I'm
considering one long file of all chapters, just for the sake of it.
Email me if you think its a good idea. Ta.
My traditional
thanks spot is lacking someone to thank...so, uh. Thanks to the
Matrix - can you spot the hidden reference???
Mina -
vikki18@totalise.co.uk
Episode
5
Chapter
one: Back to the start
Han woke groggily, feeling sand and
dirt pressed against his face. He coughed stale air out of his lungs
and sucked in scorched desert air. A turn of his head and there was a
weird roaring noise in his ears. He moved to look, but was blinded by
the sun. Rolling away from the light, he threw his hand up, groaning
at the aches the movement produced. A huge wookie face bent over him
and filled his vision, growling softly. Han sighed, relieved.
"All
right Chewie, I'm awake." He said, rubbing at his eyes and
pulling up to a sitting position. His partner held out a shaggy paw,
Han clasped it and allowed himself to be dragged upright. This heat
probably didn't help his dissyness any. Finally getting his
vision back, he looked around the street, whistling with awe. At
least eight ssi-ruuk bodies were strewn across the street most of
them appearing to stare desperately at the sky with unseeing eyes. He
put a hand to his head, felt a tender spot where he must have fallen
and he winced as he touched it gingerly. He looked up and down the
street; there was no one there but he and Chewie.
A hurried
search of the bodies confirmed what his heart was already telling
him; Leia wasn't here.
He turned to his partner, his face
blocking out the sun that was beginning to fall behind the houses.
"How long have I been asleep?" he asked. Chewie howled; he
didn't know; he'd only just woken himself.
"I'm sure it
wasn't that late when we got here was it? No. So they must have been
gone for at least a few hours now. " He said, feeling rather
than knowing that it was too late.
His last memory stuck in
his mind: Leia's horrified face as he slumped to the ground. After
he'd gone down they must have got her too. Except she wasn't here,
which meant they'd taken her with them.
Great. Just great.
Chewie said something "What?" Han asked not really
listening. Patiently, Chewie repeated himself. "Yeah, I found
Luke." he kicked at the sand "Unfortunately the ssi-ruuk
found us too." he looked up at Chewie "and you too, by the
looks of it." He said. Chewie howled mournfully. "Yeah,
they're long gone. Those weird paddle beamers really knock you out."
He said as he rubbed his aching neck.
He sat down heavily
into the sand street and played it through his fingers. "I think
we made things worse Chewie." he said, irony touching his voice.
Chewie woofeld softly before sitting back down on the empty street.
Han laughed bitterly, rubbing at his face to try and get rid of his
sleep.
What were they gong to do now? The ssi-ruuk were long
gone, along with Luke and Leia. He didn't know where to begin to
look. They could be anywhere. Still, he had their ship on the
Falcon's sensors, they might be able to trace the drive
trails...except they'd probably be cold by now. Chewie interrupted
his thoughts. "Coruscant. Yeah, I was thinking that too. If the
senate doesn't react to thiswell, then..." he trailed off
"They have to react, don't they?" He looked over at
his friend and partner.
Chewie howled softly again "Yeah,
you're probably right. They-" he cut of at a noise down the
street. Han grabbed instinctively at his thigh for the blaster that
wasn't there. A dark figure stumbled into the street and put a hand
up to shade his eyes. From his stumbling walk and the hand rubbing
wearily at his eyes, Han decided he didn't think the figure was
much of a threat. He jogged up to the figure, who waited for him to
reach him. Han stopped in shock as he recognised the man "Aves?"
he said, not quite believing his eyes.
"Yeah, Solo."
he looked around the street. "What the hell happened here?"
Han laughed but there as no humour in his voice. "We
lost, that's what happened." He said.
---
The
shuttle settled down to the docking bay floor with only the slightest
whisper of repulsorlifts. Swh'hr'ring moved away from the bunk as a
large guard stepped in to haul Skywalker up. Fr'h'tokh came up beside
the guard and nodded at Swh'hr'ring, before turning to another
ssi-ruuk, "Take the woman to the holding deck, keep a guard on
her at all times." he said. The guard bowed and took the woman
away. Swh'hr'ring turned to the Elder,
"Skywalker should
be taken to my laboratory. We don't have the equipment I need in the
medical bay." he said, gathering his things into a bag and
trudging toward the ramp. The clean, recycled air of the docking bay
was a welcome change to the hot, sticky atmosphere of Sele4. He
caught up with the guard carrying Skywalker. Fr'h'tokh came up beside
him.
"How long will it take you to repair the chip?"
he asked as they strode towards the entechment bay.
"The
chip wont take that long to repair, I think the damage was minimal.
I'll have to see how bad that burn is first though; if it means long
term treatment, well, then the chip will have to wait, and if that
happens, I may have to replace it." he admitted.
Fr'h'tokh
frowned. "How long will that take?" he asked. They were in
the entechment bay now. The guard set Skywalker down on one of the
tables. Swh'hr'ring moved to search for a better scanner.
"For
the implant replacement: at least two weeks. Then we'll have too test
it, of course. Three weeks, minimum. Plus the time to heal that
burn." As he moved the scanner over Skywalker's shoulder he
carefully pealed back the bandage.
"That's far too long."
Fr'h'tokh said.
"I know."
He stopped and
turned back to his Elder. "Give me an hour to find out how bad
it is. Then we can decide what to do." He said. Fr'h'tokh
paused, thinking, before turning and leaving the bay silently.
Swh'hr'ring sighed to himself before turning back to Skywalker.
