Sands of Time (closed)

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

OOC: Editted for reasons to be revealed later. Had the plot format change.

The computer beeped, signalling Admiral Taylor Millard's exit from hyperspace. He checked his scopes, as the other two missile boats exitted hyperspace. He felt relaxed, having spent the last 5-6 hours asleep.

"Form up," he stated coldly, "Stay sharp, angle for the desert. If Jaranda's information was right...it should be about 100 kilometers away from the city." Millard didn't say who else assisted him in finding what they were looking for.

"Aye sir," his wingmen said a few seconds after each other. The missile boats angled their way towards the planets, watching the twin suns as they began their ascent into the heavens, lighting the planet for all to see.

Certainly is a backwater planet. I thought Hoth was bad, Taylor remembered early in his career, as an Imperial pilot, scouting the regions outside of Hoth hoping to catch Rebels as they fled their base on the frozen wasteland.

Taylor felt a slight tug at his restraints, as the atmosphere and the fighters collided. Gravity took over, and they continued their descent into the sky over the planet Tatooine.

Smiling beneath this helmet, Millard swung his ship out of its descent and gazed at the barren planet below. His sensors told him a large, winding canyon blocked them from their supposed target.

He keyed the comlink for Thomas' channel, "What we're looking for should be just past the canyon...I'm going to shoot through their for a challenge."

"Aye sir", he hear Thomas reply.

To his other wingman, Millard said, "Captain Laran. If you wish, you can follow me through the canyon. If not...you can stay with Thomas and do reconnaisence. Either way, it's up to you."

Taylor, switching on his overdrive, opened his mind to the Force, and flew into Beggar's Canyon.

[Jedi Master Luuke Skywalker]

Luuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he caressingling pressed the keypad to his home. Well, it wasn't his home, it was Luke Skywalker's home, but that didn't make a difference, In his heart, it had once been his home too. A stifled swish sounded out as the charred entranceway slid open, sand flying up into the air and dropping from the crevaces which had been left undisturbed for almost thirty years.

"Uncle Own, aunt Bura?"

The words echoed in his head as if they had been spoken mere seconds ago. The little home had hardly changed since the days in which those memories rested. This was all his life, too. Everything inside was gone, no doubt plundered by Jawas or Tuskens. Luuke didn't seem to notice, he just walked inside to the place in which he had slept, and layed down on the sandy cott. In the morning he'd make his way out to the dune sea... to find what called out to him.

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

Millard continued his flight through the twists and turns of Beggar's Canyon. His mind was busy, preoccupied with the dips and turns of the deep, dark chasm. The missile boat's control stick felt comfortable in his glove-encased hand, responding to his every command with ease and grace only a master pilot could get from a machine.

He didn't care if Captain Laran had followed him into the canyon or not, but to say he had flown, made his pride swell and his face to grin.

Taylor focussed on the ledge infront of him, dipping low beneath it, turning off the overdrive, and flew out of the canyon.

"Admiral," Thomas' voice came over the comlink, "It appears we have found what we were searching for."

"Wonderful Thomas," The Imperial Admiral said, "How far away?"

"About 8 klicks sir. Shouldn't take more than 3-4 minutes to get there.

"Good," Taylor replied, "We'll set down about a kilometer away and hike in. If we're lucky...there will be some documents and texts for us to study."

And return to Master Darkserpent.

Millard shot low over the desert, slowing his fighter until it was a mere crawl. He set down on the sand, the other two fighters landing next to his.

Hot, dry air greeted Taylor as he exitted his craft. He peeled off his flight suit and helmet, attaching his lightsaber to the belt of his black jumpsuit. He was, again, not in his Imperial Officer uniform. Neither were Thomas or Serena Laran.

It would be interesting, he mused, unsure if he would find what he wanted to find. But he felt something, as if someone was approaching miles away. Someone with Force powers...

"Let's go guys!" Millard yelled, trudging towards the dwelling before him, "We need to get what we need and go!"

The three began walking quicker towards the white, stone house in front of him. It was the dwelling of Obi Wan Kenobi.

[Serena Laran]

Serena stripped her fingerless pilot gloves off, and dropped from the missileboat into the dunes of Tatooine. It was hotter than she'd expected, and under her tan jumpsuit she was already sweating. The flight through Beggars Canyon had been hair raising enough, although following the Admiral had made it a little easier.

This jaunt into the desert was not a pleasure cruise for her. She was the liason assigned to the wayward Admiral from Unknown Space, and needed to find out as much about his character as she could. Joining him in this mission was a learning experience. She was learning about him, and he was getting the opportunity to see what the current Empire was turning out in the way of Captains. Or Rear Admirals.

