Part 19

Mission Abort + 33hrs

23:00 - Malhördhem Local Time

Sheriff Ashtor Svioisaar walked up the ramp onto the Freedom Shade, Deputy Sigurd Arnassen at her back. She still felt woozy from the mind probe drug, but the overwhelming nausea had gone and she'd been able to keep some gerberry bake down. The sweet, sticky goodness was one of the best things she reckoned she'd ever tasted.

Laughter floated out of the main body of the ship towards her, but neither Bren Derlin nor the dark-haired woman who waited at the top of the ramp beside him, showed any sign of levity. The woman stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Sheriff Svioisaar," she greeted, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Leia Organa…"

"The pleasure is mine, Your Highness," Ash told her, shaking her hand warmly. "May I introduce Deputy Arnassen," she went on.

Leia smiled at him. "I believe our arrival might have prevented your dinner with Beransa Olvensaar from being sabotaged by another Sheriff's Deputy…"

Sig blinked in surprise, thrown for a moment by her insight, until he remembered that Derlin had been with Zånder when they'd spoken on the comm. He chuckled, shaking her hand. "Zånder Olgenssen has himself a fantastical imagination, Ma'am," he assured her.

Leia's smile widened and she laughed, softly, before continuing. "I think you both know Major Derlin."

Ash nodded, looking at him. "We've had the pleasure…"

"You look better than the last time I saw you," Derlin offered.

Ash gave him a small, tight smile. "The look on Vyre's face when he realised you were gone, went a long ways to fixing the hurt. The look on his face when Lord Vader handed back my authority… that went a long ways more…"

"But you are recovered?" Leia asked.

Ash nodded, supplying, "I threw up some… had myself a long nap… but I'm ready to get back to business." She paused then asked, "How's Antilles? We saw Vyre take him."

"I was just about to cover that with Major Derlin," Leia told her, "and bring him up to speed. Will you join us? Your input and your insight would be most valuable…"

"It ain't me you need," Ash assured the Princess. "Per Alvessen is the one we all look to…"

"Sheriff," Leia countered, gently, "I know Per's place within the resistance, but we couldn't risk bringing him here, and we need to limit communication with the bordella. Per simply doesn't have access to the facilities or the resources he needs to make any informed decisions about this situation. We need your insight. Lady Valda is here, as is Specialist Karsaar, but they can't supply the tactical and logistical information you can."

Derlin watched the Sheriff as she took a deep breath and looked at her Deputy. Derlin had seen the look on her face before, on other resistance commanders who had suddenly found themselves part of something bigger: the Rebel Alliance. It was a look of uncertain hesitation at being asked to step up and take on a far greater responsibility. For Ash Svioisaar, however, the hesitation had as much to do with her reticence to usurp Per Alvessen's authority as it had about any uncertainty in accepting greater responsibility. Per and Hetta were the resistance leaders in Malhördhem. They were respected, deferred to.

The medical specialist, Tarja Karsaar, had been excluded from the Vaaljajord Route because Per had refused to involve her. Even when it had become clear that Antilles, Klivian and Skywalker needed specialist medical treatment, no-one had challenged Per's mandate. It had been the old man, himself, who had gone to Karsaar for help and brought her to the house.

Mutual respect and understanding was one of the corner stones on which the Alliance to Restore the Republic had been built: and it was something the Imperial machine would never understand. The Empire was erected on the foundation that everything was a commodity to be used, or to be discarded, or to be eradicated: all in the furtherance of absolute dominion.

Derlin's father had foreseen the rise of the tyranny. "Without the Jedi to temper the appetite of Palpatine's great, galactic Empire, there will be no stopping it. There will be no stopping him. Democracy is dead, despite Palpatine's assurances to the contrary… and those fools watched it die in zealous ovation…"

Scant months later, Galen Derlin was dead, executed by the Emperor's assassins.

For every person murdered by the Imperial desire for unquestioned power, however, another stood up. Palpatine might not sleep so well at night if he ever looked beneath his self-assured arrogance and saw the true level of dissent being nurtured within the Empire.

