Chapter 28
"The first thing is getting safely away from the Alliance fleet," Luke said. He sat in the main hold of the Millenium Falcon. Leia stood nearby with her arms crossed as she looked from Luke, Chewbacca, Han, and R2-D2. After meeting with the Alliance High Command, Luke and Leia had gone off in search of Winter Organa, who was absent at the meeting. They discovered she had left mere hours earlier with Sana on a mission to Sunspot Prison.
Luke and Leia had then separated to their own bunks. They both changed, gathered a few belongings, before meeting back up on the Falcon. Luke wore his casual clothes: the tan yellow jacket, black shirt, tall boots, and a belt with a blaster holster. Leia wasn't wearing her normal Winter-loaned white jumpsuit. She wore grey pants with a white top. She wore a long green vest which draped over her belt and blaster holder. It reminded Luke a bit of the clothes she might have worn on Tatooine.
"You don't think I can't get away from these small fry Alliance fighters?" Han said. Luke just glanced at Han. He knew Han was a good pilot, but he also knew his fellow fighter pilots.
"Remember right after Yavin when Winter left to find survivors of Alderaan? Wedge and I were sent out to stop her." Luke didn't add that only Wedge and Luke were sent out as they were the only surviving members of the Red Squadron after the Battle of Yavin.
"Yeah and she got away," Han added.
"Because Evaan put a decoy hyperdrive on top of her ship. Wedge and I successfully shot it off, thinking we had disabled the ship."
"So, we need a decoy hyperdrive?" Han asked.
"No. That ploy may not work again," Luke said. "But I do think we'll have to be smart to get away. We don't have clearance to leave."
Quiet filled the hold as the occupants thought of the best way to get away from the Alliance fleet and get to Brolsam. They started to formulate a plan, but there was a bit of arguing on the finer points. It wasn't as easy as slipping by Imperials. They could be shot down. Luke wasn't going to shoot down any of his fellow pilots. Thus the best way out, would be one without a fight if they could manage.
Suddenly the hold got quiet as steps were heard coming up the loading ramp and down the curved hallway. Colonel Cor and General Forell walked in. Luke jumped up and saluted. Han rolled his eyes while Chewie let out a small irritated roar at the unwelcomed guests. Colonel Cor was a brown skinned human male, who Luke guessed to be in his upper thirties or lower forties. General Forell was an older pale skin human male. His long dirty blonde hair was graying and thinning on the top of his head.
"At ease," the colonel said with a wave of his hand.
"I don't remember inviting you two on to my ship," Han said.
"Captain Solo I've come with a new mission for you," General Forell said. Luke's mind race as he tried to place what exactly the general's job was. Luke knew of the man as a member of the Alliance High Council, but otherwise Luke hadn't personally dealt with Forell.
"Well I ain't accepting jobs right now," Han said.
"I assure you, Captain Solo, you'll want to take this one," the general said as he drew a datapad from his green military jacket. He held it out towards Han. Han hesitated a bit, taking a glance at Luke and Leia, before walking over and grabbing it.
"Brolsam?" Han said after a minute of looking over the datapad. Luke's heart jumped.
"Yes. I want you to do a supply run to Brolsam for their relief aid," the general explained. All eyes were on him. "You are to leave immediately."
Chewie let out a roar. Han translated, "Yeah, what's the cargo?"
The general raised an eyebrow and smirked. He waved his hand at Luke and Leia. "It appears your cargo is already on board," the general said amused.
"Wait, are you asking me to take Luke and Leia here to Brolsam?" Han asked.
"That's the gist of it, yes."
"Why?" Luke asked finally finding his voice. "The High Council made it pretty clear I wasn't to leave, especially since I'm still on medical leave."
The general glanced over at the colonel. Colonel Cor was the one directly in charge of the star fighter pilots, which made him Luke's superior officer. Cor had worked under General Merrick, who was leader of the Blue Squadron. Yet, Marrickl had perished during the fight over Scarif. There were some rumors amongst the pilots that the Council might promote Cor to general soon. Cor was a good leader, if not a bit strict and quick to pass out demerits.
"Well Lieutenant," Colonel Cor spoke up, "Turns out the doctors have released you and your sister from your medical leave."
"What about my hearing regarding not following orders over Vrogas Vas?" Luke pressed the colonel.
The colonel shrugged. He didn't seem worried about it all. "We'll get to it. Eventually."
"I thought the Alliance wasn't going to send a rescue squad to Brolsam," Han said. He was still on edge.
General Forell spoke up. "You're right. Officially speaking, the Alliance is not sending any rescue to retrieve Agent Lars. You are to transport relief supplies to Brolsam."
A small silence filled the hold.
"You're going behind the other members of the High Council's backs," Han said slowly.
"This supply mission has been ordered by the chancellor," General Forell stated simply. "But keep in mind," the general stopped and looked pointedly at Luke, "the Alliance will not provide military aid for non-Alliance agents that are going off a simple supply run." Luke understood the warning. They were letting Leia and him go to Brolsam, but alone and not to expect any backup. Luke nodded to communicate his understanding.
