Hello again!
Another big Thank You! to those of you who took the time to send me such kind reviews for the last chapter! I've been very happy reading your positive comments. I never know how my writing comes across – you know that anxious feeling when you're not sure if it makes sense to anyone else…? Your messages inspire me to keep going :)
Sorry to take so long with this update, it's even longer than the last chapter and took quite a while to write! Anyway, let's see what happens now…
Peace, Nanuk888
Disclaimer: I'm not called George or Timothy.
For Family
Chapter 3. Revelations in the Force
It was a glorious sunset. Warm orange hues melted into rosy pink, setting the wispy clouds aglow as they rolled lazily across the sky. Higher up, the stunning array of colours gave way to the darker blue of the encroaching night sky. It was a spectacular view, a fitting display as the sun bid farewell to another day.
Sadly, hardly anyone noticed. As the sunset circumvented its way over one trillion people, there were few who stopped amidst their daily troubles to gaze in wonder. In the tallest tower of the tallest building, however, one man paid attention.
In a routine he had maintained religiously for over twenty years, Palpatine surveyed the capital of his Galactic Empire. Imperial Center spread before him, the pinnacle of the galaxy's awesome might and prosperity. He looked out from his private throne room in the Imperial Palace, yellow eyes glinting as the loathsome bright colours finally succumbed and darkness swept across the planet. In his mind the arrival of night depicted the true dawn, that of the resurrection of the Sith to power after one thousand years of Jedi dominance. After expertly manipulating both the Old Republic's political arena and the Jedi for decades, he had secured first Darth Vader's allegiance and subsequently his supremacy as the Galactic Emperor. Coruscant had become Imperial Center and the galaxy was subjugated to his will. Everything he could see, as well as anything and everything that he couldn't, belonged to him. All sentient life in the galaxy was his to command – a puppet show of galactic proportions, and he, the puppet master.
Tonight, however, the Force was stirring. It ebbed and flowed in a way almost reminiscent of when he had established the Empire, a deeply concerning insinuation in view of the seismic transformation he had orchestrated at that time. The master of prescience knew there were plans afoot, plots in motion against the Empire.
Closing his eyes, he sank into the potent, maleficent energy. For a fleeting moment he almost worried that the Force seemed to be evading his grasp, but then it bowed to his formidable will. The Dark Side reassured him, responding to his every wish, swelling and moulding at his whim, and he dismissed his fears as just a figment of his imagination in a moment of heightened anxiety.
He knew that governors, ambassadors, former senators, military officers, trade representatives and an endless line of other supplicants awaited his pleasure in the public throne room. He let them wait. He was the Emperor, they were insignificant. With the countless lights illuminating Imperial Center's cityscape before him, Palpatine meditated to foresee the changes brewing on the horizon.
The refugees stumbled down the transport gangplank, some limping or supporting others while the more seriously injured were carried out on stretchers. Those not so badly hurt were blinking in awe as they emerged into the large cavern that served as a hanger, filled with Y-wings and A-wings. A medical team converged on the wounded and the scene became a bedlam of rushing people.
Chewie howled to catch the attention of the head medic who was searching over the crowd.
"Third group today," the Dressellian woman muttered as she approached them, shaking her head. "Don't those Imps ever get enough of shooting civilians?"
"Looked like they were after some smugglers," Lando said from Chewie's side. "Lucky we managed to pick these people up, their whole town's been razed to the ground."
Chewbacca hadn't quite forgiven Lando yet for betraying them to the Empire on Bespin, and most likely wouldn't until Han was back with them safe and sound, but when Leia was relatively safely ensconced in the base he could sometimes be persuaded to run on missions with the former gambler-cum-smuggler turned administrator. Whenever Leia left the base, however, he stuck by her side like a starving hoard of mynocks to a power cable. Nothing in the galaxy could have made Chewbacca neglect the last request Han had made of him to take care of the Princess.
Grumbling to herself, the head medic took the list of casualties that Lando had hastily drawn up and disappeared back into the chaos.
