Star Wars: Earth I
"Unidentified freighter, this is the Star Destroyer Chimaera, please transmit your cargo and destination."
The voice came over the Falcon's speakers harshly, reminding Han, Leia, and Chewbacca that they were indeed in deep trouble.
"Chewie, get those shields back up!"
Han was frantically working at the tech station, on the verge of panic. The shields flickered on and then went out again. Han hit the shield control module with a spanner, and they sputtered to life again. Han frowned at the readout screen, 50 power was more than he expected, but much less than he needed against a star destroyer. Flames spouted out of the open maintenance tunnel that led to the sublight drive, followed by a loud roar and the unmistakable scent of singed Wookie. Chewbacca levered himself out of the access tunnel and wedged the panel shut.
"Chewie, how does it look back there? Hurry it up, furball!"
Chewbacca rumbled something ominous.
"Well, maybe we won't need the sublight drive. What we do need is the hyperdrive, the shields, and the concussion missiles. Keep those running and we have a chance. I'm gonna get preliminary jump coordinates from the navicomputer. Then we're gonna have to make a plan."
Chewbacca roared briefly in response and began to tackle the hyperdrive, which was smoking slightly.
Leia was sitting in the cockpit, frantically trying to get the sensors to respond. Han gave her a quick kiss and then vaulted his own seat to land in the navigator's chair, where he began to frantically wrangle with the navicomputer. It had some strange glitch and was spouting dialogue from a slushy best-selling romance holonovel. Han cursed computers and romance novels and began to hit the navicomputer with the same spanner that he had used on the shields. The computer suddenly flashed back to the nav screen, and Han looked at the spanner with something approaching reverence. After he turned his back the computer went back to its romance novel.
"Admiral Thrawn? Sir, the freighter has been tentatively identified as the Millennium Falcon, captained by General Han Solo."
"Very good, Captain, I want all starboard tractor beams on that ship. We are to take them alive."
"Yes, Sir. Tractors are locked on."
"Have the tractors bring it into Docking Bay 47."
"Sir, Docking Bay 47 does not have the in-hangar defenses we need when dealing with a potential threat. Also, Sir, it is full of TIE Interceptors."
"Your information is out of date, Captain; I had them transferred to Deep Storage yesterday. Their crews were reassigned."
"But- Yes, Sir. "
Admiral Thrawn smiled dangerously.
"Watch, Captain. Solo is a gambler. He will gamble our strength against his."
"Well, the dice are loaded in our favor, Admiral."
"Perhaps, Captain, perhaps."
The dorsal turret on the Millennium Falcon smelled like dried sweat and desperation, the effects of the many tight situations that had been bought and paid for there. Leia hated it. But, she really didn't have much choice.
"Leia, honey, are you strapped in?"
"Yes, dear, I was strapped in five minutes ago."
"I don't like fast women."
"And I hate arrogant men."
"Okay, I guess we're even. This is gonna be tough. I love you."
"I know."
Han switched off the comm. He turned to Chewbacca.
"They have us in..." He checked his screen, "thirteen different tractor beams. Make that fourteen. Okay, Chewie, this is the plan. We'll let 'em lead us in a bit, and then we'll do a H'Nemthe Feint. If the Hyperdrive works."
Chewbacca growled something low and questioning.
"Yeah, I know, Chewie, but there's just not much else we can do. We'll just have to hope the Hyperdrive works."
Han keyed the comm again.
"Leia, we're going to try a H'Nemthe Feint."
There was a short silence.
"Oh," Leia said softly, "is it that bad?"
"I'm afraid it is. We can't use the sublight and the navicomputer is pretty well shot. If we get out of this situation alive, which I wouldn't bet on, we'll have to do a blind jump. If the hyperdrive works."
Leia could hear the desperation in Han's voice.
"I love you, Han."
"I know. Too bad Luke isn't here to see us go out in a blaze of glory."
"Admiral, the target will be in our hangar bay in minutes."
"You are far too optimistic. Captain Solo, Organa Solo, and the Wookie have proved hard to trap in the past. I do not anticipate that they will be outwitted by this juvenile tactic. Actually, I fully expect them to get away."
Captain Pellaeon looked over at Grand Admiral Thrawn, sitting in his command chair, red eyes glowing eerily in the half light of a star destroyer in full combat mode. He was flabbergasted.
