This
is where I thank people...and instead of thanking someone or thing
that helped me get through writing this, I'd like to thank you lot.
Yes; you. Don't look so surprised. Your kind comments mean a lot, so
thanks.
Mina -
vikki18@totalise.co.uk
Her eyes properly adjusted by now,
Leia turned back to stare around the room. She was still in that
strange laboratory they'd brought her into earlier. It was
bright, but had a dim feeling about it, liked the atmosphere mocked
the attempts to keep the room well lit. Remembering that moment (and
how long ago had that been? Minutes? Hours? Days?) She looked up to
stare at the far wall.
The bacta tank holding Luke still stood
opposite her, with an obscene beauty in the myriad patterns of light.
There were no ssi-ruuk near her, not that she could see anyway.
Somehow, she had hoped it wasn't real. Futility always
seemed to try to make your dreams come true.
She tried to
relax and reached out to the Force, reaching out to her brother. To
her surprise, Luke's presence buzzed just below consciousness. She
stretched but couldn't quite reach him. It was not as if there was
some physical barrier protecting her, more that when she tried to
touch his presence, he felt more like an apparition through which her
hand passed.
Her eyes opened to stare at him in the bacta
tank, the soothing bacta bubbles writhing in rhythm with her
frustration. Sighing heavily, releasing her tension, she worked her
wrists in the restraints.
She froze as the smaller brown
ssi-ruuk walked into the room, followed closely by a protocol droid
she recognised from the arid Sele4 and the larger blue ssi-ruuk who
Leia had talked to on the bridge. They approached her, faces
unreadable in true ssi-ruuvi fashion. Leia tried not to squirm as
they looked her up and down. She kept her face in a mask of contempt,
though she swallowed before talking,
"So this is your
big plan then?" she asked. A better retort might have satisfied
her need for vengeance, but signs of defiance might lead her captors
to be stricter on their security measures, and that was something she
didn't want.
The blue one looked at her quizzically
before saying "No, only a part of it." She looked
unimpressed "Be patient, President. You will see."
"You
promised me I could speak with him." She said. Though she didn't
think these aliens particularly cared much for honouring their
promises, in her position she was willing to use anything she
had.
"Hmm.no, I didn't. I said you could see him.
Tell me, have you decided?"
"Did I ever have a
choice?" she shot back. He smiled slyly.
"Good."
He turned back to the p'w'ecks and whistled at them, before facing
her again "I will let you be alone with him for a few minutes,
no longer" She covered her surprise at his concession. "After
that...you'll be staying here from now on. A closer threat is a
bigger threat, don't you agree?"
She scowled.
"Good."
the brown alien moved to the tank's side and, with practiced
ease, flicked some switches. At first, nothing appeared to be
happening, but gradually Luke's eyelids fluttered as consciousness
flooded back through. Her Force image of his gradually began to
harden into something more palpable
The p'w'ecks moved in and
undid her binders, before placing restraints around her wrists. She
sat up gingerly, stretching her legs slowly. The ssi-ruuk moved out
the way as she walked over to the tank, slow footsteps to keep her
steady rather than to stop from inciting a reaction from the guards.
She heard/felt the static feeling of a force field spring up behind
her as she approached, and the binders clicked and fell loose to the
floor. With the sound of their impact still rattling around the
laboratory, she looked back at the aliens; the blue one nodded and
moved towards the door, the others following. Carefully, she turned
back to face her slowly waking brother, and placed a hand to the
tank. Static rushed in scattered blue waves away from her fingers as
she touched the side; another force field.
"Ten minutes.
No longer." the alien said as they left the room. She watched
them leave, her eyes lingering on the closed doorway before turning
back to Luke.
"Luke? Luke can you hear me?" she
asked, hand still pushing static out where it was laid against the
tank. The sound of the field buzzed the air in the chill silence of
the bay. Almost reluctantly, Luke's eyes blinked slightly as he
strained to open them after days of not being used.