Nobody noticed one of the refugee women who furtively glanced around at the activity and quietly headed towards the nearest doors. Her bloody, bandaged arm miraculously seemed to start working again as she tugged forward the deep hood of her cloak, concealing an errant strand of flaming red hair. Unobserved, she disappeared down one of the corridors leading into the rest of the base.
The green planet swarmed into view as Luke dropped out of lightspeed. Even from this distance he could see the massive storm clouds that eternally trapped the fetid swamps and forests in a humid, murky atmosphere. The sight evoked memories of when he had last seen this view – right before he had flown to Bespin, when one of the dearest things he had ever beheld as truth had been irrevocably, violently overturned. His life would never be the same again. He would never be the same again.
Recalling how Yoda and Obi-Wan had attempted to stop him, Luke sighed. How would the Jedi Master receive his wayward student? He was somewhat dubious of the utterly ludicrous image his mind conjured up of Yoda dancing in glee, waving his stick and singing, Told you so, right was I – but he knew a lecture couldn't be far away and he didn't know how he would respond to that. The truth was, despite all the subsequent heartache, he didn't regret leaving. If he had stayed he would never have forgiven himself for abandoning Han and Leia.
Yoda would no doubt be aware of his presence by now. Reaching for the calming energy of the Force, Luke grasped the controls and sent his X-wing towards the planet. As with his previous visit all of his scopes were rendered useless by the heavy electrical storm, but this time he easily navigated the obscuring cloud cover and forest trees with the aid of the Force, and circled the familiar large swamp to set his ship down on solid ground.
Remaining in the cockpit, he stretched out his senses. Dabogah teemed with life, from the small nudj lizards to the large dragonsnakes and even larger swamp slugs, from the edible adder moss to the vast forests of gnarltrees. His connection to the Force here was so easy and fluid, it was as if he was part of the planet. He could feel the life-giving energy so clearly that he could almost physically see it flowing through them all. The nearby concentration of the Dark Side in that cave, too, was unmistakeable, as was Yoda –
Luke opened his eyes and glanced to the rocks on the right. His master sat there, waiting for him.
He opened the cockpit canopy and jumped to the ground in a smooth, Force-assisted leap. Approaching the wizened Jedi, Luke bowed, then lowered himself to the ground.
Many thoughts ran through his head – Yoda's teaching during his training, the vision in the dark cave, Obi-Wan's luminous reappearance, his abrupt departure... He focused on clearing his mind as he waited to see how he would be received.
Yoda eventually broke the silence. "Returned you have, young Skywalker." It was a neutral observation. There was no judgement, no obvious disapproval for his abrupt departure.
Luke looked up at him. Outwardly, the ancient Jedi Master appeared even older. The wisps of silvery hair that crowned his wrinkled head were thinner, the creases in his face deeper. His elongated ears as well as his body seemed to settle just a little lower than before, as if the physical strength required to hold them up had weakened. However, his presence in the Force was just as powerful and intense as Luke remembered. Yoda was a blinding beacon even amongst this brightly Force-lit field that was Dagobah. Luke was unaware that the Jedi Master had been one of the most respected and powerful of the Old Republic for many centuries, the unanimously voted Grand Master of the Jedi Order, but had he known he would not have been surprised.
It was only much later after they had returned to Yoda's small hut and savoured the delights of his cooking (Luke couldn't believe he had managed to forget the taste!) that the Jedi Master permitted any serious discussion.
"Seeking guidance you are," Yoda said as he sank down in his weathered old armchair, grateful to be off his feet. "Speak you can."
As his Padawan settled himself down on the ground before him, Yoda was reminded of the time when another Skywalker had come to seek his advice. That day had occurred only recently for him in view of his nine-hundred years of life, although in human terms it was a whole generation ago. With his long experience and conviction in the Jedi Code Yoda was not usually prone to doubt, but during his solitary exile he had considered several times whether a different handling of that particular conversation might have prevented the downfall of this Padawan's father – and thus the end of the Old Republic and the near-annihilation of the Jedi.
