Chapter 7:
"This is General Cassio Tagge, senior commanding officer of the Death Star," echoed the looping message through the dimly lit and otherwise silent corridor now littered with imperial corpses. "Senator Organa and Lord Vader have betrayed the Empire and are now attempting a mutiny. All officers are hereby authorized to deploy maximum deadly force against any staff suspected of mutinous missconduct. The Emperor is offering a 500 credit bounty for every confirmed kill. Let's remind these cowards the reason the Empire commands respect and obedience across the galaxy!"
Deep within the Death Star, on Deck 1137, Leia, Vader, and a small group of mutineers were making quick work of the local garrison. Despite Vader's injuries, the old Sith moved about swiftly, deftly parrying all the bolts shot at him. Leia found that she took great pleasure in using the Force to destroy the bodies of her adversaries. While at first she had needed to concentrate on unpleasant memories and emotions to summon her power, now it was as if death and destruction simply flowed through her.
A gatling turret dropped down in front of the wide blast doors blocking access to the main flight deck. "Get down!" shouted one of the mutineers. Leia dodged just before a hail of blaster bolts downed a large cluster of mutineers behind her. She used the force to rip the turret from the ceiling, pulling so hard it tore a hole in the ceiling 2m wide. Vader plunged his lightsaber into the blast doors and began melting a hole through them.
"Leave this to me," Leia told him. "Form up behind me and prepare to fire at will!"
Leia grasped the doors through the Force. She ripped the 3m thick doors apart as if they were paper. She pulled herself out of harm's way just in time to avoid a hail of blaster bolts from both sides.
"Hold your fire!" Vader commanded. The sounds of blaster fire could be heard from inside the bridge, but no bolts were being shot at the attackers. Lightsaber ready, Vader stepped through the mangled blast doors into the flight deck's entryway, effortlessly sending blaster bolts back into the bodies of those foolish enough to fire at him. An elite trooper weilding a knife with a lasered blade jumped out and engaged Vader briefly at close quarters before Leia force-pushed him across the room, breaking every bone in his back as she hurled him into the corner of the navigation display.
The mutineers charged in behind Vader, and quickly overwhelmed the remaining defenders. Moments later, only three survivors remained, General Tagge and two flight deck officers, one of whom was a pretty young woman holding a blaster aimed at Tagge's head "Communications Officer Tara Boland, at your service, Admiral Organa!" she said as she holstered the blaster and crossed her arms in an X, making a slight bow to Leia. The other deck officer held his hands above his head in surrender and was in need of a fresh pair of pants.
Tagge was a small and unremarkable man with reddish hair in an unflattering bowl cut, and ruddy cheeks that turned bright red whenever he drank. Right now they were crimson.
Vader deactivated his lightsaber and returned it to his side. "General Cassio Tagge," he said circling around the three survivors of the bridge crew. "You are loyal to a fault."
"Looks that way doesn't it," Tagge said with drunken laughter. "What happens next-" he belched involuntarily "-Lord Vader?"
One of the mutineers placed Tagge and the loyalist flight deck officer in binders.
As for what was next, Vader had already concocted a short term plan. "Now that we have assumed control of the Death Star," he said. "it is time to consolidate our forces and acquire a defensible territory as free of imperial interference as possible. We must take into consideration the distribution of strategic resources, access to plunderable trade routes-"
"No-" interrupted Leia. "We take the fight to them. Start calculating a hyperspace jump to Coruscant."
"Have you lost your mind!" protested Tagge. "There's a huge fleet in the Coruscant system conducting wargames right now! Their orbital defense systems are the best in the entire galaxy! Do you have some kind of death wish!"
"General Tagge is correct," said Vader. "Powerful as this battlestation is, it is not fully manned and has no supporting fleet. The odds of victory are too low, the risk too high. We must regroup and wait for a more strategically-"
"We can win," said Leia, unmoved. She projected her voice, speaking to the entire bridge as she gestured emphatically. "You all sense it! If we run and hide and start licking our wounds now, we'll never catch up to the Empire. They control nearly the whole galaxy. How long will it take them to build another Death Star? 2 years? 3? How long will it take them to upgrade Coruscant's defense systems, or to shuttle the Emperor and his cronies off to some distant hideaway? Any progress we make on our own Empire will quickly be outpaced by his. There is no better time to strike the Emperor down than right now. This is our destiny!"
"Destiny," said Vader. "Is all too often the path to ruin, Senator."
"I'm with her!" shouted a voice from behind them. Leia and the others turned around to see Corvyn Tillis and two helmetless mutineers approaching them. "And if Destiny is the path to ruin as you say, Lord Vader, let's make sure it leads to the Empire's ruin!" A moderate cheer went up from around half the bridge's occupants. Not everyone was so eager for further combat.
Corvyn looked familiar to Leia. She thought for a moment, then remembered having seen his face in a propaganda holo a month ago. "You're a pilot," she said.
"Aye, milady."
"Are you familiar with the Death Star's navigational systems? The previous navigator was killed in the mutiny."
Corvyn made his way to a large console in the center right of the bridge, flipped a few switches and after a series of beeps said "I reckon I can, yeah. Coruscant it is then?"
"Stop right there!" commanded Vader as he gripped Corvyn's neck in a force chokehold. "Our destination has not yet been decided, officer. You shall do nothing until the final order is given."
Corvyn clutched his neck and gasped for air after Vader released him.
"He must like you," chuckled Tagge. "First time he did that to me I-" Tagge hiccupped. "-nearly suffocated!"
"Lord Vader," said Leia in a firm and authoritative tone. "Do not forget who is in command."
Vader spun around to face her. How dare she! She was his offspring; she should be taking his advice without question, especially when her own plans were in essence suicidal! Leia could sense his anger growing.
"Senator," said Vader, failing to conceal the note of contempt in his voice. "I strongly advise another strategy."
The two of them stared at each other for a long, tense moment.
"What if we could attack Coruscant within a week, with a full garrison?" Leia proposed.
"Unless you're planning to raise the dead, there's no chance of that." said Tagge.
"If the Rebel Alliance is willing to join our assault, our chance of victory would be much better." said Leia.
"The entirety of the Rebel Alliance is still no match for Coruscant's defense force. You must stop this impudent excursion into fantasy and-" Vader's insubordinate words were cut short. The entire bridge looked on as his quivering body levitated into the air. A muffled choke could be heard through his vocal apparatus. After a few seconds, Leia released him, and he landed on the floor with a resounding thud. Leia bent down next to him.
"That was your final warning," she said quietly. "Do not ever question me in front of the soldiers again. This is my ship. You are under my command. You will not speak your opinions on this bridge again without my explicit permission. Is that clear?"
Vader nodded his head. He remained in a kneeling position pawing at his neck as Leia walked to the center of the room and eased herself into the ostentatious commander's chair. "Navigator, set course for Yavin IV and prepare to jump to hyperspace."