"Reckon the Princess is right, Boss," Sigurd Arnassen was telling Ash. "Per never moved without taking your council… or Chief Ulafssen's. But right now, he ain't got the whole picture. You need to stand with Valda and Karsaar and do what's right for us, and for these folks…"

Ash took a breath, letting it out slowly. Then she nodded. They were right. This whole situation was evolving and changing and, as Sheriff, she was in the right place to pull all the information together and make an informed decision. "Head back to the Bureau," she told Sigurd. "I'll need eyes and ears there."

"On my way," he confirmed, turning to move down the ramp. Then he stopped, looking back at Derlin. "Keep Olgenssen out of trouble?"

"I'll do what I can," Derlin assured him with a small smile.

Sigurd nodded acknowledgement then turned and walked down the ramp and off of the ship.

oo0oo

Wedge Antilles opened his eyes, focussing slowly on the roof-plate above him.

"I wondered when you were finally going to wake up."

Turning his head, Wedge looked towards the voice, smiling when he recognised the woman sitting in the chair beside him. She swung her legs down from their perch on the edge of the cot-side shelf and sat up, quirking an eyebrow at him. "How are you feeling?"

"I hurt," Wedge rasped. His throat ached.

"The medical specialist says you're going to be fine. You put up quite a fight," Toryn told him.

A memory surfaced, slowly coalescing. "You were there…" Another memory floated up. "You kissed me!"

"I was trying to rescue you," Toryn countered.

Wedge shot her a grin. "So you admit that you kissed me?"

Toryn quirked an eyebrow, giving him a flat look. Wedge chuckled softly, but a memory flashed up: of being herded towards a transport by Stormtroopers. Dread expanded through him. He swallowed, hesitating, trying to remember the sequence of events, trying to remember what had happened. Terrified of the answer, but needing to know, he asked, "Did I tell Vyre anything?"

"No," Toryn assured him. "Nothing. Derlin confirmed it. You didn't say a word." She leaned forward, "And, on the troop transport… Wedge, you were brilliant. You did everything we needed you to, and because of you, Sheriff Svioisaar is off the hook."

She gave him a moment to take that in before continuing, "However… the situation has evolved."

"Luke?" Wedge asked. "Hobbie?"

"Are in no more danger than you are, right now," she assured him. She paused, again, before finally finishing, "We may need you to go back to being a Rebel prisoner one more time."

A flash of emotion washed across Wedge's face. Then he swallowed, taking a breath, asking, "Is this just an excuse for you to kiss me again?"

Toryn grinned, rolling her eyes and swatting at his hand. "Laser-brain! You have a one-track mind!" Then she sobered, telling him, "Vader accepted our cover story of being bounty hunters. More than that, he's engaged our services… And Vyre's come to us, asking for help."

Wedge frowned, his confusion evident. "What?"

"We think he's going to use us to help him rescue Skywalker and Klivian… so that he can infiltrate the Rebel Alliance."

"But," Wedge tried, unable to follow her logic, "he's ISB! Our guys aren't stupid enough to believe he'd defect!"

"Except that Vyre is discredited," Toryn countered, gently. "And we believe Vader is planning to use that to his advantage. Vyre wouldn't be the first Imperial officer to defect to the Alliance. I agree with you: an ISB Colonel deserting the Empire is unlikely… but if he's disgraced and facing reprisal, and arrives with rescued Rebel personnel? That makes for a sympathetic story."

Anger curdled in Wedge's gut. "Once we've got Luke and Hobbie back, we put a blaster bolt in his head, right?"

Toryn hesitated. Wedge frowned, inferring denial. He made a small sound of disbelief, "You've got to be kidding…"

"Wedge," Toryn tried, "think about it. Letting Vyre believe he's succeeded in infiltrating the Alliance, then controlling him once he's in place: that might save lives. We can feed back misinformation."

Wedge's ire faded to background loathing… and a slow build of satisfaction as he realised the implications. Shooting Vyre in the head remained a good option, but Farr was right. Playing Vyre at his own game, knowing that the bastard was being unwittingly controlled and used: that had a gratifying sense of justice about it.

"Okay," he agreed. "So what do you need from me?"

