Prelude to Eternity - Chapter One

With a certain fondness, the boy thought back to his years in Rettar's cellar, with his twin brother, Xeph, and all the other thieves. They had been good, and he knew that he would never be able to top them, no matter how hard he tried. Being a thief wasn't the most secure occupation, but it was certainly the most entertaining - in Xicanti's opinion, at least. The knowledge that you may not live to see another day, that each second may be your last one free - or alive - now that's the life for me! he thought to himself. This type of existence, with guards all around and danger miles away, is way too boring!

There was also the matter of the baths. Xicanti had never really bothered to wash himself thoroughly before he'd come to the formerly Imperial Palace, but his 'new' older sister seemed to expect him to take one every day. "It's just not sanitary to go so long without one!" Leia had told him. "You'll start to smell like a Wookiee!"

"What's wrong with smelling like a Wookiee?" Chewie, who had been in the room at the time, demanded. "You've said yourself that we had an odor that slightly resembled that of a cat's litterbox. And you like cats, so you must like the way we smell!"

Leia had rolled her eyes. "Your reasoning is as sound as ever, Chew!" she'd replied. "It's a good thing we have you around. How else would we be able to figure out such complicated logic problems?" Those words and others had given Xicanti the impression that Leia didn't respect the Wookiee Lord very much, although she certainly liked him. The two were always joking around, their bantering often becoming quite rough and uncouth.

"I agree with Chewie!" Xicanti had exclaimed. "Wookiees don't smell bad at all! I'd be proud to have an odor like his!"

Leia had cocked an eyebrow at him. "How wonderful for you to have found something you both excel at and can also be proud of."

Chewie had laughed and elbowed the young thief. "That's Leia's subtle way of telling you that you stink," he muttered between chuckles.

"But Chewie just took a serious bath sixty years ago," Leia had continued. "He doesn't smell like most Wookiees. You should have taken a whiff of his mother, Cerbacca. She took maybe one bath in all of her life, and it was several hundred years before she died. I imagine that you would not want to smell like her."

"This time, Leia's right!" Chewie had cut in. "Cerrie went a thousand years without a bath, and she smelled like a pile of human droppings that had been marinated with Bantha piss and left to decompose for longer than you could possibly imagine!" The Wookie Lord crinkled his wet black nose in disgust. "Even I didn't want to go close to her near the end. I made Lowie chew up her food for her."

Xicanti wasn't so much interested in the parts about what Cerbacca smelled like as he was about the time periods involved in the story. "H-how long do Wookiees live for, exactly?" he asked tentatively. His contact with the other species' of the galaxy had been far better than that of most of Coruscant's wealthy young people, yet he had never really encountered a Wookiee before. The possibility of one living for as long as Chewie's description indicated astounded him.

Chewie shrugged. "That depends on the Wookiee. If they live a peaceful life with no excitement whatsoever, they're likely to live to about Cerrie's final age of one thousand and ten. But, if they do lots of fun stuff, like blowing up Death Stars and rescuing Imperial Commanders from certain boredom and taking over extremely sandy planets - without killing themselves, of course - they're likely to live for even longer. You know, about two or three thousand years."

Once again, the young thief found himself to be quite confused. "But, how is that possible?" he wondered allowed. "No one can live for that long without dying! How do Wookiees manage it?"

The Wookiee Lord of Tattoine looked at the boy for a moment, then burst out laughing. Xicanti really didn't see what was so funny about his question, but still listened eagerly for the answer. He'd found Chewie's reasoning to be more accurate than Leia gave it credit for. "Wookiees have a very different perception of things," Chewie had replied. "No one, except you of course, has ever told us that we can't live for as long as we like. So we do just that. You know, mind over matter. I'm sure that, as a likely future Jedi, you understand perfectly. If a Wookiee lives a very quiet, boring life, he or she is more likely to get tired of it and start thinking to themselves, 'Why aren't I dead yet?' That's what happened with Cerrie. She lived such a boring life that she kept wondering why it wasn't over yet. Her speculation caused it to end. But with other Wookiees, who lead exciting lives, it's very different. They know that there's a lot to life, and that they can get to everything they want to do if they can find enough time. Take me, for instance. I'm two hundred and seventeen years old, and I still haven't done all the stuff I want to do. You know, eat an entire Rancor, see how long it'd take me to get to the far side of the galaxy, explore what's going on in other galaxies, try to become a Jedi those sorts of things. And so, I've decided to live longer to get that extra time and do all those extremely interesting things. Lots of other Wookiees do it to. Lowie tells me that we're like big hairy elves with no ears, if you can make sense of his analogy." Chewie gave Xicanti a leveling glance. "You get all that?"

