Chapter 31 – The Second Battle of Coruscant
Luke couldn't stop grinning. He dropped into the cockpit of his fighter and looked around with glee.
"This is quite the ship," he said over the com.
"It's a TIE Defender," came his father's voice. "It's one of a kind, so be careful with it."
Luke flicked a few toggles and felt the soft thrum of the engine burst to life. Whereas the X-wings he was familiar with rattled and groaned under the weight of their unwieldy propulsion, this fighter practically purred.
"You're equipped with shields and heavy weapons, but don't get complacent. A direct shot can still knock you out of the sky."
"Whatever happened to me being the best star pilot in the galaxy?"
"Second best," Anakin corrected quickly. "And I promised your mother I would bring you back alive. I don't intend on letting her down."
Luke sobered at this reminder. Flexing his gloved fingers, Luke grasped the throttle and scanned over the control panel. As he flicked at the altimeter, the com crackled back to life and Anakin's tinny voice returned.
"Sigma Squadron, you will follow me. Our task is to identify the enemy's command ship. Once we have done that, Sigma 12 and myself will take out the shields to the hangar and infiltrate the vessel. Commander Versio will assume leadership over the squadron once we are on board. Is this clear?"
There was a resounding chorus of 'yes sir's.
"Good. Call sign check."
The Imperial pilots began identifying themselves over the com. Luke was the last to check in: "Sigma 12, standing by."
"That's all of us. Time for takeoff."
Bright blue engines roared to life and Sigma Squadron took off from the hangar floor in unison. Luke licked his lips in anticipation as he guided his fighter out of the Executor and into space. He stayed in formation, but wanted nothing more than to break off and test out the limits of this ship.
"Fighters coming in at 63 degrees north," announced an unfamiliar voice.
Luke looked up from his control panel to see a swarm of hostile TIEs flying toward them. The mottled assortment of pink, red, and green fighters were soon to be lost in a sea of black and grey.
"There's so many of them," an anxious voice said.
"Help is on the way," Luke tried to assure them. "We just need to hold them off until then."
No response came, and Luke could sense the fear radiating from the rest of the pilots of Sigma Squadron. Such vulnerability was not conducive to victory. Gideon's forces grew larger in his window and suddenly he was hearing his father's instruction in his headset.
"Break formation now!"
Luke swerved to the left as a dozen or so TIEs went screeching past them. He followed the distinctive shape of his father's modified fighter which was painted a vibrant green. Pulling up on the throttle, Luke pressed down on the trigger and opened fire with his laser cannons. The first kill of the day exploded when the bolts hit dead center.
"Nice shot, Sigma 12!"
Feeling bold, Luke swerved and spiraled – using the Force to guide his motions as he cut through the enemy wave like a vibroblade through butter. He had a half dozen kills to his belt when a warning rang in his ear.
"Incoming fire from those Star Destroyers!"
Seemingly out of nowhere, three massive capital ships emerged at the periphery of his vision. In unison, they unloaded a salvo from their massive batteries. They seemed unconcerned with taking out their own forces, as they fired blindly into the fray.
"We've got to get out of range of those guns!"
"There's no point," came Anakin's voice. "They've got us surrounded. We've got to get closer, not farther away."
Anakin steered his TIE in the direction of the Star Destroyers, and the rest of Sigma Squadron followed in pursuit.
"Emerald Squadron, cover our flanks!"
"Copy that, Sigma Leader."
A shudder ran through his ship when a bolt grazed the starboard section, but the shields held and Luke didn't spare it a second thought.
"Sigma 4, look out!"
A burst from an ion canon took out the TIE to his left, and Luke quickly broke formation to avoid being hit by debris.
"Sigma 4 is down!"
"Stay in formation! Sigma 12, charge up those proton torpedoes. We'll target the rear of this Star Destroyer."
"Copy that, Sigma Leader."
He flicked a switch on the dash and saw a bar begin to fill up as the proton torpedoes came on line. His ship was the only fighter with this armament – the other Phantoms of Sigma Squadron not being equipped with the same heavy machinery as his Defender – so he knew he had to make his shot count.
"Sigma 2 and 6, follow Sigma 12. Sigma 5 and 11, follow me."
