Shura closed The
War of the Shells with a snap.
All’s well that end’s well. Not that it was a great
surprise that the five guardsmen had saved the day again in the third
installment of their tale. It had been a gripping enough read
nevertheless.
Staring out across the ocean, she wondered if even Racan could find a
way to make her story end well. Probably, though not without some
miraculous twists in the tale. The author of the Five Guardsmen would
also be able to think of a way to fix her relationship with Rhona. Not
that they were really in trouble, but since the vodka incident it was -
well, strained. At least Rhona had not felt the need to hide or get rid
of all the alcohol in the house. It had not been necessary either.
After her last exploits on that sector, Shura knew that she did not
feel like drinking for a good long while.
Shura stared at the book’s dust jacket showing the five
guardsmen on the Heights of Re whose crest they had singlehandedly
defended against an entire army.
With a sigh, she put the book down. She tried to recall, whether Rhona
had said she had the fourth volume as well or whether that was the one
she was missing? If she remembered correctly it was not the last one
yet. She did not want to read that one as three of the five guardsmen
were killed in it.
Shura placed her hand on her stomach thinking of the two tiny babies
growing in there. Sometimes she still felt uncomfortable with the
entire pregnancy business but now she also felt curious about it. And
she was sorry for the hell she had put these little creatures through.
Well, Rhona kept assuring her that there was nothing wrong with them.
Shura stretched. She really ought to get up and do something else than
sit on her butt all day. Or perhaps she should have a nap, she thought.
She closed her eyes and leaned back in the deck chair. Soon the sun
would move over the house and then the porch would be too hot to sit on
anyway.
Just as she was drifting off to sleep, the sound of a speeder
approaching snapped her awake again.
Judging from the noise the engine was making, the person driving it was
in a real hurry.
Had somebody found out she was here?
Shura jumped up and rushed into the house. Should she hide? It was too
late to flee. The speeder was almost at the door already.
The engine stopped and Shura could hear somebody jumping out.
“Shura?”
Thank gods, it was Rhona.
“Shura?” Rhona shouted again and came running into
the house. She stopped as she saw Shura and clutched a hand to her
chest. “Have you heard?” she asked.
Anakin is dead, Shura thought, and felt a wave of despair coming over
her. Then she realised that Rhona did not look desperate. She looked
worried, flushed from running and excited. If Anakin was dead, would
she just stand there, and would she sweep away the table cloth that
usually covered her holopad?
“No,” Shura managed to say. “Hear
what?”
Rhona flicked the holo-pad on, then she turned to Shura.
“He’s awake,” she said, her voice uneven.
“Anakin’s come out of the coma.”
For a moment, Shura stared at Rhona trying to digest the news. She sat
down on the sofa.
“I just heard and …,” Rhona started but
let her sentence trail off. She had been worried of course.
Shura continued to stare at Rhona who was fiddling with the controls of
the holopad.
Anakin awake?
Hadn’t they all said he would surely die? Shura thought that
she ought to be happy but somehow she could not find it in her to
cheer. To her, Anakin was still lost.
And what about all those injuries they mentioned?
The holopad finally sprang to live and the head of a human anchorman
appeared on it.
“Thoran Novitski, minister of agriculture and environment
denounced the statement by the Green Party as a concoction of wild
theories and gossip. The GP blamed the recent crop plight on various
planets in the Regari sector on to the use of anti-b bombs during the
recent war. Mr Novitski stated that he had been assured by both
military leaders and scientists involved in developing this weapon that
it was completely harmless to any plant life.”
Shura stared at the anchorman whose skin was so white it looked as if
it had been painted. Why was she watching this, she wondered
The anchorman was replaced by an image of a trimly-suited man, standing
behind a lectern berating somebody or other.
A caption popped up at the bottom of the pad running around it.
‘Breaking News: FM Skywalker emerges from coma
– Senator Palpatine to visit’
Shura frowned as she read the caption again and again as it circled
round the round base of the holopad.
Of course, she thought with irritation, Senator Palpatine would visit.
It was a chance of presenting himself as the best friend of the great
hero of the Republic yet again.
The ranting man was now replaced by pictures from the area stricken by
the crop plight, dusty fields covered with brown, withered plants,
their broken stems rattling in the wind. In the background a lone
figure was visible trying to root out the infested plants.
Shura sighed. She had not heard of these anti-b-bombs but she had the
sickening feeling there was a connection between them and this
disaster.
Was that what we were fighting for , she wondered,
feeling suddenly very tired, old and disillusioned. Did we
leave death and destruction behind everywhere?
“Shura,” Rhona asked from where she was sitting on
the other side of the holopad. “Are you alright?”
For a long moment, Shura stared at her cousin. She did feel alright,
which was probably a bad sign.