As far as Yoda knew it was the only time that Anakin had approached any of the Jedi High Council regarding his fears of somebody close to him dying – his wife, as it turned out. The Jedi Code was clear on the subject – Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose. Evidently it had not been the advice that Anakin needed to save him from Palpatine's schemes.
Yoda's meditations had suggested a wide range of alternative outcomes that might have occurred had that conversation taken a different turn, and it was by no means clear whether he could have prevented Anakin's fall. What had been evident, however, was that matters had not been improved by Yoda failing to recognise the depth of Anakin's feelings and the intensity of his nightmares. Had he addressed the troubled Jedi's fears in another way, reassured him somehow and assisted him more actively, it might have opened the window just a little further for Anakin to have seen another way to save Padmé.
And now Anakin's son, who had demonstrated the same intense loyalty to his loved ones when he had rushed off to Bespin, sat before him plagued with concerns. He would handle this conversation with great care.
Yoda relinquished his gimer stick to Luke who propped it against the wall close by. The aged Jedi waited with all the patience in the world as his Padawan clearly hesitated.
"Master Yoda," Luke finally said, screwing up his courage. "Is Darth Vader my father?"
Yoda had sensed the strange emotions in Luke – a deep sadness tinted with great joy, an intense happiness fraught with dread – and was not surprised at the question. His ears drooped with sad resignation as he answered, "Your father he is."
Luke nodded after a pause. Although he had known it was true he still needed to hear it from Yoda – now there could be no uncertainty, even in the small hours of the morning when insecure thoughts threw him into doubt.
"Told you did he?" Yoda asked.
"Yes." Luke hesitated again then asked, almost nervously, "Master Yoda, why didn't you tell me? Why didn't Obi-Wan?"
Yoda was perfectly aware of what the boy dreaded and addressed it immediately. "Wished you to face Vader without this knowledge, we did not."
Luke almost sagged with relief.
"Only a youngling you were, training to be a Jedi Knight. Craved for your father you did. Used your emotions Vader would have, to turn you into an agent of evil." His large eyes filled with sorrow and compassion. "Not ready for the burden were you," he added honestly.
As Luke absorbed this silently, Yoda continued to watch his Padawan carefully. Truth be told, Yoda was impressed with the maturity he could detect in the son of Skywalker. This Luke was very different to the youth who had rushed off blindly to save his friends. This Luke would still aid his friends but there was an air of calm sensibility about him, that of foresight and consideration. He had also survived his first confrontation with Vader, demonstrating both his affinity with the Force and strength of character to resist the temptation of the Dark Side. Back in the days of the Old Republic, this would be the stage when a Padawan would be ready to face the Jedi Trials.
"Much change I sense in you," Yoda said. "Grown you have in the Force. A powerful Jedi will you be."
Luke's surprise at these words was followed swiftly by a firm sense of purpose. As a Jedi there was much that he could do to aid the rebellion, to serve and protect the galaxy's inhabitants. Yoda nodded in approval. Luke was his father's son in many ways including his great affinity with the Force, but fortunately he had also inherited many traits from the former Senator Amidala. He had accepted the complimentary assessment with humility and not a hint of pride.
Eventually Luke stirred again. "Vader appears to be aiding the Alliance," he began, and proceeded to describe to Yoda the unusual dealings that had all occurred within the last two months. Yoda listened with a frown that Luke had come to recognise as that of intense concentration, usually involving the Force.
"But what I can't understand is why," he concluded when he had explained the ludicrous credit and warship donations and Vader's recruitment drive on behalf of the rebellion. "It seems too farfetched to just be a ploy to lure me in, or is that the idea? We don't know whether to let him help us or warn the other High Command of the danger."
"Meditated on this have you?" Yoda asked.
"Yes, but the messages are unclear. Objectivity still seems far away where things concern my father."
"Mmmmmm..." Yoda murmured with his eyes closed. It was an unintelligible sound with which Luke had become familiar during his training with the Jedi Master.