The general clapped his hands in front of him. "Good. Everything seems to be in order. You'll find your clearance codes on the datapad. The Force be with you Lieutenant Skywalker, Agent Lars, Captain Solo." The general walked out of the hold leaving the colonel behind.
"Thank you, Colonel," Luke said.
"Just try not to lose any more X-wings, Skywalker," the colonel said. "They're not cheap." Then he too left the ship. Luke had wanted to comment back to the colonel that so far he'd only lost two, the recent fighter he crashed on Vrogas Vas and the one they had to abandon on Nar Shaddaa.
It was R2 who broke the silence with a series of whistles and beeps. He wanted to know what they were waiting for. Luke couldn't help but smile a bit.
As promised by the general, the Falcon was able to leave the fleet without any problems. Luke had asked Han what exactly was General Forell's job. Turns out he was in charge of the Support Services, or transportation as Han explained. He was the one who employed Han. The hyperdrive trip to Brolsam was spent going over all the information they had.
Brolsam sat in the Kothal Sector in the outer rim. The sector was connected to the core worlds via the Rimma Trade Route which ended at the Kothal Sector capital world of Kal'Shebbol. The rest of the sector was connected via the Trition Trade Route. Moff Kentor Sarne held control over the sector. He had the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Raptor under his command.
There wasn't much information about Brolsam that Luke didn't already know from his mother. The Alliance had no official agents on the planet besides Luke's mother. The planet had requested aid after a series of massive storms had torn up the fields of the agriculture world. The datapad that the general had given Han contained the corridorants to the village Luke's mother had been stationed at. They figured it was the best place to start.
They exited hyperspace a small bit away from the planet. They were able to get a good look at it. No sight of any star destroyer or any Imperial military craft. A few cargo ships were seen coming and going, but otherwise all orbital traffic was calm. Han piloted the Falcon down to the planet towards the village.
While Luke had been to several other planets since joining the Alliance, he was always amazed at each and every one of them. Brolsam was no different. As far as the eye could see were fields. Han grumbled saying there wasn't much cover for him to hide the Falcon.
"We're going to have to land in a field," Han mumbled more to himself then to anyone else. "Hope the locals don't come after us with pitchforks for landing on their crops."
Han found what appeared to be a dirt field near the village. Using the information on the datapad, they sent a message via commlink to the members of the relief aid. They responded saying they would meet the party at the edge of the village at nightfall. Once darkness fell, Han, Leia, and Luke left the ship. Chewbacca stayed on board as the Wookie would attract too much attention. R2-D2 would stay to help watch the scanners for any Imperial activity.
They walked in silence along the dirt paths that bordered the fields. There was a loud shuffling noise ahead. Something was coming. All three humans brought up their blasters. Luke could sense something coming through the Force, but it felt odd. It felt like one thing, but also lots of things. He didn't know what that meant. A large black insect appeared. Then another and another. Han held his gun tightly.
"Are you the rebels?" an odd voice asked. It sounded like a stringed instrument mixed with a buzzing sound with some clicks thrown in. Han was looking around to see where the speaker was.
"It's the Fefze," Leia said softly.
"The what?" Han asked.
"The insects. They're the Fefze." She turned to the insectoids. "Yes we're the Rebels."
"Follow us," the Fefze said before they turned around and scurried ahead of them.
"I don't do bugs," Han hissed lowly at Luke and Leia.
"They're sentients," Leia hissed back at him.
"I don't care if they're a swarm of the brightest geniuses in the galaxy," Han shot back. "I don't do bugs."
The walk through the fields wasn't much longer before they reached the village. Two male humans waited at the edge. One was younger about the same age as Han, while the other older. The Fefze scurried off leaving the trio alone with these new humans. The humans didn't say anything but waved for Luke to follow. As they walked into the warm light of the village, suddenly tons of Fefze appeared. Some of the large insects flitted up to the sky, but they didn't stay airborne for long before gliding back down. A strange music filled the air. Luke, Leia, and Han could only stare open mouthed at the scene.
"Keep moving," one man said. They walked under and through the swarm of Fefze. Through the swarming insects Luke was able to make out the buildings of the village. Large twisting unnatural vines came out of the ground. They swirled and snaked alongside the outside walls of the buildings. Between the wood were patterns and designs carved into clay. Finally the two humans ushered them into a warmly lit house.
"What was that?" Han asked as soon as the door was shut. "With all those bugs?"
"Cover," said the older one. "The Fefze were singing and dancing. Allowing us to sneak into the village without much notice."
"So you're the Rebels," the younger man said. "You don't look like much."
Luke spoke up before Han could. "I'm Luke Lars. This is my sister Leia. What can you tell us about our mother?" Luke had decided to not go with the name Skywalker, reverting back to his old name. This wasn't the time to play Hero of the Alliance, the Pilot Who Shot Down the Death Star. This was about rescuing his mom.
