AN: This is a short chapter, but again I wanted you all to know that I haven't forgotten this story or Consequences. Please forgive any glaring typo or grammar error - I have no beta.

Dark Times: Chapter Two

Pale Shelter

Part 8

"Okay, Chewie, cut into sub-light engines," Han said irritably. He was still riled, more at himself than at Chewbacca, or the Princess, for the needless remark he had thrown at Leia earlier. But, she had a way about her, could get under his skin just by being in the same room as him. The sooner he checked out the kid, saw that Luke was doing okay, he'd make his split from the Alliance just like he'd been promising himself over the last two years. "Soon as we break cloud cover go tell her highnessness…"

"Tell me what, Captain?"

He winced, kept his gaze to the star system ahead unwilling to look in her direction. "That we've arrived," he finished. He squinted out the cockpit, as the Falcon navigated around a small, dead moon and glanced at the scanner. "This base of your is…."

The scanners showed a large mass with smaller images moving rapidly away from it toward Ra'imar, an alarm rose within the cockpit as Chewbacca roared out a warning.

"I know, I know, dammit!" Han yelled as he quickly flicked switches and initiated the Falcon's defence systems. "Charge up the belly guns."

"What is it?" Leia asked moving closer, but she knew, could feel the cold dread in the pit of her stomach.

"Capital ship," Han told her as he drew himself from his chair. "Big one. Looks like a Command Vessel."

"We have to help them," Leia's words were automatic.

"I wasn't planning on running, your highness," Han told her shortly.

She turned to him, surprised, grateful but his next words sobered her even more than the sight of the Super Star Destroyer hovering over the planet.

"Luke's down there."

She stood aside, letting him past. "What can I do?"

"Man the other gun."

ooOOoo

Rhovan stumbled as the building shook violently from the bombardment outside, he ducked, his hands automatically covering his head in expectation of a collapse as the prefabricated durasteel of his room buckled and screeched in protest. The thunder of TIE bombers engines screeched overhead. He could hear the constant warning alarms through the base, the thudding of many running boot steps, screams and shouts from the corridor outside. The light fitting above him flickered and died leaving him in darkness and he staggered to the door as another wave of bombers droned overhead to drop their load followed by the clatter of anti-aircraft fire from the ground.

This time the explosions outside were closer and he was thrown to the floor as concussion waves slammed into the building and rocked the ground. Ceiling beams snapped and part of the ceiling fell, barely missing him as he curled into a protective ball. Light, smoke and the smell of battle washed into the room.

He lay still for a moment waiting for the vibrations to die, then he pushed himself to his feet. He had to get out of this room, had to get to a ship before the Empire started landing troops. He palmed the door mechanism, then he punched it in growing alarm when nothing happened and the panel slide to the side. The corridor was filled with personnel all seeming to head in different directions and responding to different orders he appeared to be the only one who didn't know what he doing or where he should go. His arm was grabbed and a bag was thrust into his arms.

"Sir!" A voice barked above the clamour. "You have to come with us!"

He glanced at the men around him, it was his intelligence guard, the officers who had interrupted his de-briefing saving him from any more of Rieekan's questions, before looking down at the bag in his arms. It was his pack from Escaal. The one he had carried into Skywalker's interrogation and had brought with him on the escape shuttle. Ignoring his escort he opened the bag, and frowned at its contents.

He had to find the command centre. Holding onto the doorframe he glanced up and down the corridor before turning on the man who held his arm. "Take me to General Rieekan." He shouted over the noise of the blitz. "The Command centre!"

"Sorry, sir," he was answered. "We have to escort you to the evac ship and get you off-world."

Again the building was rocked by explosions outside.

Rhovan scanned the man's uniform for a rank. "Lieutenant," he shouted with a smile, "who do you think will be your commanding officer once we get to Alliance Command?"

The younger man hesitated, glanced briefly at his companions, before making a decision. "If you'll follow me, sir, the command centre is this way."

They moved as quickly as possible, progress hampered by moving personnel, clumps of fallen masonry and debris. Rhovan stumbled, hung onto a fallen roof beam to stop his fall and, glancing up, he could see, through a gapping hole in the collapsed roof, a sky blackened by smoke and another wave of TIE bombers breaking through the dark plumes. He pushed himself on after his escort and almost fell through the open doorway of the command centre as the crump of explosions broke around the building and as the walls shook with the blast concussion.

