Chapter 12 Rescuers
Kimmy screamed as her meditation took her right into Jesse's mind. She felt the burning stab of a light saber and then nothing. She lay on the floor, unmoving. her breaths came in agonized gasps.
"Jesse..." she murmured as suddenly they stopped altogether, and she moved no more.
Got ya! No, that was not the real chapter. That was a little joke I've been waiting to do for a long time. Now how many of you screamed? Ok, here's the real chapter 12:
The soft pink planet of Bespin glowed below them as they flew in and out of the billowing clouds, glowing faintly in the sunlight. Suddenly two twin-pod cloud cars appeared moving toward them. They drew alongside the Falcon and sent out a few bursts of fire.
"Han…" Leia began.
"I know, I know." Han interrupted, reaching for the transmitter. "No, I don't have a landing permit. I'm trying to reach Lando Calrissian." He yelled.
More flak burst outside the cockpit window and rattled the ship's interior. Leia and lark exchanged worried looks.
So Han and this guy are friends. Lark thought. Well considering the kind of company Han keeps, plus the fact that he himself admitted he doesn't trust this guy… Lark felt for her lightsaber. Better safe than sorry.
Han was still trying to reason his way past the sentries. "Whoa! Wait a minute! Let me explain."
"You will not deviate from your present course." the voice came over the intercom.
"Rather touchy, aren't they?" Threepio murmured.
"I thought you knew this person." Leia said flatly. She looked worn out. Lark couldn't help but agree. When was enough enough anyway?
"Well, that was a long time ago." Han said, waving a growling Chewie aside. "I'm sure he's forgotten about that."
"What?" Lark narrowed her eyes, but Han ignored her.
"Permission granted to land on Platform Three-two-seven." The voice finally said.
"Thank you." Han gave the skeptical group a 'see?' look, though Lark could feel doubt rolling off of him in waves. But Han was the type of guy that would do exactly what he thought he could get away with no matter how doubtful it seemed, and amazingly he seemed to be able to pull it off. And they really didn't have any other options.
"There's nothing to worry about." He assured them. "We go way back, Lando and me."
"As friends or enemies?" Lark murmured. Han shot her a look.
"Who's worried?" Leia asked.
All of us.
Han piloted the Falcon trough the clouds to the giant city floating among them, geaming a nearly blinding white. Lark caught her breath at the beauty of it. With the cloud cars still guarding it, the Falcon landed on one of the Cloud City's platforms.
"Here goes nothing." Han muttered as he hit the switch to open the door. The slowly rose as a group and paused just inside the doorway.
"Oh. No one to meet us." Threepio sounded hurt.
"I don't like this." Leia said.
"Well, what would you like?" Han snapped, tired of everyone echoing his own fears.
"Well, they did let us land." Threepio said.
"Look, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Trust me." Han sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well.
Lark didn't say anything. She was too busy scoping out the area through the Force, and she didn't like what she sensed. There was an evil here, nit just a little bitty one either. It was massive and nearly suffocating, almost equal to, if not greater than the one pursuing them. She weighed her options silently in her mind. If she told them to take off now, Han might believe her, but chances were he wouldn't, and it might be jumping from the frying pan into the fire. On the other hand, they might be escaping the lion only to take refuge in his den. She decided she'd wait and see who this Lando person was and hope that if she didn't like him it wouldn't be too late to backpedal. Because if she didn't like his aura there was no way she was staying here.
A suave, dashing black man in his thirties, entered the pad, leading a group of aides and some Cloud City guards rapidly toward the landing platform. Everyone straightened slightly, and Lark noted the grim expression on his face.
"See? My friend." Han said. he lowered his voice to speak to Chewie, but lark caught the words with the Force, "Keep your eyes open, okay?"