Laran followed after Millard, her blaster strapped down to her thigh. She kept silent, being here only as an observer, after all.

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

Taylor strode to the entrance of Obi Wan Kenobi's old house. Adobe, was more like it, he thought, This isn't a house...it never was. He hadn't been to Tatooine while assigned with the Empire, but he knew the significance of the backwater planet...to the Imperials, and the Rebels. The thoughts of Luke Skywalker made his thoughts sicken.

His sister killed my master in his...I suppose, first life. By the Force, I am thankful he returned to teach me the ways of the Force. And the Dark Side.

He sensed something in the house, 4 beings...With limited intelligence too. But highly dangerous.

Taylor raised his hand...stopping Thomas and Serena. He waved the Imperial Guardsman forward. The Brown garbed man slipped forward, drawing close to the Imperial Admiral.

"See if there's a back entrance to the...house," Taylor hesitated calling the small, decrepit adobe a 'house', "If so...we'll use the same maneuver we did on Corellia. Wait for me to...'interrupt' whatever they're doing. Then listen for the scream...or count to five. Enter...and we'll take them out."

Thomas just nodded and made his way towards the back of the dwelling. There was a back entrance, but it was guarded. Slipping behind the alien, Thomas grabbed him by his throat, pulling him close to his body. He pulled a silver cylinder to the alien's back, pressing down on a button. The cylinder lengthened in a matter of seconds, piercing the alien's heart. It went slack in Thomas' hands, dead.

Back up front, Millard ran a black-gloved hand over the brown door, a few splinters catching on the glove. Wiping his hands together, he pressed against the door.

It fell in...splintering on the floor, clouds of sand mixed with dust picking up, making vision murky. Using the Force, Taylor filtered out his vision seeing the interior of the house. 4 aliens turned, from where they stood. Their light tan robes, and their dark green-grey masks made their faces even more grotesque, than their thoughts. They looked suprised, as their body language said, bringing their long metal sticks into a defensive position.

Millard recognized the sticks as gaffii sticks, a crude and barbaric weapon...but quite useful. He activated his lightsaber, the dusty room filled with a blue and red glow.

"It appears...we've interrupted something," Admiral Millard twirling his lightsaber, "Too bad."

He raised his lightsaber and attacked the Tusken Raiders. In his mind, he saw one of the aliens bring his gaffi stick down toward his head. He ducked beneath the quick jerk of the metal stick, swinging his lightsaber up, cuttingt he alien in half. Taylor caught the gaffi stick in mid air, and hurled it at another alien. It pierced its shoulder, knocking it down.

Millard heard a blaster shot over his shoulder as another alien fell dead, a hole in its head. The Sith Apprentice did not have to look to know who shot the alien.

So she's a good markman too...excellent.

A muffled scream told him Thomas had killed another Tusken Raider with his Force Pike.

The last Sand Person pulled the gaffi stick from his shoulder, taking one last futil charge at Millard. Suddenly, he stopped as Taylor brought his hand up. He began closing his fist...watching the Tusken Raider clutch at his throat with one hand. The alien fell forward on the sandy floor, gasping one last time before dying...his throat crushed.

Admiral Millard stood up, his cold blue eyes flashing, "We need to clean up. Get these...filth," he kicked one of the corpses, "Out of here. We'll make camp for the night near here. Then study this place tomorrow. See if we can what we need to find. We leave in 2 days."

Grabbing one of the bodies, he drug it out of the dwelling.

[Serena Laran]

Serena had stayed back as the Guardsman and the Admiral had stormed the dwelling place. She knew what Tusken Raiders were, however, and after she had shot one of them, she had turned her attention to making sure that there weren't any more of them.

She pulled a pair of macrobinoculars to her eyes, and scanned the surrounding dunes. There were some suspicsious looking variations in the sand, like tracks of a huge beast. Or several. It was hard to tell, at this distance, for one thing, in the sand for another, and the fact that the group had been in single file evidently made guessing the number impossible. Laran jogged to the hut, and poked her head inside.

Millard brushed past her, reaching for another of the dead Raiders. Serena stopped him, and pulled a skin of water from the body. It was more than half full. They had plenty of supplies, yet no one was ever hurt by being too prepared. She stood to her feet in the now empty dwelling, and looked around. It was unimpressive, and very sandy. It smelled like Tusken Raider, as well.