---
Leia huddled against the far wall. She'd been in
worse cells, but at least they usually had furniture. The ssi-ruuk
didn't seem to believe in chairs, or beds for that matter. It was hot
in here too, the cool metal welcome but not very comfortable. When
they'd got off the shuttle, she'd hoped she'd go with Luke, but
they'd taken her off first, and to here. She had a feeling she was as
far from Luke as they could manage. She shifted on the hard floor,
couldn't get any more comfortable. They didn't seem ready to talk, so
she should probably get some sleep while she had the chance. She lay
out on the floor, head laid on one arm and waited for sleep to
come.
---
The Falcon blew up a plume of
sand as Han teased on the repulsors and lifted above the buildings.
His hands moved across the board and the ship turned and climbed for
space. The stars appeared above the atmosphere as the Falcon moved
away form the surface. There were none of the big, ovoid ships
hanging above the planet, as there had been when they'd arrived. Han
ran a quick sensor scan for drive trails, just in case they hadn't
left all that long ago. But there was nothing, except the 'hot'
debree of their sublight drives, but it wasn't directional, so there
was no way Han could trace it.
Aves stepped into the cockpit,
itching uncomfortably at the synthflesh on his forehead. "Anything?"
he asked as he sat back behind Han. Han winced a little: it was
Leia's seat
"Nothing. Not that we can use, anyway.
They're long gone." he pulled the hyperspace levers and the
starlines spun. "We'll have to go back to Coruscant, see if we
can rally them a little."
"That shouldn't be a
problem, considering they've got the Chief of State
kidnapped."
"Yeah."
"You don't
sound convinced." Aves said.
"NoI just...well,
I guess I just don't trust the imperials we've let into the senate.
But they can't stand down on something like this. I hope."
Han said, looking back over his shoulder at Aves.
"Hardly
'let in', they were qualified, and most had no part in the empire.
Their just bureaucrats." Aves argued.
"Then I guess
I don't trust bureaucrats." Han countered.
You're
married to one." Aves pointed out.
"Yeah. The
exception that proves the rule I guess." Aves laughed softly.
Han saw a figure move past the cockpit door: one of Ave's
men. They'd picked them up before leaving. Aves caught him
looking.
"Look, Solo, thanks for getting us of that
planet. I thought we'd never see a hyperspace capable ship again."
His voice was only just humorous.
"No problem, think of
it as payment for helping Luke out."
"No way, you
can put that 'payment' into my account." he smiled,
"Yeah,
I bet."
---
Leia huddled against the
wall, eyes open and staring into the dark of the room. She shifted,
turning on the cold floor, wishing not for the first time for her
nice warm bed. She'd been in here hours now. Were they just going to
leave her here? There were a lot easier ways to kill someone. She'd
tried shouting and banging on the thick metal door, but had got no
response, though she was almost certain there was a guard on the
door. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up, feet pulled up to her middle
as she fought the growing anxiety. She had no idea how Luke was. The
delay made her worry. There was a reason they weren't taking any
notice of her, and that reason was probably Luke.
She stared
into the dark again; she didn't like this room. The ceiling was
abnormally high. It made her feel very small and alone. She was glad
she couldn't see it. She leaned back against the wall and waited for
them to do something.
---
Swh'hr'ring moved to
stare out the viewport of the bridge ready room as the Elder fumed in
silence. Swh'hr'ring waited for the tirade of complaints to come, but
they didn't.
"There's no alternative?"
Fr'h'tokh asked quietly. Swh'hr'ring moved away from the window and
answered, "I'm afraid not. The burn is more extensive than it
looks. The blaster setting must have been very high. Higher than any
of the guards were supposed to be carrying." He paused, could
see the Elder's annoyance at this: the lieutenant in charge of those
men was going to get a very stern reprimand.
"It needed
immediate treatment, I've done what I can, we'll have to let the
bacta tank do the rest but...I didn't have time to fix the chip, and
the delay will make any minimal damage more serious. If I could have
fixed it now...then we might have been able to cut it down to a day
or two, but that operation would take at least a day, and at least a
week of recovery now that we've had to wait. And Skywalker's injuries
needed this treatment, that will last for at least a few days."
he said. Fr'h'tokh frowned.
"We cant delay this long.
We'll have to go on without him, the Admiral wants us battle ready in
two days. It's a shame that the chip cant fixed, but the
recovery time is far too long. If it can't be used for that
long." He said
"It's not that it cant be used...its
just that-" he broke off.
Fr'h'tokh stared down at him
"What?"
"It's not that the chip can't
be used straightaway. It would work. It's just that the body
needs to recuperate from the surgery." He said, thinking hard.
Fr'h'tokh stared at him again "So?"
"So,
we might be able to use the bacta tank for both purposes. If I
perform the surgery, and we put him into the bacta, we should be able
to use the chip almost immediately...the bacta will help, you see. It
will heal the body." he turned away "and...and, we'll
be able to use it more often, the bacta will help prevent some of the
affects of the chip that meant we had to stop every so often to let
him recover. The injuries of the burn need long-term treatment, but
nothing that means he can't be conscious...." he trailed
off.
Fr'h'tokh whistled quietly "Can it be done?"
he asked.
"Yes...yes. If I take him out the tank now,
perform the operation, we'll need to adapt the bacta tank so that he
can remain conscious, and of course put the entechment circuitry in."
He was already halfway to the door.
"Do it. I'll
inform the admiral. But you'll only have 2 days, at most."
Fr'h'tokh said as the younger, very excited ssi-ruuk left the
room.
---
Han blew out a heavy sigh as the
senate doors close quietly behind him. He tried to blow out his anger
too, but couldn't. He stalked towards the turbolift, glaring at
anyone who stopped to look at him. He should have known the senate
would be difficult. They were nothing if they weren't predictable.