They broke off in pairs of three as they looped around the nose of the Star Destroyer. The rest of Sigma Squadron approached head on and strafed the capital ship's bridge. Flak guns on the Star Destroyer's surface opened fire, but the incoming TIEs were too nimble to be shot down.
"Sigma 12, get ready to take the shot."
Luke stuck out his tongue as he leaned down on the throttle. Barreling past the flank of the Star Destroyer, he yanked on the control stick and his vessel swung around. Seeing the three burning engines, Luke set his scopes on the center target.
"Gotcha."
Disregarding his targeting computer, Luke unloaded the proton torpedoes and guided them to the engine with the Force. They sailed true and a massive explosion rocked the Star Destroyer's aft side.
"Nicely done, Sigma 12!"
"Thanks, D –" Luke stopped himself just in time. "Thanks, Sigma Leader," he corrected.
"We've got company!"
Without wasting any more time to admire his handiwork, Luke took off in the opposite direction to rendezvous with the rest of Sigma Squadron.
"We've got to find the command ship before they tear us to shreds."
"I hear you, Sigma 8, but how do we know which one is the Moff's?"
"I'm working on that," his father said.
Sigma Squadron coalesced into a triangular formation as they whizzed past the incapacitated Star Destroyer. Having gained the attention of the other two behemoths, the Star Destroyers retrained their guns on them.
"Sigma 9 is hit!"
Luke looked out his starboard side to see a Phantom spiraling downward, a cloud of smoke billowing out of its wing.
"Sigma Leader! Super Star Destroyer incoming!"
Emerging from hyperspace directly in front of them was a truly gargantuan ship. He gasped in awe, his grip on the throttle tightening as he took in the ship's enormity.
"That's got to be the one."
"You got that right, Sigma 3."
"Sigma Squadron, this is Executor. Do you have sights on that Super Star Destroyer?"
"Affirmative, Executor. Is that what I think it is?"
"It's the Eclipse, sir."
"How fitting."
He heard his father let out a sardonic snort.
"Sigma 12, follow my lead. Sigma Squadron, cover us."
"Copy that, Sigma Leader."
"Copy," Luke said as well.
He split off from formation and he and his father took off in tandem. It must have been an imposing sight for the bridge of the Eclipse. Ten TIEs – led by an elite Defender and Darth Vader's personal fighter – plunged toward the Super Star Destroyer. Shock and awe didn't hold them over for long, however. The Eclipse's main battery opened fire, accompanied by a dozen or so other secondary armaments.
"A little help here, Executor?"
"We hear you, Sigma Leader."
In his rear window, Luke saw a bright green salvo flash from the Executor's guns. The bolts fizzled out against the Eclipse's powerful shields, but the message had been sent. Redirecting their attention from the rapidly approaching Sigma Squadron, the Eclipse fired a return volley toward its sister ship.
Luke heard a maniacal cackle in his headset. "This is quite the battle, boys!"
"Keep focused, Sigma 11."
He couldn't help but agree with his squad mate, Sigma 11. The two largest starships ever constructed were dueling it out, blow for blow. If the fate of the galaxy didn't ride on the result of this battle, Luke would have been more appreciative of the spectacle. But right now he had a job to do.
"We're going to come in hot on the port side hangar," Anakin told him. "We need to take out the shields first or else we're going to be smashed to bits. Got it?"
"Got it, Sigma Leader."
They screeched past the nose of the Eclipse, flak from the surface guns sailing past them harmlessly. They flew down the side of the ship at maximum speed and the bright lights of the Eclipse's port side blurred in his window. How were they even going to know where the hangar was?
"Peel off now!"
Luke followed Anakin's instruction. Veering to the right, they put some distance between themselves and the Eclipse.
"There's the hangar. See it?"
He did. A trapezoidal chasm in the ship's flank emitted a blue light which served as their beacon.
"Can we take out those shields?"
"Only one way to find out."
Grinning to himself, Luke followed after his father as they raced toward the hangar. Once they were in range, they both opened fire with their laser cannons. The double-barreled anti-aircraft guns defending the hangar returned fire, and they registered a few hits to Luke's shields.
"Shields aren't giving!" Luke yelled. They were getting dangerously close now.
"They will!"
Luke leaned down on his trigger, but the shields absorbed everything they shot at it.