Han walked down the ramp and met Lando in the middle of the pad. They eyes each other carefully, and Lark contemplated him. Underneath his grim expression, she felt a bit of humor, actually a lot of humor, enough to tell her that he was only pretending. That made her relax a little, but only for the moment. There was something else about him, something dark. That made her almost tell Han that they should leave, but beneath that there was another something. Man, this guy had a lot of layers. Beneath it she felt an intense sense of loss and desperation. But that wasn't what made her hesitate. It was the sense of familiarity, as if she'd met him before. Had she? She doubted it – otherwise she would've been able to match it up in her mind. The fact that she couldn't meant that she'd met someone related to him. Who could it be? A rebel pilot maybe? Lando opened his mouth to speak, bringing Lark back to the events taking place.
"Why, you slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what you pulled." He said.
Han pointed to himself innocently, mouthing, "Me?" his fake look of self assurance vanished like a wispy cloud as Lando moved threateningly toward him. Suddenly, he threw his arms around his startled, long-lost friend and embraced him laughing.
"How you doing, you old pirate? So good to see you! I never thought I'd catch up with you again. Where you been?"
Han's expression immediately changed to relief.
"Well, he seems very friendly." Threepio said.
"Yes...very friendly." Leia said warily. "Lark?" she asked.
"Hmm?"
"Well?"
Well, indeed. Should she blow the whistle? Looking at Han, it'd probably be pointless, and she wanted – no needed – to learn more about this man. She would just have to be very careful Very careful
"He seems alright."
"What are you doing here?" Lando asked Han.
"Ahh...repairs. I thought you could help me out." Han gestured at the Falcon.
"What have you done to my ship?" Lando pretended to panic.
"Your ship?" Han raised his eyebrows. "Hey, remember, you lost her to me fair and square."
Lando grinned and suddenly noticed the rest of the group. "Hello. What have we here? Welcome. I'm Lando Calrissian. I'm the administrator of this facility. And who might you be?" he addressed Leia mainly. Lark suppressed a grin. There was something about Leia that just commanded attention, even for those who didn't know she was a princess.
"Leia."
"Welcome, Leia." He bowed and kissed her hand. Han's jealousy made him intercept.
"All right, all right, you old smoothie." He took Leia by the hand and steered her away from Lando.
"Hello, sir. I am See-Threepio, human-cyborg relations. My facilities are at your..." But before Threepio could finish his self-introduction, Lando turned to follow Han and Leia, who were walking toward the city.
"Well, really!" Threepio muttered.
Chewie glanced at Lark, but she motioned for him to go on ahead. She'd purposefully hung back, counting on Leia's outshining aura and a touch of the Force to keep her unnoticed. She followed after the group, sending sensors out like crazy and making sure Lando didn't' see her. The aides paid her no attention, and she slowly dropped back several yards, using the Force to overhear the conversation.
"What's wrong with the Falcon?" Lando was asking.
"Hyperdrive." Han said.
"I'll get my people to work on it." Lando promised.
"Good."
"You know, that ship saved my life quite a few times." Lando said, turning back to leia and turning up the charm. "She's the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy."
"So I've been told." Leia glanced wryly at Han.
The group crossed the narrow bridge and entered the city. They walked down the lovely Art Deco passageway, rounding several corners and passing many small plazas as they go. Threepio lagged a bit behind, nearly catching up with Lark, who inwardly groaned.
"How's the gas mine? Is it paying off for you?" Han asked.
"Oh, not as well as I'd like. We're a small outpost and not very self-sufficient. And I've had supply problems of every kind. I've had labor difficulties..." he turned to look Han full in the face. "What's so funny?"
"You. Listen to you - you sound like a businessman, a responsible leader. Who'd have thought that, huh?"
Lando reflected for a minute. "You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things." He said quietly. Lark stiffened at the tone, but something else had caught her attention, two things actually. One was the fact that Threepio had caught sight of a silver droid nearly his exact image coming out of a door and had decided to follow, and the other was a faint whiff of the darkness coming out of a corridor, the one that the droid had gone down actually. She quickly followed.