Han could only hope that they saw sense and didn't get bogged down in
the bureaucracy like they usually did. He guessed having to go in
there and explain why Leia had taken of so suddenly hadn't helped his
case, but, hopefully, they should see sense. And there were some in
there at least Leia would trust. Gaviscom, Ackbar, among others,
should vote for action. But...there was also Senator Borak in there
too. Han didn't think that he had any part in what his brother was
doing but he didn't like to count on anything anymore.
The
turbolift doors swooshed shut and it started moving. Han paced
uneasily. He wanted to be doing something, but he had to wait for the
senate. He couldn't do anything before he knew what the senate was
doing. And besides: what could he do? The information they really
needed was where the ssi-ruuk were now, where they would attack next,
but that was just one piece of the puzzle they didn't have.
Yet.
The lift stopped, Han was out of the doors before they were
open, pushing past a crowd waiting to get in. Now he had to go back
to their suite and find something to occupy his time. He'd tried
explaining it to the kids: they were old enough now to understand,
but Han still had thoughts about sending them away with Winter if
things got any worse here, and especially now they were one parent
down.
But... he wouldn't send them away yet. Not until he had
something to go after.
---
A blinding
light made Leia throw an arm up to cover her eyes, she squinted as a
large form blocked out the bright corridor behind the door. Four
smaller shapes appeared silhouetted at its side. Leia used the wall
to lever herself up to her feet. She brought her arm down as her eyes
adjusted to the light. She blinked several times before they stopped
watering. The alien stepped into the room and seemed to blend into
the shadows. The smaller aliens brandished paddle beamers towards
her. The alien gestured with a claw towards the door. There was no
translator but Leia didn't need one to understand that gesture: they
were going for a walk.
She pushed gently away from the wall,
getting used to using her legs again, and walked towards the door.
She climbed the short ramp out and into the lit corridor. The
p'w'ecks arranged themselves into a guard around her and the larger
alien set off down the corridor.
Leia studied her guard, they
were small, but they looked tough, still she might be able to escape
if she was run for it. They didn't look very fast.
Except
that she had no idea where on the ship she was, and she would
probably only run into another group of the aliens. They walked in
silence for a long time, sometimes using larger turbolifts, always
going upwards. To the bridge, then? Maybe. The reached a large,
blastproof door. The aliens moved around her again, two in front, two
behind now, as the door opened. Leia stepped through the door.
She
had been right: this had to be the bridge. It was strikingly similar
to the one on board the cruiser they captured at Bakura. Only, that
one she'd only seeing the dark. In the light it seemed bigger, aliens
arranged at consoles in front of a large view screen. The
p'w'ecks directed her to a small room at the back of the bridge and
Leia stepped through. The door shut behind her, blocking out he
noises of the bridge behind her.
The large blue alien she
recognised from Sele4 stood staring out of the viewport. It turned as
she entered, piercing stare running her up and down as she
approached. The gold protocol droid stepped out of the shadows and
stood behind its master.
---
Fr'h'tokh
watched the woman approach him and stare him right back. Here was a
dilemma. He didn't like having her on board his ship, and the Admiral
had refused to take her on his. He understood the benefits of having
the leader of their enemies, but they had been managing perfectly
well without this advantage before, and he didn't trust her. He had
kept her below decks for over 2 days now, and something had to be
done with her. Swh'hr'ring had nearly completed adjusting the bacta
tank now, and the chip had been repaired. It wouldn't be long now
before they went into battle again and he didn't want to have to be
worrying about what this human was up to. The Admiral had raised an
interesting point though: she seemed to have concern over Skywalker.
If that concern worked both ways, Skywalker might be more
co-operative if she was around. It was certainly a theory worth
testing out. But, he needed to test that allegiance first. If she
could be made to think Skywalker would suffer if she tried to escape,
it would make things much simpler.
"Madame Chief of
State, he said, though there was no respect for her title in
his voice I hope you haven't been too uncomfortable here."
he said, trying to cool her obvious anger a little. The droid
translated his every word for her.
She glared, "Why have
I been brought here?" she asked bluntly, obviously not about to
play with words.
Fr'h'tokh answered, "I think we need to
talk. In a few hours we will be preparing to attack again,"
"I
wont tell you any military secrets-" Leia started,
"Of
course not. I wouldn't expect you to. I need your help in a different
matter. I-" His comlink beeped. He frowned. He had specifically
asked not to be interrupted. He brought it up "What is it?"
he clipped.
"Sir, we have an incoming ship. It's a
small ship, the transponder registers it as council aide Borak's
ship" his new captain said.
Fr'h'tokh scowled. What was
he doing here? They had cut off communications with him after his
usefulness had expired. "Tell him to crawl back to his own
people." Fr'h'tokh said, moving to switch the comlink off.
"Sir, he's started to hail us now. He says it's
urgent."
Fr'h'tokh was going to tell the captain to cut
him off, but decided better of it. It was probably best to get rid of
him now, "Put him through here then," he said, flicking the
comlink of and waiting.
The large viewscreen on the far wall
buzzed static for a moment before coalescing into the image of the
council aide. The p'w'ecks moved Leia out of view of the pickup.
Fr'h'tokh considered sending her out, but decided against it. The
council aide flushed at the sight of the ssi-ruuk,
"Elder."
he said, in a deep, trained voice "I have been trying to reach
you for weeks now. Important news has come to my attention." he
said, eyes scanning the room behind Fr'h'tokh.
Fr'h'tokh
glared at the human "Did you not receive our message indicating
our allegiance with you is ended?" he dared the human to say no.
"I...I received it. But we had a deal, I want those
systems I was promised." his voice hardened "I kept my part
of the deal."
