Shadow nodded instinctively, turning to the door which irised open as she approached. She didn’t even look at the familiar blankness to her old room as she took a step in. A thought crossed her mind, and she stopped, turning around to face her mother and Akan who was still standing in the hallway looking lost, “Wait...mother. Where’s Akan staying?”

It was one of the few times that she had ever seen a blank, almost confused look on her mother’s face. That wasn’t a good sign, “...mother?”

“Come now, you two are keeping us waiting,” the Empress said, putting a hand on Akan’s shoulder and prodding him through the door.

“Oh...” was all that Shadow managed to say before Akan was inside and the door shut behind him, nearly catching his tail in the process.

Shadow managed a sigh and grumbled something about hating her family under her breath. Akan took the time to look around the small, blank room. It definitely fit Shadow well. Nothing on the cream walls. Only one piece of furniture, a wardrobe like on the large ship, and that probably had rarely been opened. There was a closet that was probably just as unused, and the bed gave off an aura of emptiness. In fact, the whole room did.

She wandered over to the closet and opened it to have a quick look in before sighing. The thing had been filled with clothes for the both of them. No surprise, really, but that didn’t change the fact that it was disheartening. She turned back to see Akan still standing there at the door looking lost. Rolling her eyes Shadow said, “Planning to just stand there for the whole time we’re here?”

“It feels safe right here,” Akan said quietly, noting the irony that he was in a room alone with Shadow, of all people, and he felt ‘safe’. There were a thousand things wrong with that, none of which needed to be pointed out. Even Akan wasn’t that daft. But either way, the comment made Shadow’s tail twitch. She wasn’t even sure why, and got slightly annoyed by it.

But for some strange reason, a grin slowly crept onto her face. At seeing that, Akan could only react as any sane person would and look terrified, “Oh, no...what did I do now?”

The grin just grew, “Such an ego. What makes you think I’m grinning at something you did? I could just be grinning because you’re making a complete fool of yourself...”

Akan opened his mouth to counter that, but Shadow stepped forward and cut him off, “Oh! And did I happen to mention that your tail brushed up against the wall a ways back and all your fur is standing on end?”

“Huh...?” he reached around to grab his tail, giving it a critical look, “Hey, there’s nothing wrong at—AHH!”

In his moment of defenseless, he was pounced. It was almost like old times as they struggled to ‘win’, with Shadow cheating by tickling him instead of using claws. But she was getting the upper hand, and as she was trying to pin him and claim victory, the door opened up behind them.

“Marix! I’ve come to welcome you home!....” there was a long silence then as everyone froze. Shadow’s twin brother, Alyx, coughed politely before blushing, “Um...I’ll um...save it for later.”

Quickly, Alyx retreated and the door irised closed again. She was sitting over Akan who was tilted his head back all of the way to look at where Alyx had been. Shadow had a horrified look on her face, and Akan just looked confused. Mainly confused because watching Alyx walk away upside down was...well, confusing.

“I really hate my family,” Shadow whimpered, still staring at the now closed door.

Akan could only manage a nod. For a moment, he thought about taking advantage of the situation and ‘winning’ their little contest, but there was a beep from the door. So someone had the decency to at least knock before entering this time. Quickly, both of them got to their feet. Shadow then called to the door, “Enter.”

In the usual way, the door irised open. Standing there was a young Alraxian girl, probably only a few years older that Tobias. But there was an empty look in her eyes, and Akan couldn’t help but be reminded by Shadow...at least, how Shadow had been at one point. She also was missing half of one ear, and didn’t even speak. Instead, just stared knowingly to Shadow.

Shadow nodded and then looked to Akan with a dangerously serious expression on her face, “I...I should return later...”

And then she left. Staring at the closed door, and not liking this at all Akan said quietly, “You’d better.”