Prelude to Eternity - Chapter Four

4:
Xicanti

"I was born 'bout fifteen an' a half years ago," Xicanti began, "in a dirty alleyway. It was about three years before the fall of the Empire, if what I've been told is true, and conditions on the lower levels weren't too good. My mother either died giving birth to me an' my brother, or had her throat slit by Rettar, who found me and Xepher. That's my twin. He took us back to his cellar and his wife, raising us as more or less his own.

"Life was reasonably good in Rettar's cellar, if you didn't look at all the beatings and abuse. Although there wasn't much food, we all shared it equally. After Rettar'd had his pick of the best parts, of course. Other boys came to live with us over time, and Rettar thought it'd be good to begin a den of his own. He started training me, Xeph, and the rest of the boys in picking pockets and breaking into homes when we were about five. This training caused the first fight between Xeph an' me, since I was a much better thief than him. Rettar gave me my House Name about then. It was Red. He was never much for normal names, Rettar. He just called me 'boy' until I got my House Name. I found a new name when I was ten, but before then all anyone called me was Red.

"By the time I was six, I was adept at picking pockets and earning my keep. Rettar had long ago taught me to pick locks, so I decided to prove how worthy I was. I took the lift up to level eight, where I planned to slip into private houses and steal the very best things. You know, jewelry an' that sortta stuff.

"Until that time, I'd never been outta Coruscant's slums. I'd thought that everyone lived like I did. My trip to Level Eight changed all that. I learned that the people Above lived luxuriously, with huge homes and many benefits. From the inside, the homes were even more wonderful. They were clean, with no maggots or lice anywhere, and the people who lived in them were also clean. I got forced into the alleyways on my trips up there, since there wasn't water to spare for baths on Level 612, and so I was even dirtier than I am now. I had to be careful to wash at least my feet before entering any of the houses, though, since I didn't wanna leave footprints on the carpets.

"My first trip Up was nearly my last. It just so happened that one of the homes I had chosen to barge into was guarded by some odd looking animals with sharp teeth. They ran at me, barking and snarling. I managed to climb up the wall of the house before they got me, though. Luckily, no one was home, so I got in and past the house Droids pretty easily. Before long, I had made it into a room with a long table down the center and a bunch of flat things on the walls and in the cupboards. I didn't really pay attention to the flat things, though. Instead, I took a look at a strange looking cup in the center of the table. It was silvery, with little red stones set in it. I thought the stones sparkled in a really neat way - hey, I was a little kid! - so I figured it was probably worth lots.

"I went over to the table and picked it up. It had something engraved on the bottom, but, not being able to read, I couldn't tell what it said. Right away, I decided that this would be what I would take. I jammed it into my bag, which already had a number of wallets and bits of jewelry in it, and left the house as quietly as I could.

"Rettar was mad at me when I first got back to the cellar. He shouted at me, and? beat me for being away for so long. But then, I showed him the cup I'd brought, and he stopped. He told me how sorry he was, and how I could go off again any time I wanted to. I was really the best thief he had on that day. And Xeph got even madder at me.

"I talked to him 'bout it that night. Xepher, that is, not Rettar. I don't think Rettar really cared. He said that it was okay, even though I could tell it wasn't. So I told him that I'd bring him next time I went off, and he could see how I did it. He thought this was a really good idea, and came wi' me on my next trip Up. He did real good, and managed to get a whole bunch of real valuable jewelry. After that, we were as close as we'd been before.

"Years past pretty quick. Me and Xeph went Up more than any of the other thieves, and robbed most of the upper class blind. But not all of them. We had one house that we always went to just to be there. It was the one place we visited that we didn't take anything from. We always went there to listen to the stories. They were read at the end of every week, and we never missed them while they were still bein' done. This guy read them to his daughter, one chapter each week. Eventually, me and my brother ended up getting our names from them. One story talked about a place called Xicanti City, while this song we heard there once mentioned something called a zephyr. Xeph chose his name from the latter story, while I chose to be known as Xicanti, after the city, just 'cause it sounded pretty wicked. From then on, all the other thieves, as well as the whores and other people we hung around with, called us by those names. Rettar never did, though. I was still Red, because of my hair, and Xeph became Gold from all the gold objects he brought to Rettar. Did I mention yet that Rettar was attracted to shiny objects? Our foster brothers became Grey, Green , Brown and Orangie, for the colors of the dirt on them. The others didn't have House Names, although most had chosen names for us Named Ones to call them by. That was when we were ten.