"The deal has been altered. You will
get no systems." Fr'h'tokh clipped.
"You can't
do that. I have information."
"And what use would
that be to us? " Fr'h'tokh asked
"They suspect on
Coruscant, Elder, Rogue Squadron was sent out to investigate this
area of space. Leia Organa Solo--"
"This is old
news, council aide, and Organa Solo is of no concern." he
replied, signalling for the guards to bring the President into the
pickup. "By now the senate will know of our existence
anyway."
Borak gasped as Leia walked into the pickup.
Fr'h'tokh put a claw on her shoulder, drawing up welts with his
claws,
"You haven't." he whispered, then regained
some composure "Elder, this is a very big mistake- " he
started.
"No. The mistake was your coming here. I
suggest you run back to Coruscant and ask for mercy, Borak, or crawl
back into whatever hole you came from originally. But don't come back
here again." he warned.
"Elder, I can't do that. You
still need my help. We have a deal!!!"
"We had a
deal, council aide. Past tense. Now get out of my sight before I
order my gunners to shoot you down." Fr'h'tokh was getting tired
of this, now.
"Elder- no. Listen to me. President
Organ-"
"I'm sorry, Borak. It looks like you've made
a pact with the devil. And a lot of innocent people are going to get
hurt because of you. I can't help you, and I wouldn't even if I
could." Leia put in, her voice stinging.
"President,
I-"
"You took my brother from me, and now my
children don't have a mother because of you. I hope whatever humanity
is left in you feels guilty over this."
"President I
never meant-"
"Enough!" Fr'h'tokh cut in,
annoyed by the banter. "Go, now, and don't return, you've tried
my patience far enough." he said. Borak stared one more time at
the Elder before cutting the transmission. "Captain?"
Fr'h'tokh asked into his comlink.
"His engines are
firing sir...he's gone into hyperspace."
"Good, if
he comes back, destroy him." he said, before flicking it off and
putting it down. He turned back to Leia.
Chapter
two: Life doesn't have an undo option
Han
swotted at the air, aiming uselessly for the comm and hitting
nothing. Groaning, he pulled himself upright and fought to see in the
dim light. Finding the comm, he shut it's incessant beeping by
hitting the receive switch
"Captain Solo?" a droid
voice asked. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and answered.
"Yeah.
Who's this?" he asked into the pickup, leaving it on audio only,
"This is spaceport control, sir. You asked to be
notified when a specific ship, council aide Borak's ship, returned to
Coruscant."
"It's back? When?" Han asked, fully
awake now.
"About an hour ago, sir. He docked at the
Senate Diplomatic Docking Bay." The droid answered.
"Do
you know where the council aide went after he docked?" Han
asked, clambering out of bed and moving for the wardrobe
"No,
sir,"
"Okay, never mind. Thanks." he cut the
connection as he pulled on an old shirt, ran tired fingers through
his hair and moved into the lounge. Without turning the light on, he
found his blaster and holster, and then picked up his comlink. Making
for the door, he flicked it on.
"Admiral Ackbar's
office," a human voice said.
"This is Captain Solo,
I need to be put through to the Admiral immediately." Han said,
pacing down the corridors towards the turbolift, trying not to run.
Even so, some passers by gave him a few odd looks. The nightlights
made the corridors look bigger, full of shadows.
Han stepped
cautiously around a corner, leaning around an ornate statue to check
it was clear. Satisfied, he moved on and stepped into the lift. "I'm
sorry sir, Admiral Ackbar doesn't want to be disturbed." The man
on the other end said,
"He'll want to be disturbed for
this." Han said, keying the lift for the senate halls.
"Sir,
He's sleeping."
"He'll get over it. Call him now,
its important" Han replied.
"What is it about?"
the aide asked, not ready to take orders from Han.
"I
can't tell you," Han answered "but if you don't wake
him I'll come down there myself and drag him out of bed." Han
said as the lift moved rapidly upwards, the momentum dragging at his
stomach. In the pause that followed he checked his blaster.
It
was fully charged. Good.
In the background he could hear
voices arguing. At last, the Admiral's gravely but not sleepy voice
said,
"Solo, what is it?" Han sighed mentally,
"Admiral, I just got word council aide Borak just
arrived on planet." Han said. The lift stopped. Han stepped out
of the lift and strode down the large halls, feet echoing of the
stone floors. "He docked in the Senate docking facilities. I'm
going down there now." Han said.
The admiral paused "I'll
meet you there. I'll call palace security, get them on the look out
for him. What would he be doing back here?" He asked
"I
don't know. But we're going to find out." Han replied,
reaching the docking bay lift and flicking off the comm.
As
the doors shut behind him, he pulled his blaster out and pressed back
against the lift wall. The doors opened to an eerie silence that
echoed into the lift space.
Han stepped gingerly out into the
dim light. The docking bay was supposed to be closed now, and the
lights were down to a minimum. Shadows lay across the floor from the
rows of diplomatic ships resting in their bays. Han scanned the area
before moving of to the left, hugging the wall. He didn't seriously
think that Borak would still be here, but he wasn't taking any risks.
The walls were cool too touch, he tried to walk softly to stop his
steps echoing.
He walked slowly down past the ships,
scanning for the red diplomatic shuttle he knew was here somewhere.
He reached a small one-man cruiser, it was smaller than all the
others in the bay. This had to be it. He moved smoothly into the bay,
watching for movement. He reached the ship's side, put a hand to
it: it was still warm from flight. He ducked under one wing and found
the door.
Out of the corner of his eye a shadow moved. He twisted
round, aim following the shadow. A small piece of metal crashed onto
the floor a few steps in front of him. Too late, he realised the
diversion, and swung back around to where the object had been thrown
from.