“I don’t know, I feel just confused,”
Shura said. “I think the news haven’t sunken in
yet. And it’s so unreal.”
Rhona nodded.
There was a haggard looking woman on the news now, screaming almost
incomprehensible with rage: “our own government dropped these
bombs here, to protect us, they said. Look what is going on
now.”
The anchorman returned to inform the audience that President Gimila had
made a statement he would personally investigate the allegations and
make sure the crop plight would not cause a widespread famine.
Just when Shura thought that she might as well stop watching, the
anchorman looked up and apparently straight at her, “now to
our breaking news. About an hour ago, confidential sources on Alma
Serena reported that Field Marshall Anakin Skywalker had regained
consciousness. Field Marshall Skywalker had fallen into a coma shortly
after he crashed into a building on Chardri thirty-three days ago. So
far Police have not been able to explain the causes of this accident.
Due to the serious nature of the injuries Field Marshall Skywalker was
not supposed to live. As we have reported earlier this week, management
of Alma Serena Military Hospital have been keeping the status of this
high profile patient completely secret. We have also been unable to
obtain a statement about his current state from Alma Serena. Just now
Senator Palpatine on inspection tour on Rexus IX has confirmed the
surprising news that Skywalker has emerged from the coma.
“We are now going live to Rexus IX to our reporter Zoe Cox.
Zoe,” the anchorman turned to his left and the head and
shoulders of a young pale woman with brightly red hair and green eyes
appeared. For a moment it looked as if the reporter was standing right
next to him, “can you tell us what is happening on Rexus
IX?”
The anchorman disappeared and only Zoe Cox was visible. She held an old
fashioned microphone in her hand and behind her, Shura could see a
large number of people and what looked like a fancy hotel lounge.
“As you can see, Lars,” she said, pointing behind
her shoulder to the throng of people, “the banquet has just
been called to an end after Senator Palpatine’s announcement.
He is going to leave Rexus IX at once on his private ship to fly
straight to Alma Serena.” The picture wobbled for a moment,
as if somebody had jostled the camera. “Wait, there comes
Palpatine,” Cox said and rushed off, the camera dutifully
bobbing behind her.
A great many people, most of them media like Cox were trying to get to
the same spot. “Senator Palpatine! Senator
Palpatine!” various of them shouted.
Shura grimaced. She couldn’t stand Palpatine. He was a
conniving, scheming bastard and she hated him for what he had put
Anakin through. She also hated him for being the one who had been told
about Anakin waking up. It was a stupid reaction, she knew. It was her
own fault that she was not the first person contacted of any change in
Anakin’s status. If she had wanted to she would be the one
now on her way to Alma Serena. Though she would not have bothered with
these irritating people from the media. As a matter of fact she would
be on Alma Serena already. And Senator Palpatine would still be the one
who announced the news to the Galaxy.
“Senator Palpatine,” Cox shouted, as she finally
managed to push herself at the head of the crowd. Probably the reason
she got this assignment in the first place, Shura thought.
“Senator,” Cox said pushing her microphone at
Palpatine, “is Skywalker now out of danger?”
Palpatine frowned and tried to make some headway through the
journalists. “No,” he stated, “Field
Marshall Skywalker’s condition is still critical.
He’s in surgery as we speak. However, Dr Hadasht has told me
that by the time I arrive he should be awake again. I will be conveying
your best wishes, Ms Cox.”
“Thank you, Senator,” Cox said, blushing. What had
this been about, Shura wondered.
“But more importantly,” Palpatine continued and
even briefly stopped and turned his creepy yellow eyes on the camera
that must be hovering somewhere to his right, “we will be
finally able to find out what really happened during that terrible
night . We will be able to find those responsible for this
accident.” He turned back to Cox, still holding her
microphone at him. “Now, Zoe, I think you understand that I
need to hurry.”
“Yes,” Cox stepped aside.
For a moment the camera panned on Palpatine as he strode off,
impatiently waving away the remaining reporters, then it focused again
on Cox, who stared absentmindedly after the departing Senator. Only
when the anchorman back at the news-room audibly cleared her voice, she
seemed to remember where she was.
“As you can see, Lars,” Cox stated, turning her
eyes back to the camera, “it is not only the improvement of
Field Marshal Skywalker’s physical condition that turns all
the eyes again on the Military Hospital on Alma Serena, but also the
fact that now the reason behind this tragic accident can be uncovered.
Was it, in fact, just a dreadful accident or something more sinister? -
This is Zoe Cox, reporting for News of the Galaxy from Rexus
IX.”
“Thank you, Zoe,” Lars the anchorman said, as the
image of Cox was replaced by his white face. “We are
reporting on the surprising improvement of Field Marshal
Skywalker’s condition. Earlier, Senator Palpatine made this
announcement during a festive banquet held in his honour on Rexus
IX.”