"Unusual this is," Yoda said eventually. "Meditate I will."
Palpatine scowled at the report before him. Not only did Vader have the gall to deliver it late but the state of affairs it detailed was deplorable. The rebellion was gaining momentum, gathering allies and resources at an alarming rate. His recent meditations had confirmed disturbing plots were in motion against the Empire and this certainly qualified within that category. Although the visions had been irritatingly vague and revealed nothing of value in identifying the perpetrators, any situation threatening the Empire and his supreme position in it was utterly unacceptable. He conveniently overlooked Vader's passing mention in the report of having warned about the Empire underestimating the Alliance's influence many years ago, and in his mind he laid the blame firmly on those durasteel armoured shoulders.
He fidgeted impatiently on his throne as the communication was patched through. The poor young technician who had only been transferred to the Emperor's personal retinue just two days earlier was doing his best, but by the time his shaking hands had allowed him to press all the correct buttons in a row without having to reset and start again, Palpatine had already decided his fate. He wouldn't make it down the elevator shaft alive when he left this evening.
When the chamber had emptied of his advisers and Red Guard, the life-sized holo-image of Darth Vader knelt before him. "What is thy bidding, my master?" came the humble greeting.
Sidious was not fooled. He knew Vader despised him, it was the way of the Sith. He usually enjoyed playing on his apprentice's efforts to conceal his hatred towards him but right now he was in too foul a mood for games. His yellow eyes glinted in anger. "How do you explain your despicable failure in crushing the rebels, Lord Vader?"
Vader seemed unaffected by the hostile tone and remained infuriatingly calm. "They are resourceful, my master. Analysis reveals they reached a critical mass which enabled them to gather support exponentially. However, I am now awaiting intelligence which may swiftly bring about their demise."
"I'm glad to hear you are waiting around while the rebels gather strength," Sidious snapped, his voice dripping with venomous sarcasm.
Vader, wisely, did not reply.
Sidious had had enough of his sensible apprentice and decided to drop the bomb. Sitting back in his throne, he said in quite a different tone of voice, "You need not fear, Lord Vader. Fortunately I have already acquired such intelligence."
At last, a reaction. Vader's bowed head came up just a fraction at this unexpected news. He waited, and sure enough, when he volunteered no further details Vader was forced to prompt him. "What intelligence, master?"
Sidious paused for a long, ominous second before he said, rather pleasantly, "I have obtained the location of the rebel headquarters."
Vader's head came up fully and stared straight at him. From this distance it was impossible to sense his servant's reaction in the Force but he deemed "shock" might be an appropriate term.
All false nicety vanished as he glared at Vader. "My aides will send you the coordinates. Take all the resources necessary to be assured of complete victory. I want them crushed, once and for all. And Lord Vader," he said, pausing to ensure he had his apprentice's full attention.
"Do not fail me again."
Vader was in a paralysing state of disbelief as the transmission died. How had Sidious discovered the location of the rebel base? Vader had been closely monitoring both the Imperial Security Bureau and Imperial Intelligence and he was certain that they weren't even close to finding it. It could only mean Sidious had employed one of his Hands who must have somehow stumbled across it – which meant Luke was in danger! The boy had handled himself admirably against him on Bespin but if caught unawares… Cold, nauseating dread washed over him.
"No…" he whispered. "Luke…"
A remote possibly suddenly occurred to him and he wondered if Sidious had really found the base. Could he be bluffing? It wouldn't be the first time his master had fabricated intelligence, either to incriminate somebody or simply to ensure Vader remained vigilant. He scarcely dared to hope. He burst out through the doors of the communications chamber and marched back to his computer terminal. A new top priority, heavily encrypted message from the Imperial Palace was already waiting there. He stared at it for a long moment, afraid to access it, but then realised that such behaviour wouldn't help Luke. With a shaking finger he pressed to open it –
His heart almost stopped when the precise coordinates appeared on the screen.