Rieekan's knuckles were white with effort as he gripped the communications console to keep himself upright as the ground undulated beneath his feet, the walls' durasteel sheeting buckled and broke with shrieks of stressing metals.

"Sir!" A panicked voice called from scanner operations. "We have landing parties three kilometres from the base. Four sites, encircling us!"

Rieekan closed his eyes to the noise and the panic trying to find a little calm in the chaos while knowing the decision he was about to make would result in many deaths. He drew a breath and address Redhr. "They're trying to block us in. Send ground support to their positions to hold them off. We need more time to evacuate."

"Yessir." And the tone of the colonel's voice told him that Redhr understood.

"What of the evacuation? Our ships?"

"They're hitting the hangers," Redhr reported "and the Landing zone. We've lost three transports on the ground. The medical frigate reports that it has sustained damage and needs to leave now."

Rieekan frowned. "Why is it still here?"

"Skywalker and his escort have yet to report in," the colonel explained as another burst of explosions rocked the building almost knocking them both to their knees.

"Damn that boy," Rieekan exploded, in uncustomary fury. "If he's disobeyed a direct order I'll…"

"I think Skywalker has more to worry about than your orders, Carlist."

Redhr turned at Rhovan's comment. "Shouldn't you be with Intel, Major?" The retort was dry with distrust.

"If you'll notice," he gestured at the men with him, "they are watching my every move."

Rieekan stepped between the men having to shout above the growing clamour. "Colonel give the order for the ground troopers, and get the medical ship off this planet with, or with out, Skywalker!" He grabbed Rhovan by the sleeve and pulled him to the doorway. "Go with your goons, find a ship, Rhovan and get the hell out of this!"

Rhovan pulled away. "How many Imperial ships?"

"What does it matter?"

"Why haven't they hit us from space? Why haven't they wiped out the base from above and saved a costly fight?"

"We don't have time for this, Rhovan," but the interrogator could see that despite the situation he had piqued Rieekan's curiosity."

"How many ships?"

"Just one, a capital ship."

Rhovan smiled thinly. "Vader." He stated without doubt.

"Vader?" Rieekan didn't know whether to laugh at the absurd suggestion or allow the needle of panic that spiked at the Dark Lord's name full reign. "You think he would concern himself with such a small outpost?"

The floor rippled with tremors, sparks flew from instrumentation and lights flickered. Rhovan steadied himself against the nearest console. He fumbled in his bag and drew out Luke's lightsaber, waving the hilt in Rieekan's face. He had to shout above the clamour. "I think he'd concern himself with Skywalker. Remember the reports we had from the first few years of the Empire, remember how Vader personally hunted down every Jedi that came to his attention?"

The General considered this as he pushed Rhovan's hand away, pushed the saber away, watched as the Major placed it back in the bag. "And you think this is all to kill Luke?"

Rhovan smiled. "Not kill. Capture."

"Why?"

Rhovan wanted to know this, too. Wanted to know what it was about Luke that had somehow softened the Dark Lord. Wanted to know what it was about Vader that had caused Luke to gain the strength to fight back when he had seemed beaten.

"It was not I who betrayed your father."

And it had something to do with Luke's father. "His name, Rieekan!" He yelled to be heard. "He claims to be Anakin Skywalker's son. I think the answer lies there."

There seemed to be a lull in the bombing, it seemed at that moment that all went quiet. Rieekan filled the pause. "Luke claims he told them where we were."

Rhovan frowned, confused at the news, thinking back to Escaal, back to Luke's interrogation. "That's impos…." He started to say when the battle crashed back in.

"Sir! We have fresh bombers heading in, more landing ships!"

Rieekan tore his eyes away from Rhovan, focusing on the battle at hand. "We need to get all the ships off planet. Send more troops and speeders to meet those shuttles and get everyone else to their ships. Evacuate the command staff." He stumbled as a fresh wave of bombs struck the ground. "Go everybody! Move!" He turned to Rhovan. "You, too, Major. Get to a ship!"

And Rhovan's arm was taken again. "This way, sir!"

"Good Luck," he offered the General and then he allowed them to move him, allowed them to dictate the pace as they ran for the evac ship. His mind was racing. Skywalker had lied to them, had used the lie to warn them of an attack. An attack he somehow knew was coming. The answer lay with his Jedi abilities, and somehow, it lay with the brief contact Luke had with Vader and…

A blaster was thrust into his hands, his train of thought broken.

"You might need this, sir!"

And they broke out of the building into anarchy.

ooOOoo

TBC...