The image changed again and now showed an hall, filled with a multitude
of tables covered in crystal and silver and a crowd of people obviously
dressed at their best. Senator Palpatine was standing behind his place
at the table on some sort of dais.
“Dear friends,” Palpatine began,
“I’d like to once more stress how much I enjoyed
the warm welcome I received here and how much I appreciate all the
effort that was made on my behalf. Thank you very much. Unfortunately,
however, I won’t be able to stay for the full seven days I
had planned to remain on your wonderful planet. News just reached me
that requires me to leave at once.” He paused and a smile
appeared on his face. “Unlike so many other times when a
politician is called away, it is not tragedy that caused my change of
plans. It is not another disaster that calls me away, not another
unnecessary death or impending catastrophe. No, it is good news, and I
am pleased to be the first to announce it. My good friend Field Marshal
Anakin Skywalker…”
Suddenly the sound cut out and the three dimensional image of Senator
Palpatine just opened and shut his mouth like a fish on land.
“Do you want to hear more?” Rhona asked, remote in
hand.
Shura shook her head. “No, I think this is as much Palpatine
as I can stomach.”
“Yes,” Rhona agreed and switched the holo off.
“Additionally, it seems we already heard all they know at the
moment.”
Shura unclenched her hands, only now realising that she’d
pressed them hard enough for her to have hardly any feeling left in her
fingers.
Somehow she still felt unnaturally calm. She wanted a large drink, but
she surely would not ask Rhona for one. She also wanted nothing so
badly, then jump up, run out to her ship and fly straight to Alma
Serena, to be there when Anakin woke up again. She ought to be there,
not this scheming little bastard Palpatine.
Of course, she knew she couldn’t go. And even if she left
now, she’d still arrive there after Palpatine, who by now was
already on his ship.
Shura took a deep breath and looked at Rhona who stared at her in
return. Rhona frowned as if she was thinking about something very hard.
“What do you get out of this, apart from the
obvious?” Shura asked her.
Rhona breathed in with something that sounded like a sigh.
“First, Tosh was right, they must have stopped reconstructive
surgery,” she announced. “Otherwise they would not
rush Anakin straight back into the operating theatre. It also means
that it must have been very urgent, nothing you could put off for a
day. It’s not the best thing to put a patient under narcotics
again so soon after coming out of a long coma. He’s still
being treated him by the same doctor, so I guess this means
he’s in good hands.” Rhona folded her hands and
asked, “What about you?”
Shura made a grimace of distaste. “Apart from Palpatine
behaving as if he was Anakin’s only friend, the sentence that
struck me as odd was the one about finding those responsible for
Anakin’s crash. - And not because that means me as well.
Palpatine is suggesting that somebody else was responsible for the
crash, not that it may have happened because Anakin was
drunk.”
Rhona nodded.
“And what on earth was with the reporter?” Shura
asked.
“That was strange,” Rhona agreed.
Anakin is awake, Shura thought again. Oh
all the gods, please make him get well again.
She remembered the agonising wait for Anakin to wake up after the
Battle of Doom. She could remember the stiffness that crept into her
limbs after sitting next to his bed for hours and hours, the strong
smell of antiseptics in the room, her eyes burning after staring and
staring at her husband lying in his bed, his face so horribly pale
under the bandages.
He had woken up, panicking because he couldn’t see. But she
had been there to hold him and assure him that it was only temporary.
Now, when he woke up again, there would be nobody there. Palpatine had
said after all that Anakin would be awake by the time he reached Alma
Serena. The doctor surely had other things to do than sit by
Anakin’s bedside.
She ought to be there, Shura thought, she ought to go right now.
She could see herself arriving on Alma Serena, striding down the
hallway to Anakin’s room. Nobody would dare stop her. -
Except Palpatine and he would be there when she arrived. As would be
the media. With her fake ship ID she’d probably get into the
hospital without being harassed by reporters but they would be there
now in force and they would recognise her.
She knew what it would be like, people shouting questions at her,
asking her where she had been, why she had run away. And somebody would
finally dare to ask the question they were all wondering about:
“Do you have an affair with General Kenobi?” and
she’d punch whoever asked. She’d never been the
diplomat in the family.
“Shura,” Rhona said in a loud enough voice for
Shura to realise that she probably had called her name before.
Looking at her cousin, Shura realised that she had stood up without
realising it.
“You scared me,” Rhona stated, “you
seemed miles away.”
Shura tried to smile at that, but she knew she failed.
“I was,” she consented, “I was thinking
of going to Alma Serena.”
“That’s good,” Rhona said, “you
should go, Shura. Go to Anakin, he needs you now, and you need
him.”
