|
Corruption by Marti Schuller art by Liz PART 2 "You'd better believe I'd like the chance to face this young slime again," grinned Han when Leia had finished telling him Investigator Monz's idea. "He'll talk to me this time." "What do you mean 'this time,'" questioned Luke. "When I had him down after the attack, he came around for a few minutes," admitted the Corellian. "I asked him then why he tried to kill Leia, but he wouldn't answer." The Jedi folded his arms and leaned against the wall of Solo's med-center room. "What makes you so sure he was trying to kill Leia? Couldn't he have been after you?" Han's eyebrow lifted. "Me? Listen, the only reason he shot at me first was so he could get to Leia without interference. Who'd want to hurt lovable ol' me?" The twins exchanged exaggerated glances. "Offhand, I would guess any number of your former associates," the princess suggested lightly. "Naw," shrugged off the Corellian. "You'll see. This kid was out to make a name for himself by getting to you, sweetheart." Skywalker was unconvinced by his bondbrother's cavalier attitude. Beneath the easy bantering, the Jedi sensed a wariness wrestling inside Solo. The confrontation to come was looking more and more intriguing. Three evenings later they received the summons by Investigator Monz to meet him at the med-center. Dr. Vaktor had given the go-ahead to the experiment, pronouncing the youthful suspect physically capable of handling it. In fact, the young man had healed sufficiently to be released the next day to Security for incarceration. If there was to be a breakthrough, this could be the last chance before trial. Luke and the balding investigator were waiting when a fully recovered Solo and the princess arrived for the fateful showdown. Except for a few minute scars on the Corellian's cheek, it was difficult to tell he had ever been injured. Leia looked less than eager for the events to come as Han greeted the Security man and Skywalker. Glancing uneasily at her brother, she seemed reluctant to go through with the experiment. Yet Solo was enthusiastic enough for them both. "Basically," Investigator Monz was saying, "I just want to see his reaction when he sees his failure in the flesh. He hasn't spoken at all; he refuses to cooperate in every manner and has even attempted escape. We've had to confine him to his bed by means of an electronic alarm. It's attached to his wrist and the bed. If he tries to stand, the guard outside his room is alerted." "I understand," Han said. "Let's do it. I've been wanting a word with this kid ever since that night." Investigator Monz grabbed Solo's forearm, staring intently at him. "You must promise me you will not touch the suspect or molest him in any fashion." The Corellian stiffened. "Is it the custom to pamper would-be assassins now?" "Until after he stands trial, he is not to be treated any differently than you or I," repeated Monz with more authority than Leia would have guessed. "I won't bruise your little killer," promised Han behind a disgusted sneer. "You have my word on it. Just let me talk to the slimy worm." "There will be a guard outside the room," Monz warned, "and I won't hesitate to place you under arrest. This is an experiment, not an Imperial interrogation torture session." Solo's teeth clenched. "I gave my word. That's usually good enough for most people. I saidI won't touch your 'suspect' and I won't." Monz continued to stare at the Corellian a moment longer. "Very well," he finally said. "Don't make me regret this. There's no guarantee this will work, anyway," he added, mostly to himself. The quartet of Investigator Monz, Luke, Leia, and Han entered the small room where Dr. Vaktor waited with his patient. Stepping out of the way, but remaining nearby in the corner of the room should his patient need him, the Tilian physician watched the proceedings with an interested eye. Monz moved beside the bed's raised rail; Solo and Leia took positions opposite him. Luke stood at the foot of the bed. The suspect, who'd tightly closed his eyes at the opening of the door, ignored the newcomers. "I know you're neither drugged nor asleep, son," began the pudgy Security agent. "Open your eyes. There are some people here I believe you know." Hearing these words, the youth's eyes did spring open. The first person he saw was Luke, who gauged the boy's reaction with his Force senses. There were hostility and a mild undercurrent of curiosity in the young man's aura. As he turned his head, seeing first Leia, then Han, the boy's reactions swelled to monstrous proportions. Seeing the princess, his emotional state