The sound of rushing air moved past his ears. Something
hard smashed into the top of his head, he gasped as his vision
tunnelled and the blaster flew out of his hand, sliding across the
floor. A figure moved in front of him as he sagged to his knees and
with a smooth action, hit him across the back of the head, sending
him into unconsciousness.
---
Leia stared
at the big alien as he turned back to face her. At least she could
now be certain it was Borak who was the spy, not that that was much
comfort right now.
"My apologies for the interruption, a
minor inconvenience, nothing more." the droid translated.
"How
did you get to him?" Leia asked,
"Actually, he came
to us first. He is quite...bitter towards you. It was
...useful."
"He contacted you? How?" she
asked,
"This is not what I brought you here for." He
said. Leia decided not to push the subject; the alien didn't seem to
have a long tolerance for this subject.
"Then what did
you bring me here for?" she asked
"Why do think we
did not leave you on the surface?" he said, moving back to the
window.
"I would presume that even you would see it as a
good advantage to have the leader of the opposition." she said,
voice neutral.
"Indeed. So tell me, since you knew what
an advantage this would be...why did you come to Sele4?" he
asked, turning back and planting a beady stare on her.
"I
thought that was obvious too." she glared
"It is,
but indulge me." He said
"I came to get Luke back.
He needed our help: we came."
"Despite the risks,
when you could have sent someone else and not risked yourself? Quite
an admirable thing to do."
"Not in our
culture. In your culture, maybe doing something for someone else,
without any reward for yourself, is rare. But not in ours."
"Hmmm
all this leads me to the idea that you are very...loyal to your
family." he said
"We've been through a lot."
she said, a hint of suspicion creeping into her voice,
The
alien moved back to the lone table in the room, "I wonder ...how
far does this comradeship stretch?"
"As far as it
has too." she replied. He looked up from the desk, eyes intent.
Leia had the unnerving feeling that he was looking right through her.
"President, your brother is below decks. He is alive. Do
you know why we wanted him here?" he asked, searching eyes
looking her up and down.
"I have an idea." she
replied, matching his stare.
"Really? What do you know?
Do you know that this has been planned for a very long time? That
he's here for the same reason we were interested in him some 14 years
ago over Bakura?"
Leia didn't say anything
"Do
you know that he has an implant right about...here." he moved
uncomfortably close to her and tapped lightly on the back of her
head. His voice lowered as he leaned in closer "Do you know that
we can control his every action? That he is just a shell now?"
His voice was a harsh, grating whisper as his breath brushed her
cheek "President, do you know just how many people your brother
has killed in the last month?"
Her eyes bugged but she
couldn't think of anything to say. He moved back away from her, but
his presence still hung close like a wet blanket.
"What
have you done?" she said at last, unable to keep her voice
neutral anymore.
"Only what needed to be done. Tell me,
do you still want to save him?"
"He won't help
you, you know, you can't make him."
"Cant we?
We already have." His voice was laced with pleasure,
"Except
that he got away from you once." Leia challenged,
"Once,
yes. It was a mistake. Don't worry, it won't happen again. For
one thing, we have you now." he said.
"That won't
make any difference to him. It doesn't matter what you do, he will
still resist you." she said.
"You
don't sound too sure, President." He smiled "I think you
ought to know that any actions by you to either escape or sabotage,
wont just affect how you are treated. I hope that is understood."
"Perfectly." Leia said, biting back a vicious
comment. She didn't trust this alien's temper.
"I you
comply, you will be repaid." She said nothing "He'll be
awake in a few hours. You can see him, and then, perhaps, you will
have to decide where your true loyalties lie."
"I
can't tell you I'll help you." She said as the p'w'ecks
moved back into a guards position around her
"It wouldn't
be me you were helping. We can do this with or without your help,
understand that. This affects your brother only."
"And
the New Republic."
"Yes. That decision is yours
alone. Make the right one."
---
A
bright light shone in his eyes. He flinched from it, bringing up a
hand to his eyes. Ackbar's voice sounded dim and distant in his ears,
"Solo?" he asked. Han swallowed hard and nodded as
the Admiral helped him to sit upright and lean against the back of
the ship. He rubbed at his temples as the Admiral talked into a
comlink. The lights had been brought on in the bay and Han could see
the ship properly now. It had a red streak running around the
cockpit, with long sleek wings sweeping around to the back. Ackbar
bent down by Han's side "Did you see him?" he asked,
"No," Han said, still a little shaken "I never
saw him coming." He used a wing to climb to his feet as a group
of palace security came running up.
They saluted to Ackbar
"Sir, there's no sign of him in the bays. He must have
moved into the palace." Said a fresh-faced lieutenant
"Have
you put extra guards on?" The Admiral asked as Han accepted a
med pack from one of the guards and searched through it for a
stimulant "They're in place sir." he said.
"Good,
Solo, you fit to move yet?" he asked Han.
"Yeah,
but lets think a minute. Why would he have come back here?" he
said, placing the patch on the top of his arm and visibly relaxing as
the drug worked into his system
"I don't know." the
Admiral said, honestly.
"He can't have known that we
suspect him until I showed up. He's probably running scared. Where's
he going to go?" Han thought hard.
The Admiral got there
first: "He'll probably want to try and get rid of any evidence
that he was ever involved in any of this. The library records?"
he asked. Han nodded, turned back to the guards. "Have extra men
put on the library. Tell them to detain but not harm Borak." He
said before jogging towards the lift. Ackbar was two steps behind
him. He turned to him as the doors shut
"Solo, you sure
your up to this yet?" he asked,
"I'm fine, I have a
few questions for this guy, and I'm not going to let him get away"
Han said
"Don't worry, he won't."
