Chapter Twenty

ROGUE PILOT

.:Aargonar:.

From the cockpit of his fighter, Luke called rogue squadron into formation. He could see the Imperial destroyer dead ahead and his jaw clenched as he recognized the Executor's massive frame.

For a brief second, a bad feeling passed over him. What if it was Vader? What if he was behind this surprise attack?

He won't betray us. I trust him. I always did.

Luke inhaled deeply, remembering his mother's words. No, this wasn't Vader's work. The tactics were different and…

Luke frowned. Something is wrong.

He could see the destroyer ahead, its cannons and lasers loaded and ready to fire. A squadron of TIE-fighters were approaching as well, but…

Something was wrong. It didn't make sense.

Luke switched on the intercom. "This is rogue leader to all squadrons. Keep formation. We've got incoming TIE-fighters. And keep your eyes open. There's something odd about this…"

"Copy that, rouge leader." Came the series of responses as the fighters approached the Executor.

"Hey, Luke. What's going on?" Han's voice brought Luke back from his thoughts, and as he looked to his right, he could see the Falcon sweep past. "The fleet is right on your heels. Let's bring that thing down…"

Luke gripped the controls tighter. "I know, I know. It's just that... there's something wrong about this."

"Perhaps we should discuss the moral implications later..."

Despite the serious situation, Luke almost chuckled. "I didn't mean…"

However, that's as far as he got before the fighter's scanners suddenly picked up several approaching targets – all of them coming out of hyperspace. "Wait. I'm picking up…"

"Yeah, me too."

Luke looked up from the controls just in time to see five Imperial cruisers come out of hyperspace right in front of him. The Calamari cruiser that had been closest to the jump gate took several fatal hits. Another smaller assault ship suddenly went up in flames as well – the source of the destruction being neither laser nor missile fire.

Luke cursed as a squadron of TIE-fighters emerged through the smoke and debris and headed straight for him, forcing him to break left, which almost brought him right into a small construction floating in space.

Mines?

Luke tried to keep his voice steady as he spoke into the comlink. "Rogue leader to base. Abort the plan. Five more enemy cruisers just came out of hyperspace and it's a minefield out here. We're outgunned..."

He yanked hard on the controls and managed to bring down two TIE-fighters with a calculated blow. However, the X-wing was given a good blow in return as it was hit by a shockwave from one of the mines. Two of his wingmen weren't as lucky and went up in a cloud of smoke.

"We need to take those mines down before every single ship is floating around as dead weight in space…"

"Leave that to me."

For a moment Luke couldn't place the voice, but then he realised that it was the Kel Dor Jedi Master. In the next instance a Y-Wing starfighter swept past, avoiding enemy fire as it started to take down the electro mines one by one.

The way Master Koon was flying almost frightened Luke. I thought Han was a reckless pilot. But somehow he still doubted that Plo Koon's flying was that of recklessness. The Jedi Master's maneuvers were far too precise for that.

"Thank you, Master Koon." Luke said with relief, although the struggle was far from over. He repeated his transmission to the base. "I repeat. This is rogue leader to ground command. Do you copy? Our forces are being cut down. You must evacuate now. I repeat, leave base."

"Ground command to rogue leader, acknowledged. Six ships ready for take off in five minutes."

Luke bit his lower lip and sighed. That's not good enough.

"It will have to do." Came the solemn answer, as if Master Secura had read his thoughts. "Keep the enemy out of the atmosphere as long as you can."

"We'll do what we can." Luke said and switched back to the intercom between the squadrons. "Red squadron and bombers, focus your attack on the nearest star destroyer. Gold squadron, keep the enemy from launching a ground attack. Rogue squadron, follow me…"

As Luke turned his X-wing towards the Executor, a sudden tremor in the Force made him bank left just as a pair of proton missiles skimmed past his right wing. In the next instance a sleek rogue-class star fighter emerged into his view. As it passed his cockpit, he could for a brief second see the frame behind the controls. And, as their eyes locked, Luke could feel the presence of the dark side, and it was ice cold.

This was a force sensitive pilot.

-0-0-0-

Grand Admiral Thrawn stood tersely on the bridge of the Executor, watching the battle unfold. The smile that had appeared on his lips upon seeing the destruction of the first unfortunate rebel ships quickly vanished when their tactics changed.

The ships that had been on stand by in hyperspace, had managed to overwhelm the rebels, who had fallen neatly into the trap. But, despite the odds, they were overcoming the disadvantage. And then, as he had expected, that familiar black and red star fighter surged from hyperspace just off the flank of one of the rebel ships.

As the fighter made a sweep past the Executor's bridge, Thrawn's hands clenched into tight fists and he hissed the single word as if it was a curse. "Jade…"

Moments later, his receiver beeped and he didn't release his gaze from the ship as he pressed the button.

"Greetings, Admiral. I see you're perfecting the art of destroying the rebels in one quick sweep…"

With rising anger and contempt, Thrawn broke the transmission without a word and spoke to the commanding officers of the Imperial ships. "Target every ship that leaves the planet surface. I don't care if it's a military or civilian transport. I want them all down."