"Father!"
"Trust me!"
"We're going to crash!"
But they didn't. The shields flickered away just before they went barreling into them. Stunned, Luke barely reacted in time to swing his ship to a screeching stop. The wings scraped against the hangar floor and embers flew into the air. Before the ship collided into the back wall, Luke opened the hatch and leapt out with exceptional grace. Flipping in midair, he summoned his lightsaber and activated the blade before landing softly on his feet.
"Well done."
Luke looked to his left to see Anakin grinning at him. He returned the smile, but faltered when he realized their predicament.
"Drop your weapons!"
Two dozen or so stormtroopers were rushing toward them with blasters raised.
"Watch this," Anakin winked. Without so much as producing his lightsaber, he raised his gloved hand and sent the advancing formation flying away. They soared in the air for several meters before crashing to the ground.
"How did you do that?" Luke asked, absolutely stunned by this casual display of power.
"Maybe I'll show you sometime," Anakin said. "Right now, we need to go before they seal off the hangar."
His father took off running, and Luke was quick to pursue. As they passed the stormtroopers, Luke kicked one in the helmet when he tried to stagger to his feet. Reaching the broad double doors to the hangar, an alarm suddenly rang out.
Enemy presence detected in hangar 12. Enemy presence detected in hangar 12. Enemy presence…
The doors began to seal themselves shut, but Luke and Anakin slipped out into the hallway before they could.
"Come on," Anakin said. "This place is going to be crawling with stormtroopers soon."
They ran down the empty hallway stride for stride. Luke glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye. He was glistening with sweat and panting, whereas Luke was hardly breathing heavily.
"You okay?"
"Fine," he answered curtly.
They reached a stairwell and Anakin stopped to catch his breath. He bent over and clutched his knees as he gasped for air.
"We have to… get to the bridge. Gideon… will… he'll be there."
"Are you sure you can make it?"
Anakin stood up and wiped his brow. "I have to."
He began running up the stairs two steps at a time. Stowing away his apprehension, Luke followed after him. It was a good thing Anakin was familiar with the layout of this ship, because Luke would have no idea where to go without him.
"Here."
They arrived at the level in question, but when Anakin tried to open the door, it wouldn't budge.
"They know we're here," he growled. "Stand back."
Producing his lightsaber, Anakin activated the blue blade and thrust it into the durasteel door. Grimace painting his features, he strained to cut through the door. He finally completed the circle and the metal clanged to the ground.
"Onwards," he wheezed.
Ducking, Anakin stepped through the circular opening. Luke followed suit, and they emerged in another indistinguishable hallway.
"Where to now?"
Anakin swiveled his head, and for a moment Luke feared they were lost. He quickly recovered, however. "This way."
A frightened mouse droid scurried out of their way when they went sprinting past. Luke would have liked for that to be their only obstacle, but soon a contingent of stormtroopers emerged from a side corridor and blocked their path.
"Rebels! Blast them!"
Luke and Anakin produced their lightsabers and easily deflected the bolts back toward the stormtroopers. To his left, he heard his father chuckling.
"Rebels, huh?"
Luke grinned as the last of the stormtroopers was felled. "It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"
Anakin shrugged. "I could get used to it."
They continued onward with their lightsabers at the ready. They made it another fifty or so meters before another klaxon blared and the blast doors began to seal shut.
"Hurry!" Anakin yelled.
They leapt through two sets of doors and the bridge was in sight. Anakin extended his hand and prevented the third door from closing with the Force.
"Go," he said through gritted teeth.
From the hallways on either side of them, Luke saw stormtroopers rushing forward. They opened fire, and Luke had to leap forward to protect his father.
"Luke! Go!"
"I'm not leaving without you!"
"I'll be fine!"
Luke elected to disregard this insistence, but Anakin slashed his free hand and he suddenly felt himself get lifted off his feet and propelled through the crack in the doors. He landed hard on his rear and slid for a few feet before coming to a stop. Looking up, he saw the blast doors close as Anakin began fending off the stormtroopers.
"No!"
He jumped to his feet, but there was nothing he could do. The sounds of his father's lightsaber and of the hailstorm of blaster fire were absorbed by the blast doors, and Luke had no sense of what was happening.