The boy had had no choice but to nod dumbly. Everything Chewie had told him had made perfect sense, once he'd got it all straightened out in his head. But unfortunately, it had also provided the distraction Leia needed to get the dreaded bath ready. "You'll have to take one now," Leia had told him sternly. "Water's not unlimited here on Coruscant, and there's an awful lot of it in this tub. Unless you want to waste it all, you'll have to do as I say."

Xicanti hadn't really supported her cause, but he decided that the best way to get her out of what had been deemed his room would be to go along with her. Grudgingly, he nodded, then said, somewhat grumpily, "Okay, I'll give in. Can you get out so I can take this bath thing?"

Chewie had no objection to Xicanti's plea. He left quietly, (a miracle for the often loud, jovial Wookiee), with no more than a quick "Good night!" Leia, on the other hand, evidently wasn't going to go along with it.

"If I leave, you'll just drain all the water out and go to sleep without getting clean," she accused. "I'm staying right here until you're all done."

Xicanti didn't know what to say to this. Leia's right 'bout the water-draining thing! he told himself. That's exactly what I was plannin' on doing. But now she's refused to leave until I take the bloody bath. Which means I'll have to let her see me naked. The last thought wasn't too pleasing to the boy. His twin brother, Xepher, had seen him naked, of course, at the time each year when the thieves received new clothes from their den master, Rettar Smrokes. All the thieves in the cellar had seen him naked then, and he them. There had never really been any choice in the matter. But all of them had been fellow boys, except for Rettar's wife, Tessa, who never watched the proceedings anyways. Now, here he was with a woman, and one he'd never met before a few hours previous. And she was telling him that he had to let her watch him take a bath.

"B-but, I won't have any clothes on!" he exclaimed, his face turning as red as his hair likely was, beneath the thick layer of dirt his years as a thief had placed upon it.

Leia looked at him strangely. "You mean you take baths naked?" she asked, as if this were a new concept to her. "What an odd thing! How < i>do you manage it?"

Xicanti grumbled a barely audible, yet menacing sounding, reply to his sister, but had trouble not smiling even a small bit. Leia was a very easy person to like. "Ah, you do have a sense of humor!" Leia grinned at him. "Now, if only your sense of smell was good enough to lead you to the conclusion that you reek and are in desperate need of a bath, we'd be on a role!"

Grudgingly, Xicanti gave in. I guess it's kinda mean of me to make people smell me, he thought to himself. At least, rich people. I don't think the rest of the den really cared how I smelled. Luckily, Leia was kind enough not to stare as he took of his clothes and got in the bathtub. He made a small show of scrubbing, although there was more dirt on his body than in the water when he emerged, and his long red hair was still tangled and dirty.

Leia had simply shrugged and stated, "It's a start."

Another part of life in the Palace that Xicanti despised was the servant 'droids. He didn't like the whole idea of having someone do things for him, especially when he was more than capable of doing them for himself. The human and alien servants could respect this, and left him enough room to perform tasks for himself. The 'droids, however, were a problem, and they outnumbered the humans. If a 'droid has been programmed to do something for you, it does it, no matter how much you shout at it and bash its metal body. Xicanti discovered this for himself when a particularly offensive 'droid had decided he needed help with the sharpening of his prized throwing knives. The 'droid had simply not gotten the message - until the young thief had driven him off by force, the throwing knives playing no small part in this. The 'droid mechanics hadn't been very pleased with him when the machine had been brought to them for repairs; 'droids who've had their metal bodies dented and several key wires slashed are rather difficult to salvage.

So Xicanti was leaving. This sort of a protected, sheltered life wasn't for him. Sadly, Xepher seemed to enjoy it. I'll miss him once I leave, the boy thought unhappily. But I can't risk telling him about it. He might rat on me, thinkin' it'd be for my own good, when all he'd really be doin' would be condemning me to a life of endless torture!