Yoda finally opened his eyes and gave a weary sigh. He had been meditating for hours. Daylight was fading, giving way to a murky dusk. "Unexpected this is," he said when he saw that Obi-Wan's luminous form had appeared before him.
"What is, Master Yoda?"
Yoda frowned, and said almost in wonder, "Confused Vader is. Turning from the Dark Side he may be."
"That's not possible!" Obi-Wan was shocked. After being forced to duel against Anakin, his brother in all but blood, he knew with absolute certainty what his former student had become. "Vader is evil, a Sith! No one has ever returned from that dark path."
"Powerful emotions he feels. Great love for his son he has, affecting the grip of the Dark Side. Forever dominate his destiny, it may not."
Until that moment, Obi-Wan had never before questioned a single word Yoda had said. It was something he needed to consider. For the time being, mainly due to his deep faith and respect in Yoda, he put aside his personal reservations. "If that is the case, we should tell Luke."
Yoda looked out of the small window to the clearing across the swamp where Luke balanced upside down on one hand. He shook his head. "Great anger and fear resides in Vader still. Of the Sith he still is. Possible it is, turn from the Dark Side he may. But certain it is not." Yoda's ears drooped. "Already suffered greatly the youngling has. Give him false hope, I cannot." He shook his head again. "Tell him, I will not."
In an instant, all officers and controllers appeared intensely busy as the doors swept open and Vader strode onto the bridge.
"Admiral."
Piett snapped a salute and followed the Dark Lord to the forward viewport. "Yes, Lord Vader."
"Alert all commands. We have the rebels. Assemble the fleet in the Toprawa system immediately to prepare for the battle."
"Yes, my lord," Piett acknowledged then turned to dispatch orders.
As the men rushed into activity, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Forces continued to contemplate the stars in dark, brooding silence.
It had been many, many years since Vader had last been in such a compromising position. Clinging to the underside of a gangway that bridged a maintenance shaft leading to the reactor core, he waited impatiently for the patrol to pass. Through the struts of the bridge he could feel the Executor's warp drives humming as they travelled to Toprawa. The moment the last stormtrooper was out of sight, Vader flipped himself back onto the gangway the right way up and sprinted for the opposite end, opening the doors with the Force as his long strides ate up the distance between them. He dove through the opening just before a mechanic and two maintenance droids appeared through the doors on the other end to investigate why the security recordings for the bridge had ceased transmitting. As the human mechanic stared utterly bewildered at the gnarled lumps of metal that no longer resembled security cameras, Vader had plenty of time to sneak away undetected.
He continued to slip from shadow to shadow, undetected by any officer, stormtrooper, droid or security camera as he made his way towards the underside of the Executor. It took almost an hour but he finally reached his destination – a small, secure chamber housing three computer terminals.
It was a simple Force trick to persuade the three troopers on guard to walk aimlessly away and he easily hacked the coded lock on the door. The room was fairly dark with only the blinking lights of the computers for illumination, but the mechanical eye receptors in his mask easily adjusted. He plucked a datachip from his utility belt and plugged it into one of the machines. Within only a few minutes he had uploaded the programmes he had created earlier, fed false images into the system to replace the security recordings of the previous five minutes, and slipped back out of the room as if he had never been there.
Luke returned to the hut much later that evening, both rejuvenated and exhausted from a punishing run around the forest. He noticed immediately that Yoda had finished meditating and was stirring up another pot of what looked like swamp stew.
"Master Yoda," Luke greeted out of courtesy. He didn't need to announce himself, he knew Yoda was already aware of his presence.
Yoda could feel the Padawan's eagerness to know what his meditations had revealed but the boy held himself in check as he brought over some clumps of herbs to add to the pot. Luke remained silent as they ate the meal, resigned to wait until Yoda was ready to talk. The Jedi Master was pleased at his patience.
"Go to Vader you must," Yoda finally said. He saw Luke blink in surprise, then a spike of fear emanated from him. Yoda frowned. "Speak to him you must. Tell you of his plans he may," he explained, wondering if Luke dreaded facing the Dark Lord again.