Where did they go? She wondered, hesitating. The company had passed even out of Force enhanced hearing range, and she didn't know whether to continue following them or to investigate.
It was at times like this when she wished her dad or mom was here. She was way too indecisive for this kind of thing. How many times had Jesse told her to decide on something and do it without continually looking the other way?
A laser bolt echoed in the hallway, making up lark's mind for her. She trotted down the corridor and found Threepio lying on the ground, a pile of scrap metal. And the feeling of darkness was stronger, but with it mingled something distinctly familiar. Ignoring Threepio for the moment, she followed the trail.
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Kimmy's mind refused to focus. Every time she tried to sink farther into meditation, Jesse's face swam before her mind's eye. His deep blue eyes and blonde hair swept back from a high forehead, the scar on the side of his face. He never told her what it was from; he'd gotten it after he'd left the Jedi. Kimmy sighed. So many memories were wrapped up in those years, both good and bad. And even the bad ones hadn't been so bad after Jesse's return. She knew she could always count on him. At least she thought she did. Now…
You were the one who chased him off, Kimmy. She reminded herself. She honestly didn't know what had come over her, besides exhaustion from sleepness nights planning battles, weariness of this never-ending war, and worry over their only child facing the emperor with only a pirate, a princess, a droid, and a ship that was falling to pieces to help her. Ok maybe she did know what had come over her. And Jesse was probably feeling the same way. They really were too much alike. It had been the main source of all their problems.
Two people exactly the same with two different points of view. What were we thinking? She wondered. Now another thought pushed that one aside: Jesse, where are you? Are you alright? Are you even alive? I know you would check in, even if you are still mad at me. Duty always comes before personal feelings with you. It always has. Please be alright. I need you. I can't face this alone.
As each thought surfaced it evaporated into the air like a bubble popping on the surface of a pond. Her mind gently sank deeper toward the bottom while her worries floated away. She finally found the calm center that she knew had been there all along. And now she felt it: Fear. Pain. Resolution.
"Jesse." Her lips formed the name. There was no doubt about it. He was alive. But he was far from safe.
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"I don't like this." Bob said. The feeling of walking into a krayt dragon's lair had continued to grow as they approached their destination. Now he felt smothered in dark danger.
"Me either." Luke said.
"Why are we doing this again?" Bob asked after a moment of silence. He knew the answer and he would never turn the ship around as much as his senses were telling him to, but it eased the tension a little to talk.
Apparently Luke didn't think so. His mouth remained in a firm line.
"We'll get there in time." Bob said, wishing he were more certain. He wondered if it would help if he got out and pushed, the fighter seemed to be moving so slowly.
Once again, Luke didn't answer. Suddenly he blurted out, "What do you think he meant?"
"Who?" Bob thought he knew.
"Ben."
Bob frowned. He didn't want to admit that he hadn't been able to hear the conversation. Everyone knew Luke was more powerful than he was, but, BUT. He grimaced. "Your guess is as good as mine." Much better actually. Thankfully Luke was too distracted to pick up on the hedging.
"I wonder what the cave meant." Luke mumbled.
He hadn't told Bob about what had happened in the cave, and from the look on his face, he wasn't about to. Bob sighed. Would he always feel two steps behind?
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Kimmy brushed past pilots without so much as a good morning. She slammed her palm down onto a security box, instantly giving her access to the hangar. She chose an X-wing and then reconsidered. And X-wing fit one person and one droid. What if Jesse was hurt? Kimmy by passed the X-wings and went to an already prepped Y-wing. She flipped switches, bringing it to life and taxied out of the hangar, making sure her radio was off. She didn't want to hear anyone telling her to stay put. If she didn't receive orders, how was she supposed to obey them? She would be gone before they could stop her.
