Three
It didn’t take long for the group to arrive at the base. The ‘routine questioning’ took a little longer.
“Have you ever served the Empire in any way, shape, or form, and do you currently support said Empire?”
It frustrated the questioners to no end that the four professed to have no knowledge of what they were talking about. Even the Ewoks knew what a stormtrooper was!
Jack certainly wasn’t helping matters at all. Any questions were simply met with hard-eyed glares or sullen, one-worded answers, which usually consisted of some garbled words that the Rebels were sure was profanity. With no way to prove it, they were forced to resort to completely ignoring the pirate.
Aragorn was trying to be helpful, but it was difficult when he had no idea what these strange men were talking about. They claimed that the seat of the government was located on another planet. An Empire in the stars? How could they possibly be involved in something like that?
Will and Legolas wordlessly agreed to let Aragorn do the talking. A few of the men were eyeing Legolas’ ears and the men’s similar faces with some confusion, and the last thing they needed was to draw attention to anything out of the ordinary.
Finally, the interrogators withdrew. Standing in the corner, they exchanged a few words between themselves and with the small metal cylinders they referred to as ‘comlinks.’ Seeming to come to a conclusion, they turned back to the prisoners.
“If you don’t cooperate, we shall be forced to use our Jedi to get the truth from you,” one of them threatened.
The friends exchanged glances. Was this ‘Jedi’ some sort of torture device?
“A what?” Aragorn asked politely.
At the same moment, Jack burst in. “Do your worst!”
Will and Legolas rolled their eyes.
“You don’t know what a Jedi is?” one of the men asked cautiously.
“No,” Aragorn answered. He offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Well, bring him in, then,” the man said, gesturing at the door. It slid open to reveal a young man standing next to Wedge and Jansen. Aragorn gaped.
“You!” he cried.
Jack squinted. “Looks familiar, that one does,” he mumbled.
Aragorn surged to his feet. The men tightened their grips on their blasters. “I’ve seen you before,” he whispered. “You fought the black man. Your hand – ” he blinked. The man’s right hand was intact. Aragorn frowned. “Perhaps I was mistaken.”
The man flexed his right hand self-consciously. He turned to Wedge and Jansen. They shrugged helplessly.
The interrogator strode forward. “You said you had no knowledge of the Empire!”
Aragorn just looked at him. “Yes, I did say that,” he remarked calmly. “Why?”
The man in the door frowned. “My name is Luke Skywalker. And you are?”
Aragorn bowed. “I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. My companions are Legolas Thranduilion, Jack Sparrow, and William Turner.”
The interrogator sighed. “Make yourself comfortable, sir. This could take a while.” He turned back to the prisoners. “Luke Skywalker is a Jedi. If you lie, he will know it. Now, let’s start over. Where are you from?”
Aragorn sighed. “Legolas and I are from Middle Earth. Jack and Will are from – “He stopped. “I don’t believe I know the name of your world.”
“Earth.” Will supplied. “Port Royal, to be exact.”
Jack snorted. “You, maybe. I’m from the Black Pearl.”
The interrogator raised his hands to stem the argument. “So you’re telling me that you are from different worlds? You’re not from Endor?”
Aragorn winced. He had not been looking forward to this. “Yes.”
“And yet you claim to never have heard of the Empire?”
Jack sighed. “We’ve been through this before, mate.”
Aragorn studied the men around him carefully. They had not seemed overly surprised to hear that they were from another world. What was going on here? “Does this Empire span the worlds?” he asked cautiously.
The interrogator turned to Luke. “Are they telling the truth?”
Luke looked at them thoughtfully. “I believe they are.” He sounded vaguely surprised.
The interrogator turned back. “Maybe you’d better tell us how you got here, if this isn’t your homeworld. Did you come on a ship?”
Jack sighed. “They took the Pearl from me before we set out here.”
“No,” Aragorn answered, glaring at Jack. “We didn’t come in a ship. I don’t even know if the pool could manage something that big.”
“You didn’t come in a ship?” the interrogator demanded. “What did you do, swim?”
“Sort of,” Will supplied. “Though I’m not entirely sure I’d call it that -- ”
The interrogator turned to Luke again. The Jedi nodded, confused. “They’re not lying.”