"Luke?"
he shook his head, barely perceptibly. His eyes flickered and
widened, the bacta enhancing their crystal blue, as if seeing for the
first time. Confusion fluttered across his face before his gaze
settled onto the woman standing before him, and Leia would like to
think she saw a smile touch the corners of his mouth around the
breathing mask. He coughed before trying his voice.
"Leia?"
his voice croaked but there was no mistaking his relief and pleasure
at seeing her.
She smiled gently at him as tired eyes focused
on her face, close to the glass. Blonde strands of hair haloed above
his head in a crown as he looked around, "Where-" his voice
caught and he coughed before starting again "Where am I?"
She
tried to keep smiling, but she knew her own sense of dread was etched
into her eyes as she spoke again, "Its okay, Luke." she
said.
Recognition fell into his eyes and they dulled as
memories flooded in, fresh and painful. He paled slightly, looking
like the spirit of her earlier Force vision.
"We'll get
out. I promise." She almost whispered the words to him like she
would a child, searching in his eyes for a hope she didn't
feel.
He gazed at her, desperately wanting to believe her. He
turned his head, sending a shower of bubbles up into the bacta, and
looked behind him, seeing the mass of machinery and wires behind him.
She felt his sense sink lower as he ran his finger against the edge
of the entechment circuitry, black like the ridged exoskeleton of
some exotic beetle. Or, if she were feeling pessimistic, like dried
blood.
He looked down at the floor, not able to look into her
eyes.
"Luke?"
He brought his head up like it
weighed heavy on his shoulder. Pleading, unbelieving blue eyes met
hers. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. It was all there for
her to see.
She swallowed. "I'm sorry." She knew it
wasn't enough, could never be enough. She brought another hand
up to the glass "I'm so sorry." she bit back bitter, angry
tears. Bitter because of her frustration at her inability to help
him, angry with the aliens that ha masterminded this whole
mess.
Luke brought his own hand up opposite to hers "Its
okay, Leia. Really." He said as his hand touched the cool glass,
bubbles breaking against his skin as he moved.
He stared up
at the top of the tank, studying it. Leia watched as he kicked his
legs up from the floor to reach the top and tried to undo the seal.
His fingers latched around the intricate detail of the seal and he
hung there. After a few seconds inspection he sank back down again.
"You cant-"
He shook his head.
"Leia,
you shouldn't have come." he said the conviction in his voice
chilling.
"What else was I supposed to do?" her eyes
pleaded with him not to answer that.
"Leia, I- its good
to see you again." she smiled at him as he managed a weak smile
for her.
"How do you feel?"
He laughed, a
bitter-ironic laugh "Fine. I feel fine." He said, voice
neutral. "There's a good 500 people out there who aren't feeling
nearly as good though." his voice choked and he looked away
again. Suddenly the idea that the circuitry looked like dried blood
didn't seem so far from the truth.
"Corran told me.
Its not your fault -"
"Don't you see? It doesn't
matter whose fault it is. I should have-"
"No, you
shouldn't. And you know that, Luke." he looked back at her
again. He looked so frail, her heart bled for him.
"I've
missed you Luke. I thought you were dead."
"So did
I"
"Don'tdon't ever do that to me
again." she said, mock seriously. She wagged her finger at him.
She got a grin this time.
"Whatever you say, Your
Highness."
Behind her the blast door began to move. Luke
looked over at it, grin falling as the blue ssi-ruuk stepped
through.
"Leia- you have to help me. Maybe together we
can-" his voice cut of to a small whisper, though he kept
speaking, Leia looked around in shock.
The ssi-ruuk stepped
up "Your ten minutes are up, President." she scowled at him
as she realised he'd cut off the speakers that amplified Luke's voice
through the bacta.
She turned around to face them "And
now?"
"Don't worry, it wont be long now."
