Chapter 65- Anger and Fully Operational
Talon looked out the viewport at the battle. At the moment he could still feel Cora through the Force. Talon wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not that he could still feel her. "Come boy, girl. See for yourselves. From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance and the end of your insignificant rebellion," Palpatine mocked as Luke joined Talon and Lena at the viewport. Luke looked back at Palpatine and his eyes went to his lightsaber.
"Easy, Luke. Don't let him anger you," Talon said, squeezing his nephew's shoulder.
"You want this, don't you?" Palpatine asked, patting Luke's lightsaber.
"Easy, brother. He just wants you to get angry," Lena whispered under her breath.
"The hate is swelling in you and your sister now. Take your Jedi weapons. Use them. I am unarmed. Strike me down with them. Give in to your anger," Palpatine said.
"Luke, don't. Let's look back at the battle," Lena whispered, touching Luke's other shoulder as they turned back to the viewport.
"With each passing moment you make yourselves more my servants," Palpatine said relentlessly.
Luke turned. "No," Luke said, his voice calmer than his face.
"It is unavoidable. It is your destiny. You and your sister, like your father, are now mine," Palpatine said. Talon looked at Vader. Anakin, please! If you loved their mother, stop this now!" Talon thought. Talon hoped Luke, Lena, and Padme was right about Vader. That there was still some shred of Anakin still inside. Talon's thoughts then went to Leia. He could feel her in the Force. She hadn't been killed yet. If Talon, Luke, and Lena were all killed then Leia was the last hope any of them had.
On the sanctuary moon, Han, Leia, Chewbacca and the strike team was escorted out of the shield generator bunker. The place was surrounded by Imperial soldiers, stormtroopers, and AT-AT walkers. It took Leia a startling moment of clarity in the Force to realize this was a trap that Palpatine had sprung on all of them as she looked at the strike team they had left outside standing, with their arms over their heads and surrounded by stormtroopers.
"All right, move it!" A stormtrooper ordered, pointing his blaster rifle at Leia's back and nudging her forward.
They stopped and then heard Threepio's metallic voice. "Hello! I say, over there! Were you looking for me?" Threepio shouted and they all looked in his direction on top of a small hill next to Artoo.
Chewbacca growled. "Bring those two down here," a soldier ordered, pointing at the droids. The stormtroopers went up the hill and Leia heard, rather than saw Ewoks. Ewok screams filled the air, followed by a loud blast on Ewok bugles. Arrows filled the air and Han, Leia, and the others lost the surrender pose and started to fight alongside the Ewoks. Leia and Han made it to the shield doors as they slid shut. Leia looked at the control panel and pressed the code.
"The code's changed. We need Artoo," Leia said as she shot her blaster.
"Here's the terminal," Han said, opening a small hatch beside him.
"Artoo, where are you? We need you at the bunker right away," Leia said into the comlink.
Up in space, the battle was heated with tie-fighters and enemy ships swarming all around. "Watch yourself, Wedge. Three from above," Lando said, looking out his front viewport.
"Red 3, Red 2, pull in," Wedge ordered.
"Got it," Red Three said and an explosion went across an Imperial frigate.
"Three of them coming in, 20 degrees," Red Three said.
"Cut to the left. I'll take the leader," Wedge said.
"Wedge, Red Three, they are heading for the medical frigate," Cora said as Wedge shot the leader into the Imperial frigate.
"On our way, Princess," Wedge said.
"Pressure steady," the man behind Lando said as the tie-fighter exploded right at the Alliance frigate. Lena looked up and saw Stardestroyers just waiting there. And, apparently, lando saw it too.
"Only the fighters are attacking. I wonder what those Stardestroyers are waiting for," Cora said, stretching out with the Force, to which it felt like running into a durasteel wall.
As Lena looked out the window, she felt death and sadness as the battle escalated. "As you can see, my young apprentices, your friends have failed. Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational battle station. Fire at will, Commander," Palpatine said into a comm on his throne. A green laser then shot out, shaking everything.
Cora gripped the controls as the blast shook the ship and Nien exclaimed beside her in Sullustan. "That blast came from the Death Star. That technological terror is operational!" Cora squawked as consoles beeped warnings.
"Home 1, this is Gold Leader," Lando said.
"Attention, all craft prepare to retreat," Ackbar said.
"You won't get another chance at this, Admiral," Cora said.
"We have no choice, Princess Organa. Our cruisers can't repel firepower of that magnitude," Ackbar said.
"Han will have that shield down. We've got to give him more time," Lando said, as they went back into the battle, with the Death Star destroying x-wings and y-wings.