"What?! Then why are we-"
"To test a theory, Captain, and to provide much needed experience for the tractor beam crews. And perhaps they will not get away absolutely free."
Captain Pellaeon had regained his control.
"But sir, they are as stuck as glue in our tractor beams, how will they get out?"
"Watch and learn, Captain."
Pellaeon did watch. He watched very, very carefully.
"Okay, Chewie, cycle the blast packs in the loading forks. And then get me a line to that star destroyer. And tell Leia to start the music."
"Sir, we're getting a line from the target, asking for you personally."
"Put him on, by all means Captain." Thrawn manipulated the comm button on his armrest. "Captain Solo, what a surprise."
There was no answer.
Suddenly the front of the Millennium Falcon exploded. Two large, roughly triangular pieces seemed to explode outward, along with a cloud of particles.
"Sir, the front of the target seems to have exploded!" Pellaeon was looking frantically down at his console. His hands gripped the railings over the computer so hard that his knuckles were white.
"Calm yourself, Captain. Tractor Control? Shut down all tractor beams."
"Yes, Admiral."
"Now watch closely, Captain. That cloud of particles is trac-reflective. It snarls up our tractor beams. Now observe the two large chunks. You see the small objects come out of them? They are high-power concussion missiles. If the tractor beams were still on, the missiles would just be pulled in. Instead, they too are snarled up in the trac-reflective particles. But, perhaps not for long."
Almost as one, the missiles stopped moving around and headed out of the cloud of particles.
And straight at the Millennium Falcon.
"Watch and see if they make it, Captain."
The Millennium Falcon did make it, just barely.
And then, half a second too late, a Victory Class Star Destroyer came out of Hyperspace, directly in front of where the Falcon had been, just moments before. The concussion missiles headed straight for it, and were vaporized in a few quick blasts of its turbolasers.
"Now, Captain. Tell me exactly what that ship did, and what you extrapolate from it."
"Well, Sir, the target sent out a transmission, asking for you. I assume that was a confusing tactic, to get our minds off the ship itself. Then the front of the ship blew apart. According to the sensors, the debris consisted of two chunks, presumably the twin prongs on the front of the ship; and also a cloud of trac-reflective particles. Then, keeping the cloud between their ship and ours, they calculated and made a jump into hyperspace. What troubles me, Sir, is the fact that the Millennium Falcon's Hyperdrive was severely damaged, according to our sensors. The sublight drive even more so."
"An interesting puzzle, isn't it? I have seen this trick worked before, but never so well. The front of their ship was blown up on purpose. The message to me was a clever ruse to mask their transmission.
"What transmission, Sir?
"The transmission they sent to the cloaked ship that used its tractor beam to pull their ship into position for the jump into hyperspace."
Captain Pelleaon was astounded. If they had found the cloaking device, they had found Mount Tantiss, and that meant they had found the cloning vats. And that would mean instant death to the Empire. On top of that, the Rebels had done the impossible and used power without being detected. The whole point of a cloaking device was that you were invisible, but you were also blind, immobile and powerless. Even a small power draw like a tractor beam should have been easily detectable at this range. With an effort, Pellaeon regained his self control.
"But, Sir, how!? Could they have-"
"No, Captain, they have not found Mount Tantiss. I have studied our adversaries carefully. If they had found Mount Tantiss, they would have been sure to spread the story as far as they could. You may have observed that our enemy is rather hungry for news that does not broadcast their incredible inability to effectively combat us. It is a measure of how far their morale has sunk."
"Regardless of that, Admiral, this technology they have invented is very dangerous to us. We could be attacked by a fleet of star cruisers and sensors would show that it was a meteor shower. I believe we should-"
"Calm yourself, Captain," Thrawn said calmly. "They merely want us to believe they have a revolutionary new technology. In fact, it is only a clever ruse. I apologize, Captain, if I did not give you all the particulars; you may think of this as a test. For you, for the Chimaera's crewers, and for me. Before you say that we should have done more to catch them, I was right when I said that they would not get away entirely free. You see, there is now a homing beacon on their ship."
"But how??"
"It was very simple. I have used the same tactic many times in the past. I simply reversed the flow of one of the tractor beams and sent the homing beacon right onto their dorsal hatch."