There was a grim determination in his voice that pulled a smile to Toryn's lips. "You're supposed to be bounty," she began.

"…so if I'm not in chains when Vyre comes aboard," Wedge concluded, "he's going to wonder why."

"Exactly," Toryn confirmed. Then she hesitated. She had assured the Princess and Valdez that she had no doubts about Antilles playing his part in any continued subterfuge… but he had already gone above and beyond the call of duty. There were other options.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Wedge?" she found herself asking. "We could tell Vyre that Karsaar put you under medical sedation."

"No!" Wedge countered. "No way! I want to be wide awake! I want to see the smug, self-satisfied look on that bastard's face when he sees me in binders and has no idea he's being played!"

Toryn nodded. Wedge deserved that much. He had suffered at the hands of Vyre. The full enormity of everything he had endured probably wouldn't hit him until he was back in the relative safety of the Rebel Alliance, but at least he would get the satisfaction of being able to tell Skywalker and Klivian that he had looked Marek Vyre in the eye and watched him being duped.

Her comlink beeped, and she silenced it, telling Wedge, "I need to go. I have a briefing. Rest until I get back. I'll be able to tell you more, then."

"Major?" Wedge asked as she pushed herself to her feet. "What about Hobbie and Luke?"

"They're safe for the moment. That's all I can tell you. Now, rest."

"Major?" he asked, again, as she turned away. She stopped, looking back at him. He gave her a cheeky smile. "Are you planning on kissing me, again, when you get back?"

Toryn rolled her eyes, sighing loudly. "And they told me spores only affected the lungs, not the brain…"

oo0oo

Artoo Detoo burbled softly to himself as he scanned the information trails, pushing deeper into the Imperial databases. Being able to link through the Sheriff Bureau had given him a certain amount of access, but the Imperial machine did not entirely trust the planetary militia and only specific paths had been open to his search… until he had taken the chance of using Colonel Vyre's sanction.

The ISB officer's authority had opened many more avenues to him, and Artoo had used the opportunity to purloin potentially useful information. The Princess Leia, Commander Skywalker and Major Derlin were going to be pleased at some of the data he had been able to retrieve.

But the one thing he had been searching for had eluded him. Until now.

They had fled the Dendraali base with only partial information. The data download had only just begun when the base mainframe had questioned the intrusion. Artoo had been able to stall, but not long enough, and had been forced to break contact: hastily unplugging as the security countermeasures surged into action, almost frying his circuits while alerting the base troops to the infringement.

Now, however, it appeared that he may have found the data, again. Not on Dendraali, itself, but in the Imperial centre: Coruscant.

Artoo took his time, looking at the myriad of requests being submitted to the Imperial mainframe, sampling the format before finally taking the plunge and submitting his own request for the information he knew had to be there.

The mainframe queried.

Artoo evaded specifics, supplying his location simply as Vaaljajord, and repeating Colonel Vyre's name. The Coruscant mainframe cross-referenced, then queried again.

Knowing that he had gone too far to pull back without looking suspicious, Artoo provided the code that Vyre had used to secure the services of the Freedom Shade: Tusken One Aurek.

There was a pause… then the mainframe questioned why Colonel Vyre required a second copy of the information.

Artoo hesitated. A second copy? Colonel Vyre had already downloaded the information?

The mainframe pushed for an answer, questioning, again, why Vyre would require a second copy.

Having no idea how to answer, hoping to evade too much scrutiny, Artoo simply told the Imperial computer that he didn't know, but would inform Vyre to request the information as soon as he was available: the Colonel currently being in discussion with the Lord Darth Vader about the Vaaljajord situation.

Artoo began to draw back, but the answer appeared to satisfy the Imperial computer. The information unlocked. Trilling his excitement, Artoo downloaded the offered data package. Then, slowly, he retraced his steps. He didn't try to cover his tracks. An Imperial droid would have no need to do so and the trail would, legitimately, stop at the Sheriff's Bureau.

He paused before completely pulling out of the information network. The Dendraali information was important. And he knew from the security recordings that, right now, the Sheriff was aboard the Freedom Shade. She might be able to get the information to the Princess and Major Derlin without him risking direct contact with the ship.