“All right.” The interrogator blew out a breath. “So, you swam here. Sort of. Now, what is this pool you mentioned?”
“Its name is Tarnon. The Gatekeeper. It sent us here.”
“The pool is named Tarnon?”
“That is what the elves call it.”
“Elves?”
Aragorn sighed. “Legolas is an elf. They are from my world.”
“So, your world has elves and pools that transport people through space. Anything else?”
Aragorn frowned. “Would you like a description?”
The interrogator smiled tolerantly. “No, that was enough.” He nodded at Jack and Will. “And your world?”
Will shrugged. “A lot like their world, but more technologically – ” he jerked and cut off his speech. “You didn’t have to kick me, Jack!”
Jack just glared.
Luke cut in, speaking to Aragorn. “How did you know me?”
Aragorn looked at Legolas for support. “I saw you. In the stars. It was just like the pool.” He frowned and addressed himself to Legolas. “Was the pool in the stars?”
The elf shrugged. “Perhaps. Elrond said that Tarnon would show itself in unexpected ways.”
“So you had......visions of me?” Luke asked.
“Yes. We saw you in a desert. Then you were fighting with a man in black. He cut off your arm. Then lightning struck, and he threw another into the abyss.”
Luke blinked, then tried a shaky smile. “Wow. My life story in a few sentences.”
Aragorn wasn’t finished. “But it couldn’t have been you. You still have your right hand.”
Luke shook his head. “That was me, alright. This hand isn’t real.”
The interrogator interrupted them again. “If you four are from separate worlds, why do those two resemble each other so closely?” he pointed triumphantly at Legolas and Will. “Surely brothers would not be raised on separate worlds!”
“We’re not brothers.” Will grinned. “Not even remotely related, as far as we know. After all, he’s an elf. Pointy ears and all.” He ruffled Legolas’ hair. The elf just glared and smoothed his locks.
The humor was lost on the rest of the room.
Luke laid his arm on the interrogator’s shoulder. “Why don’t I take it from here? Don’t worry, they’re not a threat.” He grinned. “Besides, I have Wedge and Jansen to help.”
The interrogator nodded tiredly and motioned to his men. “Yes, sir. Perhaps you can get more out of him than I could.”
The men left.
Luke smiled. “All right. Now, where exactly is this pool you came here with?”
“We’re not entirely sure. Elrond’s books said that we’d be able to sense it at some level, but I have yet to develop that skill,” answered Legolas.
“But if you came here with it, shouldn’t you know where it is?” Luke’s tone was carefully neutral.
And with that, the world opened up. Aragorn heard his companions gasp as their senses expanded. For one glorious moment, he could see the threads that connected the universe. They connected him to Legolas, Will, and Jack, and a long, shining thread stretched through the walls of the room. Instinctively, he knew where it led.
“That way.” The words sounded tinny to his ears. He couldn’t be sure which of the four had spoken; perhaps all of them had. At the moment, it didn’t matter.
Then the sensation stopped. The four slumped in their seats, regular senses seeming dull compared to what they had just experienced.
Still, Aragorn could feel the lines. The smaller ones connecting him to his friends had faded, but a slight tugging at his navel still told him where the pool would be.
“Would you like to see it?” The voice issuing from Aragorn’s mouth did not feel like his own.
Luke traded glances with Wedge and Jansen. “Yes.”
“Not them.” Once again, the unearthly voice sounded from Aragorn’s mouth. His hand lifted to gesture toward Wedge and Jansen.
The two protested, but in the end, Luke won out. Aragorn could vaguely hear him reassure them, “Don’t worry. I can handle them. They have no weapons, and I have my lightsaber. I’ll keep my comlink on if it makes you feel better.”
Wedge and Jansen reluctantly agreed.
It took only minutes to leave the base. Strangely enough, no one was around. None in the group noticed: Luke was walking in a trance, not looking right or left, stepping over fallen branches and logs without even seeming to see them. The other four were too busy following the new sensation to really pay attention to the Jedi.
It didn’t take long to find the pool. It was only about ten miles from the base. Somewhere in the haze of his mind, Aragorn spared a moment to be surprised at that. He hadn’t expected Tarnon to be so close. Warning bells began to clamor as they stepped into a small clearing with a pool at the exact center.