Laran set her pack down on a built in bench, and knocked the sand off her boots. "What are we looking for, Admiral?" He was a strange one, all right. Not hard to look at, but curious in his activities. Well, she was sent to find out what it was he was doing. So, here she was too. And to frell with her promotion. What did a Rear Admiral do, anyway? She let a smile cross her lips at some of her bawdier thoughts, and then straightened her face and listened for Millards reply.

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

"We're looking for old texts, Captain Laran," Millard said, grabbing the last Tusken Radier, "This is the dwelling of the deceased Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi. We're here looking for documents..." he paused, dropping the alien and picking up what appeared to be some sort of paddle with markings on it.

"Or artifacts. Specifically Jedi related. If Kenobi was the last of the Jedi Knights before their resurgence after Emperor Palpatine's death, he has to have documents on the Force. Dealing with practically anything."

Picking up the Tusken Raider again, Taylor carried it outside. He walked 40 feet before setting it down in the mass grave, he and Thomas had dug. Thomas pulled him aside.

"Do you trust her?"

"Not yet," Taylor whispered in reply, "I felt something odd back there, like she was thinking about something...but I'm not sure what. We'll find out soon enough."

Admiral Millard took a swig from his canteen, then began covering the grave with sand. With that task accomplished, Millard walked back to the Missile Boats...covering them in a cammo net, then taking his Imperial Repeater Rifle from its housing in the cockpit.

Don't leave home without it. Just like a lightsaber.

He marched back to the campsite, where Thomas and Serena were chewing on ration bars. The Imperial Captain offered one to the Admiral.

"Thank you, Captain," Millard said taking a bite. After dining on calamari two nights ago, his mind said , These ration bars taste like roast Gammorian.

The twin suns of Tatooine had just begun to set, as Millard finished his meal. He took another swig from his canteen, then walked into the tent, to his sleeping roll.

Thomas had insisted on taking first watch, and Laran second. Millard was grateful to a degree...he could sleep and not be disturbed unless something happened. He lay back...watching Serena yawn and fall asleep in the sleeping bag next to him.

Turning away from her, Millard began to fall asleep, excited about the next day's planned expedition. Something still nagged at him though. Someone was coming...with power. But Millard did not know who or what.

Placing those thoughts away, Millard fell into a dreamless sleep.

[Serena Laran]

Laran yawned as Thomas woke her, and sat up in her sleeping bag. She took her blaster rifle and a bit of food, and moved to the outside of the small camp. The man Thomas was already asleep as she sat down to watch the surrounding dunes.

The moonlight hit the sands just perfectly, turning the desert into a work of art. Millard would appreciate it. Or maybe he wouldn't. He seems to prefer "man made" art. Serena chewed thoughtfully on the ration bar, and sipped out of her canteen.

If they hadn't killed all of the Sand People who had been in the rundown house...then they might be back. She was pretty sure none had gotten away, but all the same she kept her eyes open. There really wasn't anything else to look out for in this forsaken rock of a planet.

No one knew they were here. And no one was looking for them.

Serena scanned the area again, and then settled into her watch, absently running her fingers through the sand. We're here looking for...documents? What did the Admiral want with documents in a destroyed house in the middle of the deserts of Tatooine? Observing him was going to be more interesting than she had thought.

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

"It's beautiful isn't it," a voice behind Laran said. Admiral Taylor Millard stood behind Laran, a cup in his hand, his Repeater Rifle over his shoulder.

Taylor yawned, taking a sip of the warm liquid, feeling it waken him more. Checking his watch, Millard noticed he was an hour early to his watch. Further analysis indicated it was 0600 Corellian time.

Feh, he thought, taking another sip, It's time I got up anyway. I have the Force to rely on. Captain Laran, on the other hand, has no Force abilities. And I need both she and Thomas, at full readiness.

He continued speak, sitting down next to Serena, "I admit...I prefer physical art. It's easier to duplicate and save. But there is something about planetary art. It can be a 'one of a kind thing'."

Taylor took another sip of cafe, staring at the dunes before him. The moonlight cast a dull glow over them, giving a sheen reserved for jewels and emeralds. The moon was beginning to slump below the horizon. Day would come soon.

"We're looking for these documents so we can learn more about the Jedi," Millard said conversationally, "To learn about a race's art, and culture one can find weaknesses... and exploit them."

He paused, remembering what Thrawn had taught him.

"Art tends to reveal trends in people, habits, etc. History does the same. The study of ancient history and cultures...is key, in my opinion, to victory. We're here, to study the culture of the Jedi."