"Things went on just fine for the next five years. I went into my favorite place, an old style tavern called The Hero's Conquest, a lot. The owner, Sharstas Crahbihn, told me lots of stories, and let me drink his beer for free. I developed a small taste for it, but not enough to make me into a drunk. In fact, I don't think I ever have been drunk. But that's beside the point. Me and Sharstas had been real good friends since I met 'im when I was six, and I was soon spending a lot of my time there. All it cost me was a little promise; I couldn't steal anything while I was in the tavern. I agreed, and kept to this promise as well as I could.

"It was about two weeks ago that it all changed. I had been going to visit Sharstas in his tavern, by way of the alleys since it was on one of the slightly higher levels. About Level 14, I think. I honestly can't remember. I usually got there by climbing up through the levels, rather than using the turbo-lift. It was better exercise. Anyways, I was walking up to the tavern, when I saw a familiar figure. Not from having met him, of course - there's a pretty big class difference between a thief and a Rebellion Hero, you know - but from the pictures that were up all around Coruscant. Here was Han Solo, going into The Hero's Conquest!

"Immediately, I started to make plans as to what I would do. Everyone knew that Han Solo carried around a blaster in a holster on his leg. If I could get that blaster, I would be a legend. No, more than a legend. I would be a god in our underworld! And so my mind was made up. Even though I'd probably have to leave the planet once I'd done it, I had decided to steal Han Solo's blaster.

"I waited in the alley outside of the tavern for who knows how long. Finally, when I was beginning to give up hope, he came out, seemingly as drunk as could be. I was overjoyed at my luck, and crept up behind him. However, I was stupid and concentrated so much on getting to the blaster without him noticing me that I bashed into him. "From there, things got really bad. He took me off to the Imperial Palace, and made me wait in a green room for a while. From there, that Wookiee lying there ? his name's Lowbacca, by the way, and he's Chewbacca's son ? took me into another room, with a full-grown Wookiee and a woman with red hair in it. Xeph was there too, and I hugged him so hard he claimed I broke some of his ribs. I thought he was dead, you see. I don't normally just go up and hug him violently whenever I see him. But that wasn't true, of course. The rib breaking thing, that is. Anyways, the Wookiee and the woman told us who we were." Here, the boy stopped to sort out his thoughts. He hadn't yet completely accepted his extraordinary parentage. "They told us that we were the sons of Darth Vader and whoever had been Mara Jade's mother. This made us half-brothers to both Mara and the Jedi twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa-Solo, since Darth Vader had been Anakin Skywalker and their father before getting corrupted by the Dark Side of the Force and becoming the Dark Lord of the Sith. And that's all there really is to tell about who I am."

Rabnas nodded thoughtfully. "So," he said, "you're one of Vader's, out of Mara's mother. Odd family you have." He pointed at Lowie and Jacen. "Now that I know who you are, who are those two?"

Xicanti explained to the old man who exactly the Wookiee and the boy were. "I guess I'd better get them conscious again," he added. "Lowie for sure's too heavy to drag away if trouble comes, and he could be good in a fight, too. He's training to be a Jedi, you know."

And so the two went about shaking Lowie. The little Wookiee moaned quite a bit, and bashed Rabnas's leg at one point, but the pair finally managed to get him awakened. By this time, Jacen had gotten up of his own accord and begun to ask questions.

"Where are we? What happened to our clothes? Who's the guy wearing all the fur? How'd we get here?" came popping out of his mouth all at once, each question nearly indistinguishable from the rest.

Xicanti patiently told him all that had befallen them, introducing Rabnas as a friend of Mon Mothma's. "So, you're Leia's boy!" Rabnas said cheerfully. "I'm glad she had a child. Carry on the Organa name. Who's your father?"

"Han Solo, who's a Rebellion Hero and an all around great person!" Jacen had responded cheerfully. "Mara doesn't like him, though. You do know who Mara is, right?" Rabnas nodded, and so Jacen continued, "She broke his leg one time, and threatened to sic her panther Cora on him. So I told her that me and my brothers and sister and Mom and Uncle Chewie were gonna to get really mad at her and kick her for it and stuff. She hasn't hurt him since!" The little boy stood up proudly, and abruptly sat down as he remembered he wasn't wearing any clothing.

"I see," Rabnas replied thoughtfully. "Mara must have changed lots since I knew her, then. She used to be filled with fire and spirit. I think that's why Palp kept her around as a dancing girl."