Humming tunelessly to himself, Artoo turned his attention to the Sheriff Bureau's droid, Kaysix.

oo0oo

"The shuttle will be protected by a fighter escort and will land outside the medical centre," Shawn Valdez told the assembled resistance fighters and Alliance personnel. "Before that happens, we need to get the strike team into position to launch the attack on the troopers inside the medical centre."

"We brought four of your people here," Valda told him. "We can cover four of your strike team back out."

"If they cross the roofs from Valda's place, they'll get to within a block of the medical centre," Ash Svioisaar put in. "How many more do you need covered?"

"Another four," Sergeant Arisii supplied.

"There's the storm channels," Ash suggested, pulling her comlink from her pocket, "but you'll have to rope yourselves off. Water will be running fast after these rains. The plus side is: water's flowing in the right direction. You ain't going to be fighting up stream of it. Kaysix," she went on, keying the comswitch, "this is the Sheriff. Push me through the schematics of the storm drains. Water's running high. If the top end gets choked like last time, the landing pads will be awash again. I'd rather Lord Vader's troopers didn't get their feet wet…"

"Accessing," Kaysix's voice confirmed, "and streaming to your datapad, Sheriff."

"Thanks," Ash told the droid. "Best alert Mal Verssen at the town engineers office, too. He might want to put droids down to check."

She cut the comlink, telling Arisii, "Mal's one of ours. The droids will confirm if the channels are clear for you to get through…"

"What about me?" Zånder Olgenssen asked. "I can fight!" he went on as everyone looked at him.

"We can't allow you to do that," Leia told him. "The Malhördhem resistance has already done too much. Our remit, now, is to control the damage we have already caused and to protect not just Malhördhem, but everyone on Vaaljajord. If we allow any of you to directly involve yourself in this Alliance operation, we would be putting everyone in Malhördhem at risk. If you were to be identified, or taken by the Empire, the Imperial reprisal against the town would be swift… and brutal."

"I'm already identified!" Zånder countered.

"Yes, you are," Leia agreed, "but the situation evolved while you were sheltering Major Derlin."

"How so?" the Deputy asked.

"We saw an opportunity to protect your grandparents and we took it," Valdez told him.

Zånder sat forward, hope flaring. "The arrest warrant's been stopped?"

"Not yet," Valdez admitted, "but we have an agent who has vouched that your grandparents were innocent bystanders… and who also placed you as the resistance commander running the Vaaljajord Route."

Zånder straightened, looking from Valdez to Leia in surprise. "Me?"

"As a Sheriff's Deputy, you are far better placed to be the mastermind behind the Vaaljajord Route than an elderly couple who have never left the forest," Leia offered. "And your grandparents never went to the crash site. You, however, were ideally placed to tell Major Derlin that he and his people would be safe in your grandparents' home."

Zånder considered that for a moment. "And the Imperials will believe that?"

"We have a family acquaintance," Tarja Karsaar told him, "in Imperial Security. He has my sworn testimony that Major Derlin was holding Hetta at blaster point when I got to the house, and that your grandparents were forced to help."

Zånder looked at her in astonishment. Her sworn testimony? Could… could Tarja be the agent the Princess had spoken about? He opened his mouth to ask a flood of questions... then reined them all in, remembering the Princess' words: Our remit… is to manage the damage we have already caused and to protect Malhördhem. Asking damned-fool questions wasn't going to help them do that. Doing what the Rebel Alliance needed him to do: that's what would help. There would be time enough, later, for him to take the fight to the Empire.

He nodded acknowledgement to Tarja then looked back at the Princess Leia. "I'll keep out of it, if that's for the best."

Leia smiled at him. "Thank you, Deputy."

"So we have four leaving tonight," Shawn Valdez began, pushing the briefing ahead, nodding at Toryn Farr as she moved into the room to stand against the wall. "And four to use the storm channels… To go where?"

The Sheriff looked at Valda. "Anvør…"

When Valda nodded, Ash looked back at Shawn and Leia. "Anvør Karstjansaar's place is opposite the medical centre."