The bridge! Get to the bridge!
Luke shook his head and turned around. He was close, but between him and the bridge was another contingent of stormtroopers. Luke bared his teeth and bent his knees. This was the last line of defense for Gideon. They were no match for him.
When they were about two dozen meters away, Luke took off running. They opened fire, but Luke deflected the bolts without difficulty. Blood pounded in his ears as he slashed his blade with fluid grace and brutal force – slicing through limbs and blasters alike. He was ruthless, determined, and above all, powerful.
The last stormtrooper dropped to the ground, a blaster bolt deflected directly into their visor. Breathing heavily, Luke took a moment to steel himself as he appreciated the carnage he had sown. The adrenaline waned and Luke suddenly faltered. Had he done this? Surely this wasn't the Jedi way.
He was shaken from his rumination when he heard a metallic screech behind him. Turing around, he saw the tip of a lightsaber protruding from the blast doors. His previous anxiety was gone in a flash as relief washed over him.
The door gave way and out stepped Anakin Skywalker. Luke's face fell when he saw that he was grimacing mightily, a blaster wound singed to his left shoulder. He rushed forward to assist, but Anakin waved him off.
"I'm fine," he claimed. "I can't believe I let them hit me." He looked around to see the dozen or so stormtroopers strewn on the ground by their feet. "Wow," he said, blinking in astonishment.
"Let's go," Luke said with a gesture toward the bridge. "We're almost there."
Father and son proceeded onward, the latter's movements labored and his expression pained. It was clearly too soon after his procedure to be exerting himself so strenuously.
When they arrived on the bridge, Anakin quickly wiped the weakness from his face and assumed a determined scowl. The officers had heard them coming, and they were all pointing carabiners at them. Luke raised his lightsaber defensively, but Anakin ignored them all. He took a few steps forward, his eyes trained on the one gentleman who's caped back was facing them.
"It's over, Gideon. Surrender now, and no one else has to get hurt."
Luke knew at once that this ultimatum would mean little to the Moff. Gideon guffawed as he continued to stare out the window.
"You are hopelessly outnumbered, Skywalker."
Anakin flinched. He clearly hadn't anticipated on Gideon knowing his name. The Moff turned around slowly, a smug look upon his waxy face. He had dark, pockmarked skin and a pencil moustache. His grey hair was slicked back, pressed flat against his skull by a copious amount of greasy gel.
"You think that just because you stormed my ship, you won this battle? My forces exceed yours by fivefold! Surely you aren't this naïve."
The Moff had a clear, orotund voice which had Luke second-guessing himself. Anakin was far less dissuaded by his confidence, however.
"This is your last chance, Gideon."
The Moff shook his head as if he was disappointed. "Tarkin told me about you. He knew you were a liability. He knew you still sympathized with the Jedi. But the Emperor seemed to trust you. He was foolish to do so."
Anakin activated his lightsaber and pointed it at Gideon. "I killed the Emperor. Don't make me kill you too."
Gideon sneered at him before audaciously turning his back on the humming blade. "Take a look," he said as he took a few light steps toward the curved window in front of him. "Your fleet will not hold out for much longer."
Luke came to his father's side to watch as a renewed wave of TIE fighters passed their view and entered the fray. The cheerily painted fighters of Piett's humble task force were fading in the face of vastly superior numbers. There was a bright yellow flash, and Luke looked away from the dogfight to see an Imperial cruiser begin to keel after a bombing run littered its surface with craters. He watched in horror as the starship plunged down to the surface of Coruscant below.
Gideon made a tutting sound with his tongue. "How unfortunate," he drawled. "How many civilians will die? Tens of thousands, perhaps?"
"You're a monster," Luke spat.
Through his distorted reflection in the window, Luke saw the Moff's expression harden. "I am doing what must be done to preserve the Empire. Amedda told me what you intend to do, Skywalker. You wish to restore the Republic? A fool's errand. Don't you remember the chaos? The corruption? The avarice? The Empire must not fall!"
"It already has," Anakin said. "You are no Palpatine."
"I don't have to be."
Gideon flourished his cape for dramatic effect as he spun back around.
"I will preserve order whereas you intend to throw us into anarchy!"