Jacen nodded in response to Rabnas's earlier comment. "Yup. She's old now! Thirty-eight, at least. If not older. Maybe even forty! Uncle Chewie told me that people like Mara usually get crabby when they're older. They start to think back on the good old days and try to emulate them, but they can't because they have bad backs."

At this, Rabnas threw back his head and let out a course laugh. "I'd like to meet this Chewie of yours!" he laughed. "It's too bad we'll never get Up again."

Lowie, who had been standing calmly and thinking through all this, now spoke up. "What exactly prevents us from leaving here?" he asked Rabnas. "Is there some sort of force field?"

Rabnas laughed again. "No, young Wookiee, it's nothing so high tech as that. Just a pair of very old Battle Droids with superb fighting skills. Don't know why they weren't hooked up to the old Trade Federation control ship... Anyways, the man-eaters won't go near them because they're made of metal, and so don't taste good, and I won't go near them because -" Here, Rabnas looked down at the floor and turned a little red. "Because I'm a coward."

"If you don't mind my asking," Xicanti ventured, "if you're a coward, how did you manage to kill those people and get their scalps?"

Rabnas looked at the ground once again, obviously very embarrassed about the whole situation. "Well, you see," he muttered ashamedly, "I sort of lied to you when I said I killed about a person a day. I've never killed any people; just the man-eaters. There aren't even any people down here now. They usually get eaten as soon as they come in through the lift door. I'm smarter than most of those they throw down here, so I've avoided them for the past- what did you say it had been? Twelve? Yes, that was it - twelve years. It's really not that hard; most of them are stupid. But I was telling you about the scalps, wasn't I? Yes, I believe I was. Anyways, one of the man-eaters had collected them from his victims and put them into a sort of a tunic somehow. One day, he got a bit cocky about his abilities, and tried to go in the lift. The 'droids made short work of him, and dumped him in an alley. I mustered up some bravery and stole his tunic."

Lowie nodded at this. :He's telling the truth: the young Wookiee mentally sent to Xicanti, who was surprised to be spoken to in such a way. Although he knew Lowie was going to be a Jedi, he hadn't thought they would be able to communicate mind-to-mind so easily. :The Battle Droids are something to reckon with. They've been around for decades, and were built to last. I have a plan that'll get us past them, though!: Out loud, the little Wookiee said, "These Battle Droids sound as though they're in better condition than the ones we have up in the museums."

Rabnas nodded. "These ones appear to be of a different model than the more commonly used ones that fought in the Clone Wars. They're more guards than soldiers, so they were built to last. Weren't hooked up to the Control Ship either, from the looks of it. They couldn't have survived if they had been, you know."

Seemingly changing the subject, Lowie asked, "If another man-eater were to try to get out, would they go after him?" At Rabnas's nod, he continued, "Would they chase it if it were wounded and ran off? You know, just to finish it quickly, before it could go back for more or something?"

Rabnas shook his head. "They wouldn't. Like I said before, they're primarily guards. In twelve years, I've never seen one move from its post. Anyways, it's very unlikely that one of the man-eaters would go near them, especially after what they did to the last ones. They may not be too smart, but they have excellent memories."

:Don't react!: Lowie's mind voice came to Xicanti once more. :It won't be real.: Before Xicanti had a chance to ask his hairy friend what wouldn't be real, he got one of the largest shocks of his life. Before him materialized a huge, slug-like creature with a gaping maw containing wickedly sharp teeth. It was with great difficulty that he convinced himself the creature could not possibly be real.

Rabnas, who had not received Lowie's mind-warning, shrieked and leaped back, pulling Jacen with him. "Run!" he hissed to the little boy, "These things are dangerous!"

Lowie smiled. "They usually are," he told the old Senator, "but not this one. It's as harmless as a house pet. I created it using your mental images of the creatures." He strode over and walked right through the creature. "See, it's just an illusion!"

Rabnas didn't appear to be completely convinced, yet somehow he managed to muster up his long un-used bravery and step up to it. Shaking, he reached out his hand to touch it. It went right through the illusionary creature.

"Amazing," the old man whispered. He looked up at Lowie. "You're a Jedi, aren't you. Not a Jedi in training, like you said. You'd have to be to create something like this. Either a Jedi or a Sith. I never would have thought Wookiees could be full Jedi, but I suppose I was wrong." He smiled wryly. "Will I also be wrong if I assume you're going to use this Force the Jedi all talk about to get us out of this place and Up?"

Lowie grinned back. "To the contrary," he replied, "you couldn't be more right! It'll take a bit of energy, but I think I can pull it off." He used one large, hairy paw to motion the others to come closer. "Now, here's my idea..."