---
Swh'hr'ring eyed the woman slumped wearily in the old
entechment chair with caution. He still didn't trust her, or those
restraints. But...he had been ordered to keep her here and he didn't
have a lot of choice when those orders came from the Admiral. She
stared back at him, eyes unmoving, with a look that spoke volumes.
Swh'hr'ring flinched from her stern gaze, feeling the hate behind
those eyes as if it was a palpable thing. He did not like
having her here.
He walked over to the entechment area, behind
the bacta tank, out of her intense gaze. They were on their way to
the biggest battle so far. And this one was very important to the
invasion; they desperately needed the shipyards on Slastare to
continue moving on New Republic space. But Swh'hr'ring would have
preferred more time to perfect the new entechment circuitry. As it
was, he'd had to cannibalise the old circuitry, and he didn't like
having to do that. New was nearly always better. Even despite the
deadline, he'd insist on a trial again. Maybe, if he was lucky, he
could persuade Fr'h'tokh to let him entech that annoying woman.
---
Luke opened his eyes slowly, cuatiously. They ached
but it wasn't so bad. He couldn't feel the rest of his body, except
for a dull ache whenever he moved.
The bacta brushed against
his skin, thick and fluid so that it felt like he was swimming in
treacle. Or maybe not swimming: it was said a dunk in a bacta tank
was the closest most (the luckiest) pilots got to a zero-g
experience.
He put a hand up to his eyes, watched the bubbles
bounce of his skin as he moved and float in front of him. He hadn't
been in a bacta tank in ages, and even then he was hardly ever awake.
The experience was always disorientating, with the sensation of touch
almost absolutely removed leaving you feeling like a limb had been
lopped off. He grimaced: he certainly knew how that felt, and it
wasn't entirely pleasant.
The lights were down in the
bay, which meant it was probably their night. Most ships operated on
a day-night routine despite the lack of any natural clock to set the
times by. The only illumination of the room came from the tank in
which he floated and the banks of machinery slowly blinking away
quietly to themselves. The bacta's pale blue glow gave the room a
ghastly look, exaggerating the shadows and quite. The advantage of it
being the rooms main light source meant that whilst he could see
everything in his perspective, including his own shadow, anyone
looking in would be momentarily blinded by the glow.
In a
corner he could see a sleeping Leia, her arms bound to the large,
black chair's arms and her hair disarrayed and loose around her
shoulders. She looked like she carried the burden of millions, and in
retrospect she probably did. A lump formed in his throat as he
watched her turn restlessly in her sleep. He wished she hadn't come
after him. As much as he was glad to see her, as much as her presence
warmed him, he wished she hadn't come. This was exactly the situation
he'd been trying to avoid on Sele4, and with Leia's appearance it had
all gone wrong. Well, maybe that was a little harsh. He didn't
mean to blame her because he knew he would have done nothing less
were their positions reversed. Luke had counted on the ssi-ruuk
having better aim and hitting something more delicate than his
shoulder. Maybe if they found him first, they wouldn't have known how
to deal with it like Han had. But that was yet another big maybe, and
just lately maybe' had been letting him down.
Now,
though, it didn't matter whose fault it was, all that really mattered
was that he was back onboard the ssi-ruuk cruiser, and he doubted
that they would let him be conscious unless it was for a reason. That
thought sent a shiver down his spine as the implications nestled into
his consciousness. It meant he probably didn't have long before they
went into battle again. He sighed heavily and stared at the floor.
Not again
Well, he'd got out once. With Leia's
help, he might be able to do it again.
Leia stirred in her
sleep, shifting over and deeper into the padding of the chair. And
now she was in this mess too. It wasn't just him anymore, and it
didn't take a Jedi to figure out why she was up here with him. He
smirked: it did take a Jedi to get them here, however. He
figured she wasn't here because the ssi-ruuk had suddenly grown a
compassionate streak. Whatever happened, he could never let anything
harm her, and they must know that.