grew more agitated, but when he at last looked at Solo, the youth's reaction nearly overpowered the Jedi. Skywalker took a physical step backward, stunned by the sheer volume of murderous rage and hatred emanating from the prone boy toward Han. Leia, with her untrained senses, felt it also; she clutched her bondmate's arm and pulled him away from the bed. The youth's lip curled and his eyes flashed dangerously as he locked gazes with the Corellian. "Who are you?" demanded Han, slightly staggered himself by the fury he saw on the twisted face. "What did we do to you?" The Jedi noticed the fact that Solo had included himself in the question where before he'd insisted repeatedly that Leia was the sole target of the boy's attack. Luke knew Han could now see his error. Clearly, the youth had wanted the Corellian dead, but why? Solo's eyes drifted from the naked hate reflected in the young man's dark stare. Something silver glinted dully from around the boy's neck; Han became transfixed by it. His posture grew rigid, his fists balling tightly. "Where'd you get this?" he suddenly demanded, reaching out and snatching the oddly lettered round object at the end of the small chain. The youth's hand clamped over Han's wrist so tightly his knuckles turned white. With contempt, he shoved the Corellian's arm aside. Then, to everyone's amazement, he slid the chain over his head. Caressing the ornament for a tender moment, he abruptly threw it at Solo's head. The Corellian grabbed it an inch from his face. Studying the pendant with concentrated intensity, Han pressed one of the etched designs on the circular decoration. The ornament opened a tiny crack. Using his fingernail, Solo eased the cover open further. Inside was the two-dimensional image of a lovely young woman with dark eyes and auburn hair. "She's beautiful," whispered Leia, looking over her bondmate's suddenly trembling hand. "Who is she?" she quietly asked the boy. "Is she someone special to you?" His voice tightly controlled, his jaw muscles taut, the youth said, "She was my mother. She's dead." Han exploded with the violence of a hand-bomb. "You're a liar!" he shouted at the figure on the bed. "Where'd you steal this, you scum-dwelling, little...?" He strangled on his own anger as Leia seized his arm to prevent him from striking the helpless boy. "It's mine, I tell you!" yelled the youth wildly. "She gave it to me, just before she died." His hatred consumed him, but Luke could sense a spiteful satisfaction growing in the young man's heart. "I'm glad you lived to see that. I'm glad I missed that night. But I will kill you, Han Solo. Count on it! No matter what they do to me, I'm going to kill you one day." "Who are you?" Solo practically screamed, still clutching the ornament and its image firmly in his fist. "You know who I am!" shouted the boy. "I'm Jerik. Jerik Druthay. That woman," he nodded toward the pendant, "was my mother, Shaundra--your only sister!" "My sister died nine years ago," the Corellian scowled bitterly. "Now you'd better tell me how you got this and who you are!" "I'm your flesh and blood, Uncle," the boy sneered odiously. "My mother was Shaundra Solo-Druthay. My father was Colem Druthay. My name is Jerik. Nine years ago, when I was only eight years old, stormtroopers broke into our home on Corell and arrested us all for my father's anti-Imperial efforts. We were taken to Ranus IV. My parents died there!" "You're a liar," repeated Han with less conviction. "The whole family, my sister, her bondmate, and her son were all executed on Corell. I saw them taken, but there was nothing I could do. I warned her not to stay with Colem. I knew all his speech-making and 'Corell for Corellians' crap would bring trouble." Pulling free of his memories, he glared at the youth. "Now, tell me the truth!" "That isthe truth," the young man spit venomously. "Check my bio-scan against yours. I amJerik Druthay. I amthe son of your younger sister, Shaundra. And, one day, I will kill you for abandoning her." Solo spun on his heel, brushing past Leia to get to the door, his face red with fury. Before he could escape, however, the boy shouted, "Want to know how she died? Want to know what you left her to? Or would the truth be too much for the great hero, Han Solo?" With both fists raised, the Corellian turned back toward the bed. Luke blocked his way and tightly clasped Han's shoulders. Behind him, Skywalker heard and felt the tragic horror as it streamed from the youth's hate-filled soul. "The 'troopers took us to Ranus IV, to the 'work camp for dissidents' they called it. It was really a slave camp. We