---
Lieutenant Anderson shifted uncomfortably in front
of the library doors, tracking the corridor with his blaster. The
silence in the halls was deafening, his mind racing, senses alert for
any movement, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the corridor ahead.
Beside him, three other guards shifted uncomfortably too, eyes
trained on the corridor. They had got the alert a few minutes ago,
and were waiting for Admiral Ackbar to arrive.
Behind them
the door to the library opened, they all twisted round at the noise.
A gold protocol droid moved towards them primly.
"Oh,
I'm sorry, I was-" beside him, the wall exploded.
Anderson threw up a hand to protect himself from the sparks
as he twisted back towards where the blaster fire had come from. A
guard beside him crumpled to the floor.
He was halfway around
now, tracking with his blaster, another guard fell, he was moving
fast but Borak had just a split second on him, the final guard's
world exploded as he fell to the floor.
---
"Sir,
we've lost contact with guards on the library floor." The
Admiral's comlink said,
Han swore, willing the lift to move
faster as they headed down to the library. He paced uneasily before
the doors finally opened. They moved slowly out into the corridor
together, covering the area. Sure it was clear, they began to move
faster.
Jogging down corridors as fast as they dare, they
moved towards the main door. Turning the last corner, Han slowed and
peered around. Four guards lay in a heap beside a blasted wall. The
doorway was clear.
Signalling to the Admiral, they moved
forward together. Reaching the charred wall, they slipped into the
room.
Banks of machinery hummed softly in the background as
they moved into the room, tracking the council aide. They moved
behind a one of the large computers, Han sprinting lightly forward.
He reached just a few meters in front of the main administrators
console before ducking down. The slight form of Borak leaned over the
terminal, hurriedly clicking away at a keyboard. His blaster lay in
the top of the station, close to his left hand. Han ducked down low
and moved up behind the council aide. Ackbar signalled him to stand
down, but Han kept on moving. At the last moment, Borak heard him. He
tensed before his left hand snatched for the blaster, his body
turning towards Han. Han was there before he had a chance to fire,
and with a fierce kick, the blaster flew over the railings.
Anger
springing in his eyes, Borak launched himself at Han. Unprepared
after his kick, Han fell to the floor as Borak slammed him, his small
but wiry form pinning him down. His hands snaked around Han's neck
and squeezed.
Han gasped for air. The Admiral appeared over
them, blaster pointed into the nape of Borak's neck. In a stern,
commanding voice he said, "Let go."
Borak seemed to
consider fighting, but only for a moment. His hands went limp and his
grip slackened. Han rolled away from him, and gained his feet, his
face flushed red. Borak stared back up into Ackbar's blaster point,
scowling.
Behind Han, a troop of guards rushed into the room
and surrounded Borak. The council aide stood slowly and turned to
stare at Han, eyes piercing but defeated. Han stepped forward as a
guard pulled the aide's hands behind him and into a pair of
binders.
"Borak." Han said, "What the hell are
you doing back here?"
"Solo" Borak spat "A
pleasure to meet you at last." he grinned slyly "What a
shame your wife and brother-in-law aren't here to meet me."
Han's anger burst. He threw himself at Borak "Where are
they?" he growled, grabbing the slighter man by his shirt. Three
guards stepped in and hauled Han of him. Borak just grinned slowly.
Admiral Ackbar snorted with contempt. "Take him away." He
said, moving to Han's side.
Han was still fuming but he kept
his anger under control as the troop moved out of the room. Ackbar
placed a reassuring hand on Han's arm "Don't worry. He'll talk."
He said, before moving away and up to the terminal Borak had been
working on. He flicked through it as Han turned to him.
"Did
he get much?" Han asked.
"No, he didn't delete
much, but we don't know how important the things he deleted are."
Han rubbed at his neck. "At least we've got him" he
said.
---
Swh'hr'ring circled the tank,
peering intently at the connections he had just made. Approving them,
he stepped back to examine his work. P'w'ecks worked at he base of
the tank, fixing some of the simpler entechment circuitry. The clear
glass front stretched nearly from he deck to the ceiling, dark metal
enclosed the top and bottom, and at the back the entechment circuitry
spread out across the back wall. The back of the tank had been
replaced by the contacts for the circuitry. There were several breaks
in the tank where various leads and pipes would go into the tank.
Breathing apparatus had been modified for long-term use; it was
almost ready.
Swh'hr'ring smiled to himself as he moved back to
the bacta tank and adjusted one of the pipes. They had just a few
hours left before the Admiral would want to attack again. It would
probably be a small attack, another test. Then they would move onto
their first major offensive over Slastare. But...they had plenty of
time to prepare for that. Things were on schedule again.
---
Han leaned forward over the table and stared at
Borak. Borak smiled back at him.
Ackbar sat straight-backed
and alert next to Han, staring passively at them "Council aide.
I hope you understand the seriousness of the charges."
"Perfectly,
thank you."
"You could be in lockup for a very, very
long time." Han put it. "Do you want that?"
"No
one wants that." he replied softly, settling back into the
chair,
"Co-operating would be a start to cutting down
that time." Ackbar said, studying the man.
He said
nothing.
"Borak, you've made a lot of people angry. You
broke a lot of people's trust. But...if you regret it, if you help us
now, they'll still be lenient." Borak studied the floor a moment
before looking up and straight into Han's eyes.
"I will
tell you. But not because of any hope of leniency, or mercy. I'm
not sure any would be forthcoming anyway. I'll tell you because
I need to repay someone. I made a deal I probably shouldn't have
done, and I need to repay them in kind."
"Go
on."