Anakin shook his head and extended the lightsaber to Gideon's chin. "I'm done with this conversation. Surrender or suffer the consequences."
Gideon scoffed. "Have you not been listening to me? Your plight is futile! Your petty fleet is defeated!"
"Oh, I don't think so."
Before Gideon could retort, an officer cried out to gain his attention. "Moff Gideon! Enemy ships are emerging from hyperspace!"
Gideon's eyes snapped to the officer. "Enemy ships? What ships?"
"It's the Rebels!"
Gideon's face drained of color as Anakin gave him a triumphant look.
"Seems like we're not so outnumbered after all."
"You traitor," the Moff snarled.
Anakin ignored this. "Surrender," he demanded for a third time.
A tremor ran through the bridge and Luke staggered backward. Looking up, he saw a half dozen X-wings soaring past their field of view as they completed a strafing run.
"Enemy fighters!"
"How many?" Gideon asked, ignoring the lightsaber to his face.
"Too many!"
The lights flickered when another hit rocked the bridge.
"Our rear is under bombardment from Rebel cruisers!"
"Redirect auxiliary power to the shield generator!"
A siren sounded somewhere to his left.
"A direct hit to the thrusters! We've lost steering capability!"
"Moff Gideon! What are your orders?"
The bridge fell silent save for the warbling of the alarm system. Gideon and Anakin stared at one another as the lights continued to flicker in and out. Finally, the Moff fell to his knees.
"Good choice," Anakin said. He sheathed his blade and returned the hilt to his belt, but as he did this, Gideon reached into his cloak.
"Father!"
Gideon produced a humming vibroblade and slashed at Anakin's abdomen. The blade tore through his tunic and Gideon leapt back to his feet.
"Blast them!" he yelled.
The bridge exploded with blaster fire. Caught off balance, Luke only just managed to activate his lightsaber in time to deflect the bolts. But they were coming from all directions, and he was unable to keep up. He felt a sharp pain in his shoulder when a bolt grazed his flesh.
"Luke!"
Anakin was on his back, lightsaber kicked out of hand by Gideon's boot. The Moff attempted to stab him again with the vibroblade, but Anakin pushed him away with the Force.
Incensed, Luke propelled himself through the air to his father's defense. Having just gotten back to his feet, Gideon staggered away in fear as Luke barreled toward him. A second bold struck him in the thigh, but he paid it no heed. Swinging his lightsaber at the defenseless Moff, his red blade sliced right through his right wrist. The felled hand hit the ground with a grotesque thud and Gideon dropped to his knees beside it. Luke's eyes flashed as he pointed the blade to the man's throat.
"Drop your weapons!" he roared to the officer's surrounding him. "Drop them or he dies!"
The blaster fire came to an abrupt end and Luke felt a dozen set of eyes on him and Gideon.
"Luke."
It was his father's voice. Luke spared a glance over his shoulder to see he had gotten to his feet and was clutching his blood-stained abdomen. A surge of fury pulsed through him at the sight.
"You snake," he growled to Gideon.
The Moff challenged him with a bitter look, contempt carved across his gaunt features. "Go ahead," he said. "Kill me."
"I will," Luke found himself saying.
"Luke, no!"
He maintained eye contact with Gideon. "He's too dangerous to be kept alive."
"Don't do it, Luke. Don't kill him."
"I have to!"
"It's not the Jedi way."
Luke hesitated, his hand trembling as he inched the blade closer to Gideon's jugular. One little thrust, and he could kill him.
"Luke. Don't."
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he met his father's eyes.
"This isn't you."
Luke bowed his head. His father was right. He wasn't a cold-blooded murderer. Lowering his lightsaber, Luke deactivated the red blade with a sigh.
"Give the order, Gideon," he heard Anakin say, his voice faint. "Surrender and end the bloodshed."
The pounding of footsteps caused them to look away down the length of the bridge. Emerging from the doorway was Ahsoka, her white lightsabers active in her hands. Following close behind was Sabine in her vibrant Mandalorian armor. When they saw him and Anakin standing over Gideon's prone form, the two women came to an abrupt halt.
"Am I too late?" Ahsoka asked, disappointment evident in her voice.
Anakin's reaction was half way between a smile and a grimace. "Sorry, Snips."
With that, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the deck, unconscious.