Taylor answered Serena's unasked question, his blue eyes matching her green in brightness, "The Sith Order's library has dozens of books on the Jedi, however, they are from a 'certain point of view'. The texts we're looking for are from a 'certain point of view' as well...but a different one. Instead of books from a Sith perspective, we want books from a Jedi's perspective.

"It would be like...reading a book about the life of Emperor Palpatine. An Imperial book would write him up as a wonderful man, with dreams of making the Old Republic, and the Empire, a better place for everyone. A book written by say, Leia Organa Solo, would write Palpatine off as a madman, and a meglomaniac; obessessed with power. Clearly a different point of view."

Millard stood up, walking around the slender figure of Serena. She certainly was nice looking, he thought, running a hand through his short hair. He stared out at the beauty of the dunes, taking the macrobinoculars from Captain Laran.

He saw nothing out there...only sand.

Sitting down, he offered his canteen of cafe to the red-haired woman.

"I hope you do not mind the company," he stated slowly, "So tell me Captain Laran. Once we reach the Unknown Regions, I plan on giving you a ship to command. I was going to suprise you with it, once we returned from here...but telling you now, is better than never.

"While I expect you to stay at the command center, if you ever wanted to explore...you have a ship to command."

Taylor took a long swig of his cup, draining the liquid.

"One thing I expect from my officers, is their honest opinion. What do you think of your first few weeks as liason between the GMA and my forces. Do you wish you'd stayed on your Imperial Star Destroyer, rather than sit here and search for documents?

"Please, Captain...be honest."

He handed the thermos to her again, and waited...watching the moon go down beneath the dunes.

[Jedi Master Luuke Skywalker]

It had been early on in the day when Luuke had began his journey towards the Dune Sea. The suns hadn't reared their head above the horizon yet, and he could only guide himself by the light of the already fading moon. Thoughts had drifted through his head all day, most of them trailing back to the days he recalled as being his own. The days during which he lived with his uncle and aunt, harvesting moisture. It all seemed to be just a dream now.

Hours later it had become apparent to him he was not the only visitor. From a distance he could see that his former friends and teachers home was inhabited, and those within seemed to be complicated in their thought patterns than he could remember a Tusken ever being. They're human... but that doesn't say much. They might still not be friendly. Several clicks away he brought his speeder to a halt and stepped out with caution, keeping to the shadows of the hills and dunes as he made a half-circular trek towards Obi-wan's former home. "If I can't just keep out of sight... Maybe I can get in close enough to find out what's going on."

Sand blew past his face, a large wind kicking up tiny particles and clouding his clear view. The whole walk had been awkward and clumsy, but he had finally gotten within range to get a better look at the visitors.

[Admiral Taylor Millard]

As Laran began to speak, Millard cut her off...

"Did you hear that?" he asked, rolling behind the dune. Taylor looked out over the rolling sand dunes, as the suns began to rise. His hand went to his repeater rifle, and he brought the macrobinoculars to his blue eyes. What he saw shocked him.

On the dune stood Luke Skywalker. No...it wasn't, the Sith Apprentice thought, He was weaker...less certain...

There was something else about him...an odd buzzing...hmm...

"Captain," The Imperial Admiral said quickly, "Go wake up Thomas...head over to Kenobi's old home...begin excavating it. Take anything Jedi related...look for The Force as words...stuff like that.

"Once this is over, then I'll join you to finish the search. Go...now!"

Millard saw Laran make her way back to the campsite, moments later, coming out with Thomas. Taylor noticed the silver gleam in then gloved hand of the Imperial Guardsman. It was Thomas' Force Pike. A small smile came to Taylor's lips, as he turned back to the Jedi Master.

Skywalker walked towards the dwelling of Kenobi. As it came into sight, blaster fire erupted from the dunes above. The sand around his black clothed body kicked up, causing him to seek cover. As he ran for a dune...the blaster fire stopped.

<font size="5">"LUUKE SKYWALKER!!! YOUR SISTER KILLED MY MASTER...PREPARE FOR BATTLE!</font>

A tall man in black stood, his blue eyes blazing. The weapon in his hand disappeared, another black object appearing in his hand. The lightsaber activated, the blue-red blade casting an eerie glow.

Millard glowered down on Luuke Skywalker. He felt the Force flow through him, giving him strength. He reached out, grasping the sand around the Jedi Master. A strong wind began to blow before Luuke. The sand before him raised up in the air, slamming into his face at incredible speed.

Taylor smiled evilly and jumped towards Skywalker.