labored eighteen, twenty hours a day, carrying boroc from the mines. They killed my father as soon as we got there, shot him in front of Mother and me. Then the camp commander, a man named Lenstal, took Mother from me. At night, he'd send her to stay with the rest of us in the barracks. It gets very cold on Ranus IV at night, but we had no blankets. She'd hold me and rock me, trying to keep us both alive. Sometimes, Lenstal would come himself and tear her from me. Other times, it was other men. I could hear her screams and they had to knock me in the head with their weapons to keep me from her. Yet, she kept telling me over and over that one day soon her beloved brother would find a way to rescue us." He glared at Han, his fury evident. "She idolized you! You! Believing you'd come was her prayer, her lifeline to sanity against all the abuses they heaped on her body, her soul. Then one day she stopped believing. I quit hoping for rescue after the first year, but she kept on believing, until that night. She gave me her necklace. How she'd kept it from them, I can't guess, but it had been Father's and he'd slipped it to her before they killed him. That night, when she came to the barracks even later than usual, her face all bruised and swollen from their cruelty, she gave it to me. And I knew. The next morning, they found her, hanging naked from the barracks' rafter by her only dress. I even helped her tear it into strips to make the rope." He blinked away the painful tears. "A year later, at the age of eleven, I escaped," the youth continued, more quietly. "I lured a guard behind a boulder and caved his skull in with a lump of boroc. I stole his blaster and ran. It took me two months to reach the port city of Luvo. Two months of hiding, freezing by night, roasting by day, eating grubs, insects, what little I could find. Only one thing kept me going. One thought made it all bearable. That was knowing one day I'd find you and make you pay. And I will! It isn't over yet, Uncle! I amgoing to kill you!" Sick with horror, his eyes burning, the Corellian spun away from Luke and slammed out of the room. Turning his gaze on Leia, the boy who called himself Jerik spat: "Test my blood. Prove it! I amShaundra's son and I will avenge her!" Dr. Vaktor took the princess's arm, guiding her toward her brother and the door. With the youth still screaming behind her, she allowed Skywalker to lead her out as the physician struggled to administer a sedative to the wildly out of control young man. In the corridor, halfway to the lift, the twins spotted Han. He was leaning, both arms stretched tautly against the wall, his head bowed between them. Leia hurried to him, resting her hand on his back until he turned to embrace her. Luke stepped nearer, feeling the uncertainty and terrible pain warring in the Corellian's heart and mind. Lifting his troubled eyes to the Jedi, Han stammered, "It...it can't be." Investigator Monz walked up beside Skywalker. Addressing Solo, he said, "I'm sorry, Captain, but I'll need the necklace back. I'll hold it until we can verify his story. If he is Jerik Druthay, it's rightfully his. If not, I'll gladly return it to you." With a final lingering, heartbroken look at the image of the lovely, innocent young woman inside, Solo snapped the ornament closed and shoved it toward Monz. When the Security man took the necklace, the Corellian tightly pulled Leia to him. "It can't be," he repeated in a choked voice. "Captain Solo," the investigator haltered uncertainly, "if you really want to know the truth, we could ask Dr. Vaktor to conduct the necessary tests." Han gaped at the chunky man, then lowered his eyes to Leia. Pressing her lips tightly together, aching in every part of her body for her bondmate, she nodded, not trusting words. "Alright," agreed Solo slowly, "I need to know." "I'll see if I can access any information on this Ranus IV labor camp through the government data files," offered the princess, "but, Han, are you sure?" He stroked her cheek, swallowed his own fears, then more steadily said, "I loved Shaundra and Jerik. If that boy in there is my nephew, I have to know." Blinking over Leia's head at Luke, he faced Monz. "Get the doctor. Let's get this done." The next morning Luke joined Investigator Monz, Han, and Leia in the princess' office. His sister had been pulling strings late into the night, setting up this mid-morning meeting so they could all be present when the information was released to her office data-retrieval unit. The princess had asked for and received cooperation on every level, no questions asked. Such was the