"Forgive me, sir, I still don't understand."
"You may recall that I had the captain's console on the bridge modified when I assumed command. During the process, it was easy to make sure that several very important circuits made their way into the motherboard. These circuits give me the control of any single software program in the Chimaera. This obviously includes the command-control module for Tractor Beam #314."
The captain felt himself admiring more than ever before the pure tactical genius that made Grand Admiral Thrawn the best military commander the galaxy had ever seen.
"Yes, quite, Sir. I would still be happier with the whole story." There was a hint of reprimand in his voice. After all, a commander has an obligation to the forces under his command, just as they have one to him. Thrawn picked it up immediately. His eyes glinted as he sized Pellaeon up.
"Yes, I suppose I owe it to you. Remember, Captain what I have told you before. Proper respect for command is, of course, a noble ideal indeed. But only in its proper place. We must make sure, in our thirst to restore Imperial Order to the galaxy, that we do not forget the basic key to the Empire's military philosophy. That is, the relationship between an officer and his subordinates. Not just one commanding and the other obeying, but a relationship of mutual benefit which makes a fighting force an entity to be reckoned with. I am a cavalier and revolutionary officer, and I fancy that you are a cavalier and revolutionary subordinate. Do not let your respect for command stop you from asking questions. My unorthodox methods are even more enjoyable when I have someone to explain them to. If they work, that is. But I am rambling. Now I will tell you what happened."
The Grand Admiral told Pellaeon everything that had happened. At the end, he felt sheepish and ashamed that he had not seen through the Rebel scheme as Thrawn had. He also found that he was admiring the Rebels more and more. The ruse they used showed a mental subtlety in the Rebels that he had not sensed before. It was a plan worthy of Thrawn himself. Pellaeon now understood how they had dared to fight the Empire at the height of its power. Perhaps the Alliance had had something the Empire never did. Ideals? Hope? Determination? Pellaeon found himself thinking of the old Corellian proverb. An enemy you respect is an enemy you can better destroy. The tables were turned now. The Rebellion's time would come. Grand Admiral Thrawn would make sure of that.
Things could have been a lot worse. The Falcon's navicomputer had blown up, taking one of the ship's droid brains with it. The hyperdrive had only time to catapult them into hyperspace before it also blew up. The good news was that the fire in the sublight drive had dissipated. They had 25 power. Their blind jump had not taken them into the heart of the star. Of course, with the navicomputer gone, they had no idea where they were. Han could see the planet they were orbiting out of the cockpit window, the green of the land and the blue of the sea combined seamlessly with the white of the clouds to form one of the most beautiful planets he had ever seen. But Han wasn't paying attention to the planet at the moment. He was struggling to get the glitches out of the sensor computer, which had been damaged in the burnout creepage caused by the navicomputer explosion. He touched a live wire, biting out a blistering Corellian malediction. Suddenly the screen above him went from a flashing error message to a sensor profile of the entire planetary system. It looked pretty standard. Yellow sun, eight planets, small asteroid belt. The only habitable planet in the system was the one hovering silently below them.
He keyed for a search of the surrounding area. Maybe we're not the only visitors they're getting. The sensor scan results were short and rather incomprehensible. No life readings in orbit, no debris, no anything. Han manipulated the sensor controls, asking for a search of the planet. The computer took a while to get its bearings. Then there was a soft ding and the window for the search results opened on Han's screen. Han scrolled through the readings, growing more and more mystified.
"Leia, Chewie, get in here."
"Oh, my stars," said Leia, "it's so beautiful."
Han looked at the planet again. Now that he was looking at it carefully, Han noticed that it was indeed very beautiful, the most beautiful planet, in fact, that Han had ever seen.
"Yeah, well what should we do? I don't want to tell them we're here, they might not like visitors. I guess the best thing to do is go down on the planet. They might have parts we can use for the hyperdrive. Or everything else on this blasted ship that's broken. Who agrees with me?"
Leia shrugged, her eyes fixed on the planet.
"I guess it's all we can do. I've never seen anything so beautiful. It looks like… like Alderaan." Leia started to cry softly. Han put his arm around her.
"Don't cry, sweetheart."
Chewbacca was also looking at the planet. He growled something low under his breath, an old Wookie proverb. A risk not taken is a branch not grown. It applied here. They couldn't live in space forever.