The cloud of fear remained, dampening Luke's bright Force presence. Yoda's usual response would have been to lecture about the dangers of fear leading to the Dark Side, but in view of his conversation with Anakin, he reconsidered his reply.
"What fear you?" he asked gently.
It was difficult to admit, especially to Master Yoda of all people. "He's my father ..." Luke began, then stalled when he couldn't find the words to explain.
But Yoda understood. He frowned in concentration, then a moment later his eyes brightened as if an idea had hit him. "Wish to be with your father do you?"
Luke nodded.
"Join him in the Dark Side will you?"
Luke looked up, startled. "No! I wouldn't –"
"Or join him in the light?" Yoda continued as if Luke hadn't spoken.
Luke's mouth opened to reply, but he shut it again as he realised what Yoda had been driving at. Almost in an instant, the fear dissipated and an iron resolve formed within him. "In the light side," he said firmly.
"Then strong you must be, for your father's sake."
Luke nodded, and his mouth curved into a soft smile. It was so obvious. He marvelled at how a few words could transform his entire perspective. First Leia, and now Yoda –
"Told the Princess of your father have you?" Yoda asked as if picking up on his thoughts.
"No." His expression turned sorrowful. "I can't. At least, not yet. She already has so much on her mind with Han still missing."
"Mmmm…" There was that sound again but this time it was distinctly disapproving. "Know the truth she should."
"I can't add to her burden," Luke reasoned. Some part of him was also afraid that she wouldn't want to know him anymore if she knew the truth. He knew it was juvenile to conceal something so that she couldn't hold it against him, but nevertheless it held him back.
There was nothing he could hide from Yoda in such proximity and the Jedi Master easily sensed all of his emotions.
"Reject her would you, if Vader her father was?" Yoda asked.
"Of course not," Luke replied instantly, vehemently.
"Then reject you she would not. Time to accept it she would need, but understand she will." Yoda fixed him with a stern look. "Speak to her you must."
"I know," Luke said with a sigh. He looked up. "Why is it so important that she knows?"
Yoda hesitated. "From you she must learn, before she hears from another."
Luke had the distinct sense that the Jedi Master was skirting the real issue, but several prompts and questions later Yoda remained resolutely uninformative. Luke took the hint and stopped asking when Yoda offered him some more swamp stew.
The two armament technicians were barely managing to remain standing, so much were they shaking. Vader loomed over them.
"A defect?" he repeated dangerously when they had delivered their report.
"W-we assure you, Lord Vader, it w-will be repa-paired in no time at all! We are all – all of us – attending to it!" The terrified men desperately searched the faces around them for support, but their colleagues distanced themselves from their fate and refused to meet their eyes.
"We are on the doorstep of the rebel headquarters and the fleet has amassed. You have thirty minutes to locate and repair this defect." The slight pressure on their windpipes left them in no doubt as to the price of failure. He spun and stormed out of the armaments engineering room, his black cape billowing out behind him.
Only Vader knew that he was smiling inside his mask.
Luke guided his X-wing out of lightspeed and began circumventing the sun in a random trajectory away from the rebel base, a standard Alliance procedure for checking whether anyone had picked up their trail.
He was alert as his ship casually flew along but part of his mind was pondering Yoda's words. It was strange that his master had been insistent that he speak to both Vader and Leia. He could only imagine that Yoda must have seen something significant in his meditations for him to completely reverse his previous stance regarding Vader. As for why it was so crucial for Leia to know who his father was, he hadn't the foggiest. The only thing he knew was that the thought of telling her made his stomach lurch uncomfortably.
'Son!'
The voice boomed in his head and Luke would have jumped clear out of his seat had his crash webbing not been securing him down. It almost sounded as if Vader had been waiting impatiently for him to emerge from hyperspace.
'Father?' The address was purely instinctive, born of his momentary shock. He was even more startled when he sensed joy radiating from the other end of their connection. I'm losing it, he thought. The Dark Lord feeling joy? Impossible.