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Lark hated this feeling. It was like she was being torn. Part of her screamed that Leia and Han needed her; she sensed darkness closing in on them, but the other part drove her forward, to the other side of the city, deeper down. With each step, she was being pulled in each direction. She stubbornly stuck with what she was already doing. If she left, she would be pulled by the other side just as strongly, and chances were she would end up running back and forth without getting anything done.
Like a droid with its head cut off. She thought to herself. She was reaching the outer section where extra small aircraft were stored.
What? Imperial ships? Lark instantly realized where all the darkness was coming form and why it had felt muffled. Not only were their enemies here, Vader was too. And he was masking his presence. He must've grown cocky and let a little slip. Lark nearly spun and ran back to Han and Leia, but something stopped her. A familiar presence. She caught her breath.
How…?
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Bob followed Luke who was following his senses like a hound on the trail. Artoo steadily moved beside them. Suddenly Bob and Luke froze, and a second later they heard a group of people coming down a side hallway. Artoo let out an excited series of beeps and whistles, earning a glare form Luke. The droid shut up.
Bob clenched his teeth as he saw a bounty hunter he knew by sight: Bobba Fett. Two guards followed him ,carrying something long and heavy between them. Luke grabbed his blaster and opened fire with Bob a split second behind him. Bobba Fett covered his guards as they wisked down another hallway. Bob and Luke were forced to duck from a blast from Fett which tore off a huge chunk of wall. It took a second for the dust to clear, but Bob and Luke didn't wait before they dove through. By the time they reached the other side, the company was gone, a thick metal door closing in their path.
"Luke! Luke, don't - it's a trap! It's a trap!" Leia managed to shout before it shut.
Luke and Bob raced down another hallway, leaving Artoo behind.
"Split up." Bob yelled. "You got your comm?"
Luke nodded. "I'll go that way." He ducked down a corridor to the left. Bob chose the next one to the right.
How to get from here to there…
It was easier said than done. Passageways only led to more passageways. Bob carefully used the Force to maintain a steady sense of direction and continued going in the same way he guessed the other hallway had been going. They had to meet up eventually.
Hopefully.
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"Dad!" Lark lifted Jesse off the floor of an imperial fighter. A Force suppressor was locked onto his wrist. A moment of concentration, and it fell to the ground. Jesse blinked.
"Kimmy?"
"Dad." Lark breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lark." Jesse struggled to get up. "Thank the Force I found you."
Lark's mouth twitched. "I found you."
"Come on. We're getting out of here."
"But…" Han. Leia. Chewie. Threepio. "Dad, we can't leave them…"
"Where are they?"
Lark suddenly felt the Force buckle and sway. One look at Jesse told her he'd felt it too. Something had happened, something dramatic. A sudden surge, or magnetic propulsion…
The Chosen One meeting his son…
Jesse and Lark locked eyes. "There's nothing we can do for Luke." Jesse said.
"How did he get here?"
Jesse stood. "Help me." He whispered, still feeling the results of the Force suppressant. Lark bit her lip at seeing him so weak, but she channeled her Force energy into his.
"They're safe." Jesse said. "As safe as anyone can be. We can't help them."
Lark felt another tug, this time not through the Force; at least not the one Jesse could feel. It was through her heart, and it would not be denied.
"No." she said quietly, but there was an underlying firmness that Jesse couldn't ignore. "I may not be able to do anything, but I can't leave. I belong with them. With…" she hesitated, "…with him."
Jesse's face was unreadable. He didn't blink, didn't flinch - just looked down at her. "Kimmy was right." He finally said. "You have grown up. I didn't even realize it."
Lark felt a trickle on her cheek. Emotional female. She scolded. "You need to go back, they need you."
Jesse nodded. "I know." He gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head. "Be careful. You're still my little girl."
"I always will be." Lark murmured. She pulled away and ran back the way she'd come, refusing to look over her shoulder as she wiped away stray tears. Her resolution hardened. Wait! Her heart cried. I'm coming!