He growled affirmatively and set about taking the ship down.
The latest sortie against the Rebels hade gone well, by Pellaeon's standards. He was on his way to give the report to Thrawn, who was in his inner sanctum. As he neared the door, there was a hot breath on his ear and a soft pressure on his neck.
"Captain Pellaeon." A gravelly voice mewed in his ear.
Pellaeon jumped as if stung.
"Rukh, just wait until I get my hands on-"
There was no one there. Pellaeon cursed under his breath and walked briskly to the door. He knocked three times on the door and keyed for the built-in intercom.
"Captain Pellaeon reporting, Admiral."
"Enter."
The door slid open and he walked into the room.
"Good evening, Captain," said the cultured voice from the darkness.
Then Captain Pellaeon heard a click and the darkness was replaced by slowly revolving works of art, illuminated by a hidden light. Pellaeon had seen this several times now, but he was still mesmerized by it. In the middle of the room, two red sparks glinted.
"You like them, Captain."
"Ah-yes, sir, they are…beautiful."
"Aren't they, Captain? These sculptures are my own work. What do you think of them?"
The captain studied the sculptures carefully. They were sinuous and graceful. All the filaments moved, their lights pulsing with each sway. The pillar of light in the center of each sculpture stayed where it was, anchoring the sculpture into its base. They reminded Pellaeon of… Thrawn himself.
"Very telling, sir,"
"Yes, aren't they. The originals are sadly in a private art collection on Coruscant."
"Yes, sir. If I may, I believe the latest report requires your attention."
"Of course, Captain. Our campaign against the Rebels goes very well. Our victory at Qwaridion has turned the scales. We now have officially half of the planets in the known galaxy. Now, I presume, you wish me to cancel all of our upcoming offensive campaigns and continue our search for Solo and his companions."
"That would be my wish, sir. In fact, this report does not cover our campaign against the Rebels; it is Navigation's triangulation of the whereabouts of the Millennium Falcon and its crew."
The captain handed the report to Grand Admiral Thrawn. As he read it, his eyes narrowed. Finally, he stood up, his eyes red slits in the half-light.
"Accompany me to the bridge, Captain."
Thrawn's voice was harsh, harsher than Captain Pellaeon had ever heard it. He hurried along behind the Grand Admiral, struggling to keep up with the tall alien's long strides. As they walked, Thrawn kept talking, his voice growing harsher and louder.
"You see, Captain, I was wrong. That cloaked spaceship which I had believed to be an ally of the Millennium Falcon, aiding and abetting its escape, was no ally at all; in fact, I do not believe that any member of Captain Solo's crew was aware of that ship's presence."
Captain Pellaeon's eyes widened.
"But-then who was it??"
"Ah, that is the question, isn't it?"
Pellaeon drew himself together. This was no time to fall to pieces.
"Do you have any guesses, sir?"
"Yes, captain, I have several guesses. Each of them is as unlikely as the next. Even with my extensive knowledge of civilizations of which the public, or the Republic for that matter, knows nothing whatsoever; I can not think of any race or political entity that would so blatantly challenge my power, let alone possess technology the likes of which the galaxy has never seen. Therefore, I conclude that we are dealing with a completely unknown civilization. Or perhaps an entire galaxy. You may recall that I told you that this was just a clever ruse. I now wish I had been right. As soon as we get to the bridge, we must gather the fleet. All our operations except basic defense are to be postponed or shut down altogether. Our number one motive is to find the Millennium Falcon. And whatever being or beings unknown devised this trap."
"I assume we will then end this war by decapitating its leaders?"
Thrawn stopped and turned around to face the Captain.
"No, Captain Pellaeon," he said quietly, "We will help the Millennium Falcon in any way we can."
"But, sir, I don't understand. Help the Millennium Falcon?"
"Yes, help, Captain. You've heard the word before, I presume?"
"What I mean, sir, is that-"
"Yes, I know what you mean, Captain. Before you labor any longer under your delusions, or this one anyway; I feel it only fair to that there are many things worse than the so-called New Republic. One cannot always fight the enemies one wishes to fight. Indeed, if we are to fight the New Republic, it would be most expedient to defeat this enemy first, so that their will still be a New Republic left to fight."
"But, Sir!"
"That is a discussion for another time, Captain."
"Yes sir."