"We can't put our people in another home," Valdez countered. "If they're discovered…"

"Anvør lives above her store," Ash told him. "In the present situation, she won't open for business. And there's little need of security systems here. Your folks need only break through the door and stay in the store. They'll be safe. So will Anvør."

Valdez looked at Leia for confirmation, who nodded.

"We'll lay the plans," Sergeant Arisii confirmed.

"What about Antilles?" Ash asked. "What if the Empire change their mind and want him back?"

"Commander Antilles will not be handed over to the Empire," Valdez assured her.

Ash quirked an eyebrow. "You fixing on blasting your way past that Star Destroyer to make sure of it?"

"Sheriff," Leia began, "your concern is valid, but it won't come to that…" She paused, knowing that she would be putting both the Malhördhem resistance and the operation at risk by giving them too much information. "I wish we could brief you fully on the situation," she told the Sheriff, "but, for your own safety, there are certain details we must withhold. However, I assure you that, discredited as he is, Vyre's influence is limited. He no longer has the authority to come after Commander Antilles. And, unlike Commander Skywalker, Wedge Antilles gives the Empire little strategic leverage. Skywalker is the only one that Vader and the Empire have any interest in."

Derlin took a deep breath as Leia's words pushed realisation through him. A small voice of anxiety tried to surface and scream at him that his conclusion was suicide, but in the face of everything Leia had just said, there was nothing else he could do. "Skywalker's not the only one they want," he countered. He took another, deep breath as everyone turned their attention to him. "The Empire also wants me…"

Shawn Valdez had worked with Derlin on more than one mission. He knew how the Major thought. And, now, he had a good idea of what the Major was about to suggest. He shook his head, telling him, "No!"

Leia looked from Derlin, to Valdez. "No, what?"

"Major Derlin is about to propose that he surrenders himself to Imperial authorities."

"Actually," Derlin corrected, "I was about to propose that the good Sheriff took me in."

Ash looked at him, aghast. "Did you get a knock on the head?"

"Out of the question!" Leia denied.

Derlin looked at her. "Your Highness," he reminded her, softly, "we have a responsibility to mitigate the damage we have caused here, to protect Malhördhem and Vaaljajord. If we're going to do that, we have to assure the Empire of their loyalty. Vaaljajord is already in the Empire's firing line. Vyre taunted me about it, about Vaaljajord standing as an example of what would happen to those who support to the Alliance. We can't risk this world suffering the same fate as Alderaan."

Leia's breath caught in her chest, her stomach lurching. She was used to Alderaan being referenced. It always made her chest tighten, but she was used to it. She was adept at pushing the grief beneath her focus on the job at hand. However, unconfirmed reports had been reaching the Alliance of a new Death Star being built. The thought of watching Vaaljajord being destroyed as Alderaan had, broke through her normal composure. Terror and grief surged through her.

Derlin saw the colour drain from her face and swore, silently. "Your Highness," he began, "I…"

"No," she interrupted, finding her voice, "your point is well made."

"But," Valda began in disbelief. "Half the folks in town believe in the Empire. The Empire wouldn't attack their own! Attack folks who supported them?"

"Tarkin Doctrine," Tarja Karsaar offered, softly. "Rule through fear…" She looked at Leia Organa, seeing the barely concealed distress on the woman's face. Leia Organa… of Alderaan.

Tarja swallowed, hard. A terrible suspicion had been growing within her since Vyre had summarily executed Basun and Raimik: that the Emperor might actually be complicit in Tarkin's doctrine, actively sanctioning it. She had been unwilling to believe it… but now, after Derlin's words, she saw something in Leia Organa's eyes that chilled her. The suspicion curdled in her chest.

Could the Emperor truly be so oblivious to the sadistic brutality being meted out in his name? Despite everything that had been reported about Alderaan: concealed weapons, a terrible accident, efforts to save survivors… had the Emperor lied about the deaths? Had he sanctioned genocide?