Luke glanced out of his cockpit canopy, searching frantically to locate the telltale signs of a Star Destroyer. He could see nothing. His scopes also remained blank.
'Where are you?' he asked.
'You need to evacuate the base,' was Vader's reply.
'What?' Not Join me in the Dark Side, or Rule the galaxy with me? Of all the things that Vader might have said, this was the least expected.
'The Emperor has discovered your base.'
'What?' Another strange thing to say. Yes, of course he had, that was why they were discussing it instead of being bombarded to high heaven.
'You're on Yavin 13, where the rocky plains, desert and southern seas all meet.'
'What?' Shock jarred through him.
'The Emperor has sent me to destroy it. I have stalled the main fleet briefly in the Toprawa system but it will not be feasible to delay for much longer. Evacuate immediately.'
'WHAT?' A part of his brain wondered if he had lost the ability to think of any other word. He shook his head to clear it as he started punching in the communication code for the base. 'Why are you warning me?'
'You are my son. I do not wish you harm.'
There was only one way to respond to that. 'You cut off my hand!'
Luke detected overwhelming regret radiating towards him before Vader replied. 'It was not my intention, son. But we will talk another time. Now, you must leave. Star Destroyers will be there in under half an hour. Hurry!'
Vader severed the connection without another word.
"Code Red alert, I repeat, Code Red alert!" Luke said rapidly into his comlink. "This is Rogue Leader to Home One, do you copy?"
"This is Home One, we read you Commander Skywalker."
"Home One, the Empire may have found us. Run a full scan of the Toprawa system for suspected Imperial fleet. If they're there, we have less than half an hour to evacuate."
Luke heard urgent shouts on the other end as instructions were passed on. There were several tense seconds as he waited, then even before the reply came through Luke sensed the fear swell through the base. He didn't need to hear the controller's trembling voice to know the verdict.
"Commander Skywalker. We have detected a large fleet of Star Destroyers on the other side of Toprawa. All pilots are ordered to return to base immediately for emergency evacuation."
"Lando, where's Leia?" Luke shouted over the din. It had taken him precious minutes too long to reach the Millenium Falcon through the mayhem in the large hangar.
"On her way," Lando hollered back as he and Chewie hastily reattached the Ground Buzzer blaster cannon underneath the ship with Artoo's assistance. Threepio tottered about unhelpfully around them. They had been in the middle of repairing the automatic targeting programming when the urgent order to evacuate had boomed over the base. "She commed a minute ago, she'd just left the Command Center."
There was an unmistakable wail and Luke saw Chewbacca dodge some technicians running past them and head his way. "That's OK, Chewie, I'll go find her. Can you get the Falcon ready, and get Artoo and Threepio on board," Luke shouted over to him. It said much of Chewbacca's trust in Luke that the Wookiee turned back to do as he was asked.
Luke fought his way out against the surge of people flowing into the hangar. He stretched out his senses and was immediately assailed by a barrage of fear and apprehension projected by the hundreds of people in the base. It would have been impossible to find Leia in the chaos had he not been so acutely tuned into her presence. For some reason, at this moment she was angry and, rather unusually, slightly afraid.
When Luke finally cleared the throng of people with a Force-assisted somersault over their heads, he saw why. In a small, relatively empty docking bay a group of rebel security troops were trying to force her onto a small transport ship.
"Unhand me! I told you, Captain, I'm leaving on the Falcon. Let go of me at once!" Leia could usually handle herself perfectly well but she was understandably loathe to open fire on fellow rebel troops.
"Release her," Luke ordered calmly with a heavy dose of Force-suggestion, one hand waving vaguely towards them in an arc.
The five men almost instantly dropped their arms with dreamy expressions on their faces, but Luke sensed a slight resistance before his suggestion had passed through. It was almost as if they had been acting under some weak influence. His muscles coiled in readiness as Leia extracted herself from the circle they had formed around her, but fortunately they remained under his sway and simply stood there. He hid her from view behind him as she reached him.
"Take this ship to the main hangar and assist with the evacuation," he said, his hand again waving towards them. "Quickly!"