Considering his undertone, it was quite clear that he wouldn't mind if Jade's fighter was caught in a blast.

-0-0-0-

Some four hundred miles away from the Executor, the rebel heavy cruisers were producing cover fire while more rebel ships emerged from the planet. The Falcon was doing its share of the work as well, but too many ships had already fallen prey to the relentless fire from the Imperial cruisers.

Aboard the flagship, Mace Windu and Yoda watched as the battle unfolded. They had both sensed the sudden change in the Force when a lone star fighter had emerged from hyperspace, seemingly searching for a particular target.

Then the Force suddenly cried out as the star fighter fired on the Millennium Falcon, upon which Luke broke out of formation to aid his friends. As if having waited for that particular move, the dark fighter made a calculated sweep around the belly of the Falcon and fired right on Luke Skywalker's X-wing.

Aboard the Millennium Falcon, Han, Chewie and Leia watched in helpless horror as Luke's fighter took a hit and went crashing down towards the Executor. The rogue fighter that had fired the shot made another sweep around the Falcon and then headed for the Imperial command ship.

With his jaw clenched, Han straightened the Falcon and turned the ship around with its cannons blazing. Behind them, the rest of the rebel fighters were trying to cover the Alliance's ships in the onslaught of Imperial fire.

Moments later the Falcon's com channel beeped. Absent-mindedly Leia took the call, while Han spun the Falcon in circles and Chewbacca operated the starboard guns, firing mercilessly at the fighter ahead.

"General Solo and Princess Leia." Said the voice over the buzzing transmission. "Abort the mission. I repeat, abort. The fleet is calling in all ships…"

"No, hold." Leia spoke quickly, her concern for Luke overwhelming any rational thought. "General Skywalker was hit. He went down on the Imperial flagship. We must continue the attack."

"Our cruisers can't take much more. We have to fall back."

Han maneuvered the Falcon skillfully between laser shots and TIE-fighters, but it was evident that the game was lost. Only rogue squadron was still in pursuit of the Imperial forces, and since Luke had gone down, they were without a leader. The Falcon wouldn't last for long in the crossfire.

"We can get through." Leia persisted, even though she knew it was practically impossible.

The com panel buzzed again. "This is Admiral Ackbar to all squadrons. Call back immediately."

Leia cursed under her breath. "We can't just leave General Skywalker."

Something hit the starboard side of the Falcon, rocking the ship violently.

"We're running out of options here, sweetheart." Han said, sounding surprisingly worried. "What do you want me to do?"

Chewie growled from the gunner's turret.

"I wasn't talking to you, Chewie."

Leia hesitated. She knew that Luke was alive – she could feel it. But he may not be for long. "Someone has to rescue him."

"I'm open to suggestions, Princess." Han shouted over the noise of the struggling Falcon. "But we need a plan. Now!"

Leia rolled her eyes. "You usually have a bag of tricks up your sleeve. What happened?"

Han cursed as pieces of a blown up TIE-fighter almost hit the ship. "I borrowed them… CHEWIE, get those damn fighters off our tail."

The Wookie gave another loud growl.

"I know. I know." Han shot Leia a quick glance. "Listen, Princess. We're soon gonna be toast…"

"Millennium Falcon, do you copy?"

Leia bit her lip. Time was running out.

-0-0-0-

With his X-wing at the verge of breakdown, Luke had done his best to maneuver the fighter as it had descended towards the Imperial destroyer. It had taken some fair amount of encouragement and skill to get the controls working, but in the end the broken fighter had spun across the sleek surface of the hangar bay until coming to a stop a few inches off the wall. Still, Luke had had no doubt in his mind that he could pull it off.

Though it wasn't exactly a pretty landing…

Now all he had to do was to try and get a ride off the ship. So long, the hangar bay was empty, but it wouldn't be for long.

However, what concerned him more than the actual situation, was the strange disturbance in the Force. It had occurred right before his fighter had been hit, and even though he couldn't sense an immediate danger anymore the foreboding feeling was still there.

She's here. Luke realised, carefully reaching into the Force to try and find the presence. Yes, he was quite certain that it was a 'she'. And he could feel her presence – cold, calculated, and surrounded by the dark side.

He needed a plan, but the new presence in the Force kept distracting him.

What would Ben do? Patiently wait for an escape route to appear… or walk right into the trap?

Luke figured the former – unless the old Ben was much more like his old apprentice. He most certainly wouldn't have waited in the shadows.

Then spring the trap.

Luke had to admit that he was more curious than concerned. The dark side was different around this person than it had been around Vader and the Emperor. It was colder – almost freezing – and it wasn't as suffocating as the two Sith Lords' combined powers. However, the one thing that did concern him was the fact that the feeling seemed to be focused directly at him.

Luke shuddered slightly. What could possibly have caught this warrior's attention?

With a sigh, Luke took off his flight gear and opened the canopy of the cockpit. As he climbed down from the fighter, he reached for his comlink – hoping that he could manage to get a call through to the Alliance fleet.