Afraid of the answer but needing to have it confirmed, needing to hear it from Organa, herself, she began, "Everything that was reported about Alderaan, about them hiding weapons, about a horrific accident… It was lies... Wasn't it? The Empire destroyed Alderaan…"

The anguish that Leia had so tightly controlled, for so many years, rose up. It tightened in her chest, clogging her throat, burning her eyes.

"The Empire," Cara Dune confirmed, softly, "destroyed Alderaan."

Leia locked eyes with Cara. "Alderaan was destroyed because I refused to divulge the location of an Alliance base," she clarified, voice almost – but not quite – breaking.

"Which is why we need to make sure that the Empire believes that Vaaljajord is loyal," Derlin pushed, drawing attention away from Leia as her composure wavered. "The Sheriff taking me in will cement her position. It might even make them overlook the fact that one of her Deputies was a Rebel."

Ash shook her head, "No." Crossing her arms over her chest defiantly, she told him, "I ain't handing you over to die!"

Derlin smiled at her stubborn refusal. "The Emperor has specific plans for me," he assured her. "That was something else Vyre let slip. It was why Vyre wouldn't touch me. Palpatine plans to have me thrown into a mindwipe tank and re-educated. My father was a Senator," he explained. "He never fully embraced Palpatine as Emperor. Palpatine had him assassinated. Now he wants Senator Derlin's son standing at the forefront of the Empire, denouncing the Alliance as terrorists and seditionists."

Ash looked at him, open-mouthed in horror. She uncrossed her arms, taking a step towards him, squaring up to him, shaking her head. "I ain't handing you over to that!"

"You're the only one who can hand me over," Derlin countered, calmly. "You're the only one who can ensure that I go straight to the medical centre, not Vader's shuttle..."

Ash took another step forward, ready to argue.

"I'm no use to them dead. And Vader chose to let Skywalker stay in the hyper-atmospheric chamber," Derlin reminded her. "They won't take me out once I'm sealed in. Not until the cycle's finished."

Ash looked at the Rebel Major, running the implications through in her head, wondering if he was brave or just recklessly insane. Concluding it was probably a combination of both, she crossed her arms, again. "The hyper-atmospheric chamber didn't save Antilles," she reminded him. "Vyre pulled him out."

Derlin nodded in acknowledgement, repeating, "But Palpatine needs me alive. Why would Vader risk taking me out before he's ready to leave with Skywalker?"

"And by then, the rescue shuttle will be here and you'll all be gone…" Ash finished. The idea was crazy enough to work. She quirked an eyebrow at him, then looked at Leia. "Tell me, Highness, are all your special ops commanders like him? Or is he special in a crazy way?"

Leia had listened to, but not really heard, the conversation. Caught off guard, she made an attempt to pull herself together and bring her full attention back to the rescue attempt. "Major Derlin is one of our finest officers…"

Ash gave her a flat look, quirking an eyebrow again, inferring, "Special kind of crazy..."
"Anyone working with Skywalker and Antilles," Cara Dune observed, "has to be a special kind of crazy…"

Valdez gave her a look, then turned his attention back to the briefing. "To recap… We have four operatives leaving with Lady Valda; four routing via the storm channels to position behind the medical centre; and the Sheriff handing Major Derlin over to the Imperials…"

"I'd like to join a team," Cara Dune put in.

"Me, too," Haarlan Gelnara added. "We've done precious little but run and hide since the mission went wrong."

Valdez looked to the two sergeants, who would be leading the teams. They both nodded. "Alright," Valdez confirmed. "Gelnara, you're with Comdhail. Dune, you're with Ariisi." Then he turned, looking at Leia for confirmation. "Two strike teams, one handover: is that what we're planning for, Ma'am?"

Reluctantly, Leia nodded.

"So," Valdez went on, looking at Ash "where do you propose to find Derlin? And how?"

"Juta Torsaar's warehouse," Zånder Olgenssen suggested, "where we were hiding before. There's windows overlooking the anchorage. An empty warehouse should be dark…"

"…but if I happened to see a light as I was leaving," Ash picked up, agreeing with the suggestion, "that would catch my attention…"

"And not trusting bounty hunters, you'd keep it to yourself," Zånder finished. Beside him, Tarja Karsaar's compad chimed.