Without a word, the men jogged onto the ship and lifted off.
"What happened?" Luke asked as they hurried back towards the corridor.
"I don't know," Leia replied, frowning. "They just said they had orders to put me on that transport and wouldn't listen to a word I said. It was bizarre."
"We'll have to look into it later. Come on," he urged as he helped her through the crowded tunnels.
Neither of them noticed a cloaked figure watching them from the shadows, silently disappearing into the throng of people after they left.
Dozens of ships had left. Luke kept one eye on his scopes for the Falcon's distinctive blip, silently imploring his friends to hurry. Every second was crucial – from Toprawa it was only a few seconds' hyperjump to Yavin 13 and the Imperial Fleet would be upon them. He escorted the heavy cruiser carrying General Rieekan until it entered hyperspace then wheeled his X-wing back to base for the next large transport. He knew Mon Mothma had departed on another ship, the Alliance leaders always travelled separately to reduce the risk of High Command all being wiped out at the same time.
Space was crowded all around him with starfighters escorting gunships and transports until they entered hyperspace. At long last, the Millenium Falcon burst out of the moon's atmosphere.
"There you are," he sent over the com. "What kept you?"
"We picked up some stragglers," came Leia's reply. "They'd missed their transports. Are you leaving now?"
"I'm right behind you, Leia," he replied. "I'll see you at the rendez vous point."
"I'll hold you to that," she said, followed quickly by Chewie's wail which made him smile. He knew Leia's demanding tone hid her deeper concern and was about to reassure her when Lando interrupted.
"Coordinates are set."
"Good, get out of here," Luke urged. He released a sigh of relief as the Falcon vanished from view.
And none too soon! A second later a rapid succession of Imperial-class Star Destroyers started dropping out of hyperspace right on top of them, sending scores of ships scattering to avoid crashing into their shielded hulls. Luke careened his X-wing away from a collision course with a Y-wing and he counted six – now seven – Destroyers. Then an eighth arrived – it was an Interdictor-class!
Rebel ships that had only just entered lightspeed started reappearing amongst them, adding to the chaos as they were dragged out of hyperspace by the Interdictor's projected gravity wells. To his horror, the Falcon also blinked back into existence on his scopes a short distance away as it was abruptly pulled back into normal space.
Heavy turbolaser fire began raining down on them from the Star Destroyers.
Luke was unnerved not to sense Vader aboard the Star Destroyers but he immediately focused his attention on the battle upon them.
"This is Rogue Leader," he said with calm assertion over the Alliance's coded fleet-wide wavelength as he dodged a torrent of laser fire. "All ships group into formations, merge squadrons."
The starfighters instantly followed the only clear instruction amongst the chaos and began establishing hasty formations.
"Rogue Leader," came a familiar voice over his private ship com, "this is Rogue Two on the starboard quarter."
Luke couldn't even guess how Wedge had managed to find him amongst the hundreds of ships lurching and veering around each other.
"Rogue Leader, Grey Five on your port side." That was Shara reporting in, former bounty hunter and a sound pilot.
"Rogue Two, Grey Five, keep tight," Luke acknowledged as he continued to swerve around laser fire while avoiding other ships, now with his two wingmen close behind him. He flicked back to the fleet-wide com band. "This is Rogue Leader. Lock s-foils in attack position."
"TIE fighters coming in!" someone flagged over the fleet-wide wavelength. "From all Star Destroyers!"
TIE fighters were flooding out of the immense hangers and Luke quickly made a rough estimate of their number as he launched his tight formation into a spiral. Eight Star Destoyers might be a tall order, especially with the Interdictor denying escape by lightspeed, but the TIEs only outnumbered them three to one. They had faced worse odds. He could imagine similar thoughts running through the minds of other veteran rebel pilots.
But at that moment, like a harbinger of doom, the absolutely enormous, arrowhead shape of the Executor materialised right above them all. With the unmistakable arrival of Darth Vader, there was utter pandemonium.