esteem with which she was regarded by her peers. Passing through the empty room of Leia's outer office, the Jedi entered his sister's workplace to find everyone else present. The tension in the air was stifling. "Captain Solo," the pudgy Security man began after nodding a greeting to Skywalker, "given the unusual circumstances involved, or potentially involved, in this case, I requested that the suspect not be moved from the med-center until I contact headquarters. The chief agreed." Leia, who sat stiffly beside her desk-mounted data system, turned to face Monz. "What difference will this make if his story is true?" The investigator pondered a moment. "I'm not the one to ask, really, but since the suspect is so young and may have experienced such a traumatic childhood, I would guess he could be sent to a therapy institute rather than a traditional rehab or punishment center. Of course, that all hinges on whether his story is true and, even then, it's up to people over my level of authority." "What if I refuse to press charges?" the Corellian questioned quietly. "I'm sorry, Captain," Monz said sincerely, "but that's no longer an option, regardless of what we learn today. An attempted assassination, once reported, becomes an automatic matter for Security." A commline buzzed on the princess' console. With a quick glance at the others, she pressed the button. "This is Leia," she announced, her voice shaky. "The data is available to your terminal now, Your Highness," replied the unmistakable monotone of a droid. "Thank you, Four-D," she swallowed, switching off the connection. Looking at Han, she waited until he'd moved up behind her chair. Pivoting the screen on her unit so Luke and the investigator could see as well, she activated the system. Keying in her private code, she took a deep breath and punched the final digit. The screen flickered, remained blank for several protracted seconds, then finally filled with row upon row of information regarding Ranus IV. Four sets of eyes hurriedly scanned the wording. When she was sure everyone had finished reading the displayed data, the princess touched the control to advance the information on screen. Forty minutes later, the last of the data, containing the hundreds of names of all those who'd been at the labor camp, scrolled past. The preceding information had verified that a commander named Lenstal had run the Imperial dissident camp for five years, including the time span covering nine years earlier. There was testimony from the few survivors that confirmed the boy's stories of atrocities, both physical and sexual, as well as reports of executions, medical experiments, and suicides by the 'dissidents.' It was sickening, and horrified even the war-seasoned veterans present. As Leia hastily scanned the alphabetized list of Ranus IV prisoners to reach the "D"s, she felt hot tears burn her eyes for all those who had suffered so hideously. She slowed the data to a crawl on screen, then stopped abruptly. There, in obscenely glowing letters, were three names the princess had hoped fervently she wouldn't find. Han read over her shoulder, staring in shock at the names and the scant information. COLEM DRUTRAY------EXECUTED 084.391 SHAUNDRA DRUTHAY------SUICIDE BY HANGING 012.393 JERIK DRUTRAY------MURDERED GUARD, ESCAPED 065.394 "I'm truly sorry, Captain Solo," Investigator Monz said softly. "Han," began Leia as she turned to face her unblinking bondmate. Squeezing his hand where it gripped the edge of her desk, she struggled to offer some comfort. "He still may not be Jerik. He could have just been there at the same time. We won't know for sure until Dr. Vaktor's call." Across the room, Luke worried silently for his friend and bondbrother. The Jedi had known what the data search would reveal. He had heard it--felt it--during that terrible scene in the med-center. The boy had spoken the painful truth, torn from what was left of his tortured soul. Skywalker also knew what the others could not: Jerik Druthay was dead. What remained was only a bitter, vengeful shell of a person. The commline on Leia's desk buzzed a second time, causing both Han and the princess to freeze momentarily. His hand still clutched in hers, she depressed the switch. "This is Leia." "Your Highness, this is Dr. Vaktor. I have the results of the bio-scan on Captain Solo and my patient. Did you want them now, or would you prefer to come by my office?" "We're all here, Doctor," Investigator Monz replied when neither the princess nor Solo spoke. "Perhaps now would be best." "Very well," the Tilian hissed. "The scan reveals positive relation