"Or Juta could simply report something amiss in the morning," Ash decided.

"I'm needed back at the medical centre," Karsaar interrupted, getting to her feet. "Hobbie's beginning to come around from the anaesthetic." She looked at Leia and Valdez. "I'll keep you updated…"

"There's one more thing," Leia put in, "before you leave… In order to protect our fighters and ground troops, we have to sever the ability of the Empire to communicate. That means the deployment of a magflux charge."

"Mugflux?" Ash began. "Are you insane?" Even as she said it, she could see that it made sense. Nothing else would take out Imperial communications instantaneously. "Of course you're insane," she finished. "We're all insane!" She took a breath. "The Bureau and the medical centre are shielded."

"There are some patients I'll need to bring in," Karsaar put in. "I'll make arrangements."

"Wait… What about Artoo?" Valda asked. "My place ain't shielded."

"We're still working on that one," Valdez admitted.

"But if Artoo can be hidden in the medical centre, it would allow communication," Leia put in.

"That can be arranged," Karsaar confirmed. "I've already alluded to a treatment regime for Valda. Getting meds from the centre would be good cover."

"Ladies and gentleman," Valdez concluded, "I think we have a plan."

"How long will we have between your ships drop in and the magflux charge firing?" Ash asked.

"Minutes," Valdez provided. "No more."

"We'll be ready," Ash confirmed, then checked her chronometer. "Time's marching on… and, truth be told, I need to get my head down for an hour before my thinking blurs." She checked her compad, frowning slightly as she saw a tag blinking at her. Accessing it, she quirked an eyebrow then held the compad out to Valdez. "You'll be needing the storm channel schematics… and it looks like Kaysix has sent you a little something extra…"

Valdez took it, turning to plug it in to one of the consoles. "As soon as it's daylight," Ash went on, "we'll start calling around folks, asking them to check their properties. That gives you six hours to get the good Major into that warehouse."

"Understood, Sheriff," Leia confirmed.

Ash turned her attention to Derlin. "Don't suppose you aim to come quietly when I drop in later, Major?" she asked.

Derlin flashed her a wicked grin. "Don't suppose I do."

Shaking her head, rolling her eyes, Ash repeated, "Special kind of crazy." She looked at Zånder, ordering, "Give him your service side-arm, Deputy. Let him make a show of it."

"As ordered, Boss," Zånder confirmed, sliding the blaster from its holster and holding it out to Derlin. "Make sure you don't hit her," he warned the Major. "Happened once… just once… on stun… and I ain't ever been allowed to forget it…"

Derlin quirked an eyebrow as Valda began to chuckle. He turned, looking up at Ash, who was scowling at her Deputy. "I think," Derlin said, slowly, "that's a story I'd like to hear…"

"If you get out of this without being mindwiped," Ash told him, "I'll recount the story to you myself… what I remember of it."

Valdez turned back to Ash, holding out the compad, "Thank you, Sheriff."

She took it, telling him, "I'll make a show of checking the storm channels before I head back to the Bureau. Means you'll be able to gauge how much open ground your people need to cross before they're safe in the pipes."

"Sheriff," Leia began, softly and sincerely, "there are no words to adequately encompass our gratitude for enduring what you did… or for everything you are doing…" She looked from Valda, to Tarja, then back to the Sheriff. "Everything that you are all continuing to do..."

"Ain't nothing any decent person wouldn't do," Valda replied.

"And your folks have come off worse," Ash pointed out. Then she paused, remembering Basun and Raimik and the Rebel soldiers killed in the crash. She took a deep breath. "You have my word," she assured the Princess, "that we'll do everything we can to ensure your dead are given the rights they're due, and with respect."

Leia nodded, unable to find anything to say, except, "Thank you."

"Well," Ash went on, tucking her compad into a pocket, "I've got storm channels to check, some sleep to get and a Rebel Major to find. So if you'll all excuse me, I'll be on my way…"

oo0oo

Vader was on one knee, head bowed, as the holographic image of the Emperor sprang into life. He kept his head down in deference as Palpatine acknowledged, "Lord Vader. You have news."