They had arrived.
“Have you ever served the Empire in any way, shape, or form, and do you currently support said Empire?”
It frustrated the questioners to no end that the four professed to have no knowledge of what they were talking about. Even the Ewoks knew what a stormtrooper was!
Jack certainly wasn’t helping matters at all. Any questions were simply met with hard-eyed glares or sullen, one-worded answers, which usually consisted of some garbled words that the Rebels were sure was profanity. With no way to prove it, they were forced to resort to completely ignoring the pirate.
Aragorn was trying to be helpful, but it was difficult when he had no idea what these strange men were talking about. They claimed that the seat of the government was located on another planet. An Empire in the stars? How could they possibly be involved in something like that?
Will and Legolas wordlessly agreed to let Aragorn do the talking. A few of the men were eyeing Legolas’ ears and the men’s similar faces with some confusion, and the last thing they needed was to draw attention to anything out of the ordinary.
Finally, the interrogators withdrew. Standing in the corner, they exchanged a few words between themselves and with the small metal cylinders they referred to as ‘comlinks.’ Seeming to come to a conclusion, they turned back to the prisoners.
“If you don’t cooperate, we shall be forced to use our Jedi to get the truth from you,” one of them threatened.
The friends exchanged glances. Was this ‘Jedi’ some sort of torture device?
“A what?” Aragorn asked politely.
At the same moment, Jack burst in. “Do your worst!”
Will and Legolas rolled their eyes.
“You don’t know what a Jedi is?” one of the men asked cautiously.
“No,” Aragorn answered. He offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”
“Well, bring him in, then,” the man said, gesturing at the door. It slid open to reveal a young man standing next to Wedge and Jansen. Aragorn gaped.
“You!” he cried.
Jack squinted. “Looks familiar, that one does,” he mumbled.
Aragorn surged to his feet. The men tightened their grips on their blasters. “I’ve seen you before,” he whispered. “You fought the black man. Your hand – ” he blinked. The man’s right hand was intact. Aragorn frowned. “Perhaps I was mistaken.”
The man flexed his right hand self-consciously. He turned to Wedge and Jansen. They shrugged helplessly.
The interrogator strode forward. “You said you had no knowledge of the Empire!”
Aragorn just looked at him. “Yes, I did say that,” he remarked calmly. “Why?”
The man in the door frowned. “My name is Luke Skywalker. And you are?”
Aragorn bowed. “I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. My companions are Legolas Thranduilion, Jack Sparrow, and William Turner.”
The interrogator sighed. “Make yourself comfortable, sir. This could take a while.” He turned back to the prisoners. “Luke Skywalker is a Jedi. If you lie, he will know it. Now, let’s start over. Where are you from?”
Aragorn sighed. “Legolas and I are from Middle Earth. Jack and Will are from – “He stopped. “I don’t believe I know the name of your world.”
“Earth.” Will supplied. “Port Royal, to be exact.”
Jack snorted. “You, maybe. I’m from the Black Pearl.”
The interrogator raised his hands to stem the argument. “So you’re telling me that you are from different worlds? You’re not from Endor?”
Aragorn winced. He had not been looking forward to this. “Yes.”
“And yet you claim to never have heard of the Empire?”
Jack sighed. “We’ve been through this before, mate.”
Aragorn studied the men around him carefully. They had not seemed overly surprised to hear that they were from another world. What was going on here? “Does this Empire span the worlds?” he asked cautiously.
The interrogator turned to Luke. “Are they telling the truth?”
Luke looked at them thoughtfully. “I believe they are.” He sounded vaguely surprised.
The interrogator turned back. “Maybe you’d better tell us how you got here, if this isn’t your homeworld. Did you come on a ship?”
Jack sighed. “They took the Pearl from me before we set out here.”
“No,” Aragorn answered, glaring at Jack. “We didn’t come in a ship. I don’t even know if the pool could manage something that big.”
“You didn’t come in a ship?” the interrogator demanded. “What did you do, swim?”
“Sort of,” Will supplied. “Though I’m not entirely sure I’d call it that -- ”
The interrogator turned to Luke again. The Jedi nodded, confused. “They’re not lying.”