He sighed, and sat back again "I won't
insult you by starting at the beginning. I'm guessing right now you
want to know where they are?"
"Go on"
"Sele4
was a...a warm-up. They have a full battle plan. I didn't see it all,
but I think I can tell you where they'll be. They've come a long way
to get here: their low on resources. Every target so far has been for
resources. They've used a lot ships gaining those resources, it makes
sense that their next big one will be ship yards."
"Ship
yards?"
"They don't have any way of making new
fighters. They'll need a way. So the next target will be
Slastare."
"Slastare? I haven't heard of it."
Han said
"I have. Its a modern facility we took off the
Imperials way back, just after Endor."
"Is it
defended??" Han asked him,
Borak answered, "Yes, it
is. And there are better shipyards in the area. But Slastare has
natural resources that can be mined for building ships. It's an
all-in package. It was always on their attack plan to take it."
He said, whispering slyly.
"How do-" Ackbar's
comlink cut him off.
"Excuse me, the Admiral said,
before retreating to a far corner of the room. Han watched him walk
before turning back to Borak.
"How are we supposed to
believe your telling the truth?" He asked. Borak folded his arms
across his chest and leaned backwards, a hint of a laugh touching his
lips
"Your not." he said "Take it or leave
it."
Han scowled at the other man. Ackbar, moved back
towards them "Captain Solo, a word." He pointed to the
door. Han got up and followed him, when the door was safely shut
behind them Han asked "What is it?"
"The senate
has finished debating." He said. His face was grave. Han urged
him on "They're not going to attack."
"What!
That's ridiculous, that's-" Ackbar put up a
hand.
"Most of the senators couldn't care less about
those outlying systems, you know that." He said
"Except,
that attack force isn't just staying in the outer rim, its heading
straight for us. Slastare is in Republic space."
"But
Sele4 was not. But...though I said they are not going to attack, they
are going to send out a small task force to assess the situation."
There was a hint of something else in his voice.
"What?
Don't they believe us?"
"It's not that they
don't believe you, but they want to know the capabilities of this
attack group."
"And if they get spooked out
there?"
Ackbar grimaced "Then they have orders to
destroy the ships in whatever way possible."
"Destroy
them! They can't destroy them! Leia is on that ship! Aren't they
going to mount any rescue attempt?"
"Only if the
attack force isn't too much of a threat."
"But they
are. I've seen them, Admiral. As soon as any task force gets
there, they'll be wiped out."
"I know."
"Who's
leading this task force?"
"Borak" The Admiral
said, grimacing.
"What?!"
"Solo, one
person can't be blamed for the actions of their family. You of
all people should know that."
"This is
different."
"Is it? Look, that's not the point.
The point is that their not willing to mount a major offensive before
the task force gets back." Han glared at him.
"When
do they leave?"
"Tomorrow."
"Admiral,
can't you get a bigger force together? They wont stand a
chance."
"No, I can't go against the senate.
The task force will go, it will either be destroyed by the ssi-ruuk,
or the ssi-ruuk will be destroyed by them"
"And
Leia?"
"I'm sorry, Han."
---
Leia hurried behind her guards. She'd been put back in
her 'room' for what seemed like ages and had had time to think about
what the ssi-rruk had told her. She knew that right now she should be
feeling scared or angry or even guilty, but all she had was a dull
ache.
Maybe she'd had too much of feeling to feel anything at
all anymore.
She thought she knew where they were going. She
hoped she knew where they were going. As much as she'd wanted to
dread this, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that she was
going to see Luke again. Not that being near him would help her any,
but at least she wouldn't feel so alone anymore.
---
"Then I'll have to go." Han said as the
stalked down the corridor together.
"What? You cant. You
don't stand anymore chance than that task force." Ackbar
warned,
"I can't just sit here any longer. Admiral,
we both know that task force is a suicide mission. I need to get
there before them and get Leia off that ship before they have a
chance to do anything stupid."
"You think they can
destroy the ships?" he asked, curious.
"No, not
really. But if Borak's in charge"
"Borak is no
military leader." Ackbar pointed out
"No, but he has
vengeance on his side. I don't think he's going to be satisfied with
reconnaissance duty."
"You think he's going to try
and pay them back for his brother?"
"Why else would
the council aide tell us where they are?"
"Hmmmthen
this is a mission he doesn't expect to come back from. Vengeance is a
dangerous thing. I don't like having it work against us."
"Neither
do I. If Borak really does mean to destroy that ship..." he
didn't finish the sentence.
"Admiral. I need your help. I
need a small group -just a few well armed ships- to go out there with
me." Han stopped and faced the Admiral
"Solo, I
cant-"
"Admiral. I can't do this without you.
Please." Han stared at him for a long while.
At last, the
Admiral conceded "A small task group then. Nothing bigger than 5
ships. You'll have to leave tonight to stay ahead of them,
though."
"Thank you. Hopefully that'll be all I
need."
"I hope so, the senate is not going to take
kindly to this."
"No, but you still need to campaign
for an all-out offensive against them, we need to stop them now,
before they get any closer."
"If the task force
fails, then I think well be able to convince the senate to attack. If
they don't fail...then their wont be any need for an attack
anymore."
"That's not how some people will see
it." Han said.
"Is there something your not telling
me?"
Han grinned slowly "No, I just have a few
favours to call in"
---
The p'w'eck
guard parted as they approach a heavily shielded door. Leia's
footsteps slowed involuntarily, an eerie feeling creeping down her
spine. Her mind numbed as she stopped in front of it. The door rose
slowly rising up into the ceiling. A pale light shone out of the
room, and the noise of machinery reached through the door to her. Her
p'w'ecks pushed her forward into the room, her steps heavy and slow,
her feet felt leaden as she moved across the floor. The guard kept in
a tight circle around her as she cleared the doorway. A small
brown ssi-ruuk turned as she entered and honked softly to the guard.