"Master," Vader began, "there has been… a… complication…"

"How so?"

"Skywalker was injured during the crash. He has been infected by spores specific to the Forest of Daemor. Untreated, the infestation will result in his death. He is confined to a hyper-atmospheric chamber, under the care of an ISB medical specialist. I am assured that the treatment will be successful."

There was a pause, before Palpatine asked. "How long must he remain within the chamber?"

"He can be released in fifteen hours, my Master."

"And the injuries?"

"Internal, Master. He has undergone surgery. The medical specialist is confident of his physical recovery… However… I believe the boy to be in Force trauma…"

There was another pause and Vader could sense the narrowing of Palpatine's eyes at the news. "Cut off from the Force?"

"Yes, Master," Vader confirmed. "He is conscious, but there is no sense of him within the Force, even at this close distance. From the ship's descent profile, I believe he may have been trying to slow the fall. If he was immersed in the Force when the ship hit the ground..." Vader trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.

"I was aware of his silence," Palpatine began, already adapting his scheming to the new situation. Without the Force to draw upon, Skywalker would be more susceptible to re-education. All that need be ensured was the whelp's transformation into a loyal servant of the Empire being completed in the weeks or months before the Force returned to him: a transformation that would be made all the more interesting by the presence of Skywalker's Rebel friends, also in custody on Vaaljajord. How better to prove Skywalker's loyalty than to watch him execute his former, seditious associates.

"This may work to our advantage, my friend," Palpatine told Vader, finally. "Bring Skywalker to me, and Derlin, and the other Rebels who survived the impact. They will secure Skywalker's cooperation."

Vader allowed the respiration unit to fill his lungs and empty them before beginning, "Master… by the time I arrived, Derlin was no longer in custody. Colonel Vyre is currently leading the search for him, aided by the local militia."

There was an ominous silence before Palpatine began, "Derlin is no longer in custody… and yet Colonel Vyre still remains at his post?" The tone was soft, light, and full of menace.

"A saw an opportunity, Master. Vyre is now under my authority, with orders to infiltrate the Rebel Alliance. They will, undoubtedly, attempt a rescue. His defection will be plausible considering his failure to detain Derlin…"

Vader kept his head down, waiting. Finally, Palpatine spoke. "Then let us hope he does as much damage to the Rebellion as he has done to the Empire, Lord Vader! Find Derlin!" he ordered. "Find him and bring him to me, along with Skywalker and the other Rebels! And should your anticipated rescue not materialise, you will take Colonel Vyre into custody and deliver him to me, also!"

"Yes, my Master…"

The holograph snapped into silence and Vader remained on his knee, head down.

When he arrived on Corusant without Skywalker, Palpatine's wrath would be incalculable. He would have to tread carefully to convince the Emperor of the validity of the vision the Force had given him on-route to Vaaljajord.

The images swept back up, strong and clear.

"Young fool! Only now, at the end, will you begin to understand! The woman who, so diligently, nursed you back to health is not a Rebel sympathiser: she is a loyal, Imperial agent. She has fed you specifically selected information …"

Everything was moving towards that vision. Luke would be cared for by Tarja Karsaar: the loyal, Imperial agent. And once the boy was recovered enough, she would bring him to Mustafar, where he would be trained in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force. And Vader would ensure that Palpatine had no part in Luke's training.

The Emperor, however, was correct about one thing. Luke had a connection to those who had fought with him. They could be used against him. Antilles and Klivian would no longer be prizes of the bounty hunters. They would be taken into Imperial custody and transferred to the Executor. Their torment would echo through the Force, taunting Luke in his recovery, just as the suffering of the Millennium Falcon's crew had drawn the boy to him on Bespin.

For the moment, however, he would leave the Rebels where they were. It made sense to let Karsaar nurse Klivian's injuries. And Antilles was safe in the bounty hunters' custody, for now.

He would bide his time and allow this to play out.

He rose to his feet. Turning, he walked through the shuttle towards the ramp. "Soon, Obi-Wan…" he promised the older Jedi, silently. "Soon your failure will be absolute…"