“All right.” The interrogator blew out a breath. “So, you swam here. Sort of. Now, what is this pool you mentioned?”
“Its name is Tarnon. The Gatekeeper. It sent us here.”
“The pool is named Tarnon?”
“That is what the elves call it.”
“Elves?”
Aragorn sighed. “Legolas is an elf. They are from my world.”
“So, your world has elves and pools that transport people through space. Anything else?”
Aragorn frowned. “Would you like a description?”
The interrogator smiled tolerantly. “No, that was enough.” He nodded at Jack and Will. “And your world?”
Will shrugged. “A lot like their world, but more technologically – ” he jerked and cut off his speech. “You didn’t have to kick me, Jack!”
Jack just glared.
Luke cut in, speaking to Aragorn. “How did you know me?”
Aragorn looked at Legolas for support. “I saw you. In the stars. It was just like the pool.” He frowned and addressed himself to Legolas. “Was the pool in the stars?”
The elf shrugged. “Perhaps. Elrond said that Tarnon would show itself in unexpected ways.”
“So you had......visions of me?” Luke asked.
“Yes. We saw you in a desert. Then you were fighting with a man in black. He cut off your arm. Then lightning struck, and he threw another into the abyss.”
Luke blinked, then tried a shaky smile. “Wow. My life story in a few sentences.”
Aragorn wasn’t finished. “But it couldn’t have been you. You still have your right hand.”
Luke shook his head. “That was me, alright. This hand isn’t real.”
The interrogator interrupted them again. “If you four are from separate worlds, why do those two resemble each other so closely?” he pointed triumphantly at Legolas and Will. “Surely brothers would not be raised on separate worlds!”
“We’re not brothers.” Will grinned. “Not even remotely related, as far as we know. After all, he’s an elf. Pointy ears and all.” He ruffled Legolas’ hair. The elf just glared and smoothed his locks.
The humor was lost on the rest of the room.
Luke laid his arm on the interrogator’s shoulder. “Why don’t I take it from here? Don’t worry, they’re not a threat.” He grinned. “Besides, I have Wedge and Jansen to help.”
The interrogator nodded tiredly and motioned to his men. “Yes, sir. Perhaps you can get more out of him than I could.”
The men left.
Luke smiled. “All right. Now, where exactly is this pool you came here with?”
“We’re not entirely sure. Elrond’s books said that we’d be able to sense it at some level, but I have yet to develop that skill,” answered Legolas.
“But if you came here with it, shouldn’t you know where it is?” Luke’s tone was carefully neutral.
And with that, the world opened up. Aragorn heard his companions gasp as their senses expanded. For one glorious moment, he could see the threads that connected the universe. They connected him to Legolas, Will, and Jack, and a long, shining thread stretched through the walls of the room. Instinctively, he knew where it led.
“That way.” The words sounded tinny to his ears. He couldn’t be sure which of the four had spoken; perhaps all of them had. At the moment, it didn’t matter.
Then the sensation stopped. The four slumped in their seats, regular senses seeming dull compared to what they had just experienced.
Still, Aragorn could feel the lines. The smaller ones connecting him to his friends had faded, but a slight tugging at his navel still told him where the pool would be.
“Would you like to see it?” The voice issuing from Aragorn’s mouth did not feel like his own.
Luke traded glances with Wedge and Jansen. “Yes.”
“Not them.” Once again, the unearthly voice sounded from Aragorn’s mouth. His hand lifted to gesture toward Wedge and Jansen.
The two protested, but in the end, Luke won out. Aragorn could vaguely hear him reassure them, “Don’t worry. I can handle them. They have no weapons, and I have my lightsaber. I’ll keep my comlink on if it makes you feel better.”
Wedge and Jansen reluctantly agreed.
It took only minutes to leave the base. Strangely enough, no one was around. None in the group noticed: Luke was walking in a trance, not looking right or left, stepping over fallen branches and logs without even seeming to see them. The other four were too busy following the new sensation to really pay attention to the Jedi.
It didn’t take long to find the pool. It was only about ten miles from the base. Somewhere in the haze of his mind, Aragorn spared a moment to be surprised at that. He hadn’t expected Tarnon to be so close. Warning bells began to clamor as they stepped into a small clearing with a pool at the exact center.
They had arrived.