Shura shook her head. “I can’t go,” she
stated, and when Rhona opened her mouth to argue with her, she
continued, “I can’t go there. I couldn’t
bear the reporters there, I cannot face down Palpatine. And what
if… what if Anakin doesn’t want to see
me?”
That is the point, isn’t it, she told
herself. You cannot bear the prospect of Anakin telling you
to piss off. Or more likely he would send Palpatine to tell you that
you aren’t wanted.
“That’s silly and you know it!” Rhona
protested.
“It’s not,” Shura said and sat down.
She thought she’d probably die of humiliation if Palpatine
told her that Anakin did not want to see her. She would not even be
able to know if that was true or whether Palpatine had decided to keep
them separate. Would she push past Palpatine and storm into
Anakin’s room anyway? What if Anakin then told her to go to
hell?
Palpatine would by then have found out all about the stupid argument
and the fight and the accident from Anakin. Palpatine would know whom
to blame, herself, Kenobi and the entire Jedi Order. And he would not
hesitate to announce this to the reporters waiting to gobble up every
tidbit of information he threw their way.
“I have to leave,” Shura stated and got up again.
For a moment Rhona stared at her, then when Shura randomly picked up
one of her shirts lying discarded on the floor, she asked,
“Now?”
“Now,” Shura agreed, “Anakin is going to
tell Palpatine about what happened and Palpatine is going to tell the
media and they are going to be after me.”
Rhona got up and walked around the holopad.
“Shura,” she said, “the media already
know about the argument. They know you went missing. There is nothing
new that will make them look for you harder.”
Shura looked down at the shirt she was holding, she did not know what
to do with it. She wanted to go to Alma Serena, she also did not want
to go there or anywhere, just stay here. She suddenly longed to run
home to her mother and seek comfort there, but she couldn’t
do that either.
“Sit down,” Rhona told her and took the shirt from
her hands.
Obediently, Shura sat back down.
Rhona sat down on the holopad and took Shura’s hands in hers.
“I have to leave,” Shura repeated. She
couldn’t stay here longer, abusing Rhona’s
hospitality. She couldn’t bear Rhona’s pity any
longer.
“There is no need to rush,” Rhona said.
“I cannot say I understand you. Why you don’t go to
your husband, why you think you have to hide, but I just have to accept
that. What I cannot accept is you running away again with no sense or
direction. If you think you have to leave, find somebody you can stay
with. Surely you have friends that would be glad to help you. And
don’t worry, the media are not besieging every single person
you know.”
Shura shook her head. “All the people we know are in the
armed forces. I can’t go to any of them.”
How could she face any of them, now after what happened between her and
Anakin?
“You have to know somebody who’s not in the
military,” Rhona insisted. “A friend from school,
or from here.”
“No,” Shura said.
She stared at the holopad Rhona sat on. Was the operation Anakin was
undergoing over by now, she wondered. Had he survived? What if he had
died now or had relapsed into another coma.
“There’s got to be someone,” Rhona
insisted.
“Keeiara,” Shura said. The memory old friend from
school had quite suddenly come back to her. “Keeiara
Organa,” she explained to her cousin. “I
haven’t been in touch with her for ages. Her husband is a
high ranking member of the government, a prince as well.”
Thinking of Bail Organa, stuffed shirt that he was, made her feel a
little uneasy about the idea of staying with Keeiara. But Bail would be
busy with his work.
“That sounds promising,” Rhona said.
Shura knew that Bail did not approve of her, but to please his wife he
would agree to help her. As long as she stayed out of his way as much
as possible, which would not be a problem, given the size of the Organa
family’s residence.
Thinking of the splendour of Bail’s home on Alderaan, she
remembered asking Bail what the ordinary people of Alderaan thought
that the nobility lived in such luxury. She also remembered
Bail’s reply: what was going on inside the palace was of no
concern to the people outside. They valued privacy on Alderaan. That
would be pratical.
Shura nodded at Rhona. “I think Keeiara is going to be happy
to help.”
“That’s good,” Rhona said.
Gods, she hadn’t been in touch with Keeiara for almost two
years. With the war going on and the fact that Anakin
couldn’t stand her Shura just had not gotten round to
visiting or even writing.
And Anakin was awake, but still in a critical condition.
Rhona smiled at Shura, pressing her hands. “I am glad you are
taking the news so well, that we have a plan now. - So, what are we
going to do next?”
Shura stared at the holopad. “Watch the news?”
“Are you sure?” Rhona asked, and when Shura nodded,
Rhona stood up, sat down next to her and switched the holo back on.
“News of the Galaxy,” the white skinned anchorman
said, “we are now going live to Alma Serena Military Hospital
where Professor Cagliari is about to make an announcement on Field
Marshall Skywalker’s condition.”
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