Leaving wasn't terrible hard, Xicanti had found. He had spent quite a bit making friends with the various guards, who were all excruciatingly relieved to discover that Mara Jade's younger brother didn't share her well-known tendency to overreact at the slightest thing. They knew him, and wouldn't question his leaving the palace grounds. They'd probably figure that he was off to look around at some of the Upper City's nightclubs. Although only fifteen, the young thief could easily pass for seventeen, or even eighteen, (Coruscant's 'age of responsibility'), if he were to claim such an 'honor'.

I wish I could have told someone where I was going, Xicanti thought to himself as the stole down the hall, his new boots making no sound whatsoever, a testament both to their fine craftsmanship and the boy's thieving skills. They'll probably be really worried about me once I'm gone. But there's no way around it. I can't tell Han because he would tell Leia. I can't tell Leia because she would stop me. I can't tell Mara because she'd probably torture me to death just for the hell of it, then tell everyone I tried to attack her or something to cover up for it. I can't tell Chewie because he left for Tattoine yesterday, and even if he was here, he'd probably tell Leia. I can't tell Lowie because... uh...

With a start, Xicanti realized that there wasn't really a reason he couldn't tell Lowie. In truth, Lowie would be a perfect sentient to tell. He would keep quiet until Xicanti was back in the slums, and would be able to tell everyone that the young thief was safe, and had just gone off to a place where he could be happier. Yes, Lowie was the perfect sentient to tell!

Xicanti veered slightly off course, heading down a passage to Lowie's room, close to the Palace's center. Although he had only been in the most publicized building on the planet for two weeks, the young thief had been able to memorize every passageway, drawing upon skills gained from years of thievery. Lowie's room was artfully concealed by a Jedi illusion, but Xicanti had trained himself to see through such things shortly after he'd arrived at the Palace. "Damn place's so full a them, ya gotta take precautions," he muttered to himself as he approached the entrance to his friend's room. It was little more than a slightly sunken part of the wall, seemingly a grotto, which contained a bust of some long-dead ruler. Carefully, he knocked on the forehead of the beautiful female ruler, whose name had once been engraved into her base. It had long since worn to near-nothingness, although Xicanti thought that he could make out the name 'Teta' if he looked closely enough.

"Whacha want?" asked a cheerful, if rather tired, voice from behind him.

Xicanti turned around, startled. Standing behind him was a young boy of about seven or eight standard years. He looked somewhat like Han, and a little like Leia. This must be either Jacen or Jacen N., Xicanti decided as he looked the boy up and down. Leia had explained to him that her sons and daughter were off visiting Malla and Sirra on Tatooine while Chewie was on Coruscant. Chewie probably sent 'em back. From what Lowie says, they're real hyper kids. If that's true, I don't blame 'im for wanting them off!

"I need to talk to Lowie," he told the kid. "It's private."

The new arrival shuffled his feet around, then flashed Xicanti a grin. "I also need to talk to him about some private stuff," he replied. "So I guess we're even!"

It was at this point that the little Wookiee answered his door. His fur was somewhat tousled, making it seem as though he were even bigger than he was. "Wha're you two doin' here at three in the morning?" he mumbled, stretching his fanged mouth into a yawn. "I'm tired!"

"I am too, Low," Xicanti replied. "But I need to tell you something. It's private, though. I don't think I should say it in front of him." He jerked his head towards the dark haired boy.

Lowie yawned again. "You can," he replied sleepily. "He can be trusted. A little!" He grinned, directing his next comment to the other boy. "Can't you, Jacen?"

Jacen nodded. "As long as you aren't planning to kill someone I like, of course," he announced. "Then I'd have to go and warn them, being a Jedi and all."

"Being a Jedi in training, you mean," Lowie grumbled to him.

Despite the fact that Jacen had hardly said anything, Xicanti found himself liking the boy. I suppose he's my nephew, he thought, being Han and Leia's son and all. To Jacen, he said, "It's nothing like that. Just something I gotta do, that's all."

Jacen nodded as if he understood. "I've had situations like that too," he replied as the two of them headed into Lowie's room. "Once, I reallyreallyreally needed to go to the bathroom. But we were flying in the Falcon, and the bathroom in her isn't exactly the cleanest. So I-"

"I don't think he needs to know the rest of that particular story, Jacen!" Lowie cut in. He turned to Xicanti. "It gets a bit gross after that," he said, evidently meaning it as an explaination. "You really wouldn't want to know." Having said this, he gestured for the two to continue into his room.