It moved towards the ssi-ruuk, but Leia hardly noticed, her eyes were
fixed on the far end of the room. Her mouth was dry as her feet
compelled her feet forward though she wanted to stay still. The bacta
tank was central to room, close to the back wall. The bacta shone a
sickly red colour, but the lighting left a blue and purple glow on
the floor in front of it.
The figure in the tank was
unmistakably Luke. His head lolled to the side in unconsciousness,
eyes closed. He was wearing a tight black suit that she didn't
recognise. Sandy brown hair formed a wispy halo above his head,
bubbles rose through the tank bouncing of the sides and his
body.
Leia approached slowly, her steps forced, a lump in her
throat. It wasn't the bacta tank that was sending shivers down her
back. An array of wires stretched out from behind the tank, some
connecting back into the wall, others reaching into the tank and
through the black suit. Along his arms, legs, chest and back wires
snaked out and back into the machinery behind him.
Leia stood
next to the tank now, and stared up into his closed eyes. She put out
a shaky hand to the tank, palm face down against the smooth glass. It
hummed slightly with the machinery, but was cool against her hand.
She closed her eyes and tried to reach out to the Force. A strong
pair of claws gripped her shoulders and pulled her backwards away
from the tank. Her eyes flew open and she twisted in the grip. The
ssi-ruuk honked in surprise, four paddle beamers hurriedly aimed at
her as the ssi-ruuk scuttled away from her. She froze as the aliens
eyed her nervously. Her tensed muscled relaxed as her eyes moved back
towards the tank.
"What have you done?" she asked
the ssi-ruuk, her eyes keeping the image of Luke's blank face as she
stared at the alien. A silence hung as the alien seemed to
consider answering her. Finally, it whistled to the smaller aliens
and turned away from her. The p'w'ecks moved in closer to her,
herding her back towards a corner of the room
"Hey! What
have you done?" she spat the words at the alien, but it
continued to ignore her, hovering over an instrument panel on the
other side of the room. Two p'w'ecks circled her back and grasped her
hands together.
"Hey!" she shouted as the smaller
aliens fastened her hands back behind her.
The ssi-ruuk was
talking into a comm now, Leia quietened to try and understand the
conversation, but she couldn't. A few times, the ssi-ruuk glanced
over at her, or over at Luke before turning back to the comm and
continuing.
He cut off the comm and walked over towards Leia.
She glared at it as it approached. It reached her, beady eyes
studying her face before reaching past her shoulder and picking
something up. Leia squirmed in the restraints as it brought back a
hypodermic. She shrank back against the wall as it gripped her
shoulder and slid the needle in.
"No! wait! I need-"
she said, voice failing her as her eyes blurred "I can't-"
she slumped into unconsciousness.
---
Han
switched of the terminal and sat back in the stiff chair. He'd put
out all the calls he could think of. He could only hope now that they
would respond. There was no time to sit around waiting for replies
though, not now he knew where Leia was.
He stared at the
blank terminal. He wished he could stay for a reply but they couldn't
wait that long...behind him a door creaked open.
Han swivelled
the chair to face the dark-haired man that slipped in.#
"Hey,
Wedge, you ready?" he asked
"Yeah," Wedge shut
the door behind him softly "I've got the Rogues up waiting,
they just need us to join them" he said.
Han lifted
himself out the chair "Lets go then. You sure you don't want to
ride in the Falcon?" He asked the younger man,
"No,
I'm better of with the squadron." he glanced down at the screen.
"Any reply yet?" he pointed at the terminal
"No.
And we don't have time to wait. Borak's team will be right behind us
as it is. We need to be there first."
"Okay, come
on. The carrier group is waiting."
"What did Ackbar
get us in the end?" Han asked as they left the box room and
walked into the corridor.
They walked towards the docking
bays, "Nothing big, I'm afraid. A couple of carriers to carry
the snub fighters. That's all though, General." Wedge said
the last word with relish.
"General? Wedge, I resigned my
commission years ago" Han looked confused,
"Ackbar
reinstated you." He grinned "You being a general makes it
easier for him to explain this to the senate."
"Nice
of him to tell me." Han muttered. Wedge grinned.
"Is
Corran coming?"
Wedge's smile faded "Yeah, I didn't
want him to, but he's insisting and...well, he's a good
pilot."
"We're going to need all we've got" Han
said.
"Yeah." Wedge blew out a sigh. "You think
we can do it?" he asked
Han was silent a moment before
answering. "I hope so." He said quietly.
Episode
6 coming soon
Teaser Excerpt...
Leia's
mind froze, her breath went out of her, and suddenly, Luke's presence
was blasted out of her mind.
"No!!!" she screamed
frozen in place under the bleeding body of the alien.
Too
late too late too late.
Her mind screamed even as the sudden
pain of the contact tore at her, the violence with which Luke's
presence was ripped free shocking all her muscles and she sagged to
the floor, unable to move.
Luke flailed in the tank, his
hands flying up to the mask as the last dregs of consciousness were
torn from him. His finger dug around the breathing mask pulling hard,
but nothing happened. He dug in deeper, ripping at it, as the dioxins
flooded through and into his body. His body tired, stopped its
thrashing, and black spots appeared in front of his eyes. Feeling a
strange falling sensation, Luke's vision passed away with that last
look of Leia staring up at him, horrified at her own failure, he
knew. His last sensation was her voice screaming at him before his
mind tumbled backwards and gave way to the cool, deep black.