within three generations. I can be more specific, but it will take a little longer." With a shake of her head, Leia stood to wrap her arms around Han. Luke stepped forward. "Thank you, Dr. Vaktor, but that won't be necessary." "I understand--and I'm sorry," the physician sighed. "Investigator, will your people be escorting my patient to Security this afternoon as planned?" The pudgy man leaned over the wide desk with difficulty. "I'm not yet sure. I have to report these latest findings to my superiors first. I'll get back to you as soon as I know what arrangements they wish to make." "Very well," signed off Vaktor. Monz surveyed the shaken Corellian, his worried princess, and Skywalker, then left the office without a word. Solo slumped against the windowsill, both his hands still held firmly in Leia's. Luke came around the desk, turned off the data retrieval system, and severed the still-open commline connection. "How could I have let this happen?" moaned Han. "Oh, Shaundra, sweet Shaundra, I'm so sorry." His tears overflowed at last as the reality swept over him. Feeling like an interloper, yet reluctant to leave with Solo so vulnerable, Luke lingered, remaining as unobtrusive as possible while Leia did her best to solace the Corellian. Not a man given to emotional displays, however, Solo shoved aside his pain in the face of more immediate business. Old regrets would have to wait. Jerik was alive. Shaundra's--his dear sister's--son was alive. He would not fail his nephew as he had her. Having sensed the abrupt shift of his bondbrother's mood, the Jedi again stepped forward. "Han," he advised cautiously, "Jerik isn't the eight-year-old boy you remember. He's had to endure unspeakable things. He's been on his own since he was eleven. For six years, only the thought of murdering you has filled his heart. What he's undergone, just to stay alive, has corrupted his mind. He's filled with a hate more terrible than any I've felt in a long time. It's totally consumed him." "So, what are you saying, Luke? Are you telling me to walk away--pretend I don't know? Because if you are, I'm telling you I can't. I won't. He's all the blood kin I have left. I failed Shaundra. I won't fail her son. If he hates me, who can blame him?" "You were told your sister and her family were dead," argued Leia gently. "You said they even showed you their charred bodies. How could you have guessed the truth? Jerik, this stranger, tried to kill you, Han. I understand your need to help him, but you have to let others decide what's right for him now. You have no choice. In time, with therapy, he'll learn to let go of his hate. He'll come to realize you weren't to blame for all the horrible things that happened." "She's right," seconded Skywalker. "He isn't capable of love at the moment, Han. He still has the vengeful need of that ten-year-old orphan. Since he couldn't punish his torturers, he turned all his fury into hating you. It probably saved his life then, but it's taken control of him. He feels nothing beyond that hatred. It's air and food and water to him." "I won't abandon him," the Corellian reiterated. "You won't be," soothed the princess. "We'll get him the best therapists. Don't you see, sweetheart? He can't be family to you now, not filled with all that anger and hatred. He can't even be a functioning adult. After he's undergone treatment, gotten help, he'll welcome you as his uncle, but not now. Maybe not for a long time to come. But eventually, he will understand. Then you can be there for him. It's the best thing you can do for him right now." Solo's shoulders slumped. "I know you're both right, but it still feels wrong. I can't help it. It took me years before I quit seeing the terror on Shaundra's face that day the 'troopers arrested her. Jerik was trying so hard to be brave, but he clung to her like a baby. She only saw me for a second in the crowd, but I saw the hope flare in her eyes. Later, when the Imperials showed me those burned corpses, I stumbled around lost for months. I don't even remember most of that time." "It wasn't your fault," Luke stated simply. "In time, Jerik may come to understand that, but you have to realize it now. Reliving your grief by berating yourself for events beyond your control and so long ago won't do you or the boy any good." "I know you're trying to help," Han sighed, "and I appreciate it, but I can't stand by again and do nothing. I want to go to Security. I have to know what they plan to do with Jerik." Leia hugged her bondmate and kissed his cheek. "That's a good idea. I'll go with you." "We'll all go," decided the Jedi. |