And what a room it was! Lowie's father had traveled all over the galaxy, and brought back mementos for his son from all of the places he'd been to. Lowie proudly displayed these treasures all around his room, carefully placing them in such a way as to accentuate each individual piece. There were exotic plants from far off star systems, a pet swamp rat from Dagobah, an Ewok spear that had one belonged to Wicket W. Warwick, one of the great heroes of the Ewoks, and much more. Xicanti always enjoyed visiting his Wookiee friend in the fabulous room. It was by far the most interesting room in the Palace.

Once all three were inside and settled down, Lowie turned to talk to the two of them. "I guess you'd better go first, Jacen," he said. "You usually have strange news, and I need a laugh." He shrugged. "You know, since getting woken up at three in the morning isn't really my thing."

Jacen nodded. "This time it's not that funny, Lowie," he replied. "But it is sortta strange. I just talked to Mom, who wasn't happy about getting woken up now either, and she tells me I have two uncles I didn't know about! Apparently Grandpa Vader was busier than we all thought. Did you know about them? What are they like? How old are they? Are they all serious, like Uncle Luke, or more funny, like Uncle Chewie? I thought I should probably come to see you about them before I actually went to see them, so I can get a small feel for who they are, since you know everything about everyone, being such a big snoop and all."

Lowie scratched his furry head, ignoring the derogatory reference to his love of information. "Well, I think I know one of them pretty well," he replied. "The other just a little bit. But I think it'd be kinda rude of me to tell you about him without giving him a chance to explain who he is by himself." The young Wookiee then turned to Xicanti. "Well, Xicanti, who in Sith are you?"

Jacen was evidently surprised by this news. "You're my uncle?" he exclaimed. "But you're not much older than I am! Uncles have to be at least twenty years older than you! Artoo told me so! And he knows everything. He's been activated for over a hundred years, you know! And never had his memory wiped. As far as he knows."

Xicanti shook his head and smiled inwardly at Jacen's stream of comments. "I guess he must 'ave gotten mixed up or something, since I'm definitely not twenty years older than you. According to Luke, I'm the part of the last baby crop Darth Vader sired before he died. Me and my brother, Xepher. We're thieves."

"And that's all there is to him!" Lowie proclaimed. "Nothing else. With Xicanti, what you see is what you get! Now, Xicanti, what did you need to tell me?"

Xicanti shrugged. "It's not really important, but I thought I should probably tell someone. You know, so Leia doesn't go crazy and send out the guard after me, or somethin' like that." To Jacen, he commented, "Your mother's very good at her role. She seems to think I've been suffering from a lack of a mother for the past fifteen years of my life, and was sent to her so she could make up for that. Which isn't really true, as lots of the whores were like mothers to me. I didn't tell her that, though. She'd probably have had a fit."

Jacen grinned. "She woulda! I once told her that-"

Lowie cut in once again. "Jacen, now is not the time for your disgusting stories!"

Xicanti grinned. "I wouldn't a minded 'im tellin' me," he protested, "but I guess I'd better get on with my explaination, huh?" The young thief shrugged and announced, "I've decided to leave the Palace. It's not my home. I'm going to go back to the cellar where I grew up to be a thief again." He looked over at his friend a bit uncertainly. "Do you think you could tell Leia where I went in the morning, just so she doesn't get too worried about me? She may baby me a bit, but I still like her, and I don't want her to worry because of me."

Lowie nodded sagely, his expression telling both boys that he wanted to give them the impression that he knew much more than he did. "I see," he murmured. "And there's no changing your mind on this?" Xicanti shook his head. "None at all?" Once again, a shake of the head. "Well then," the little Wookiee concluded, "I suppose the right thing to do would be to tie you up so you can't go. But I'm a Wookiee, as you can likely tell, and we very rarely do what others consider 'right'. So I guess what my noble race would consider 'right' would be to go with you to make sure that you get there okay, and to bring you back if something bad happens to you. Wanna come, Jacen?"

The little Jedi-in-training nodded. "Why not? Jaina and Jacen N. might get a bit mad at me for going off and doing such an interesting thing without them, but who cares?"

Lowie grinned. "Anyone care?"

There were no objections.