She sighed softly in her
sleep. Luke took his eyes off her and studied the tank around him. It
was a small hope that there would be a way out of it but he'd take
any chance he could. He twisted around through the thick liquid, the
wires conspiring to tangle around his legs. He found the entechment
circuitry behind him. It was implanted into the back wall of the
tank, small extensions reaching out into the bacta. Luke ran hand
across it, feeling the millions of smaller contacts. His fingers
searched the edge of the grid, but it was welded tight to the sides
of the transparisteel tank; there was no way that was going to budge.
Okay, so he wasn't going to get out that way, but then he'd
pretty much ruled out getting out by brute force. Reaching to his
side, he fingered of the wires and followed it along to where it
reached through the strange black suit he was wearing and into his
skin, though he had no feeling of it piercing his skin. Perhaps that
was an advantage to the loss of touch.
He was tempted to pull
at it, but he didn't want to set off any alarms. A dark thought
crossed his mind as he realised he didn't want to set off the
entechment circuitry for that matter. He gave it a gentle tug, but it
didn't yield at all. It was firmly secured to the suit, not just
puncturing the fabric but actually being a physical part of it. He
traced the wire back into the wall, and tried to gingerly tease it
free, but, again, it was held firm into the strange black material.
Chagrined, he rested for a moment, thinking, hanging suspended in the
bacta.
Maybe the top would be easier to break open; it was after
all the natural entry point to the tank. He'd tried earlier with
Leia, but he'd been weary then, and now he felt he had a little more
energy. Get his feet under him he pushed upwards from the bottom. He
reached the top and clung on. The welding was in some sort of
intricate design, without any obvious joins. He brought his fingers
along it, feeling for a seal, but couldn't find one. Forcing his
mind to relax he reached out to the metal and got his suspicion
confirmed: it was the same metal they had used on the restraints.
There was no way the Force could move it, and apparently it wasn't
made to ever be opened again. He let himself float slowly downwards
again, desperately trying to fight through the fog of his mind to
think of idea. To think of anything.
---
The
Falcon lifted cleanly through Coruscant's atmosphere and
headed for space. Han watched the nightside planet fall away, before
flicking on the comm.
"Wedge?" he called.
"I'm
here Han." Wedge's voice came back, through the cockpit Han
could see the x-wing that had rode up with him peal of to the left
and head for a cruiser hanging a few hundred meters away.
"Good.
When you get onboard, we want to set off straight away. We only have
a few hours lead on Borak."
"Got it." Wedge
answered "So, you decided yet?" he asked. Han bit his lip
and watched the smaller ship reach the cruisers hold.
Chewie
woofled softly beside him; they'd debated this on the way up: would
they attack the cruiser Luke and Leia were on? Han didn't want to
destroy it, but they couldn't just ignore it, not when it wouldn't be
ignoring them.
"I think we have to attack," he said
into the comm "but not to destroy it. We need to find a way to
take it out without destroying it."
Wedge snorted "Yeah,
piece of cake." he said, mock sarcastically.
Chewie
laughed beside. "Well, I never said it would be easy." Han
said,
"Whatever you say General."
Han
scowled at the title: he'd never liked being so responsible.
The x-wing disappeared from sight inside the gaping mouth of
the docking bay,
"I'm there, lets get going."
"Right,
have a nice trip." Wedge cut off the comm.
Han watched
the cruiser swing around. He brought the Falcon close to the
hull of the other ship, went past the bridge, taking the front.
"Ready Chewie?" he asked.
Chewie howled.
Han grinned "Yeah 'here we go again.'"
Space
blurred as the force shot into hyperspace.
She tried to move her arm, but couldn't feel it.
Whether she managed but couldn't feel it, or hadn't done anything at
all, she didn't know.
She couldn't feel much, reminding her of
the few space walks she'd done in her life. She tried to study the
view before her. She could just make out the two larger ssi-ruuk and
the protocol droid in front of the bacta tank, discussing something.
She thought she could also make out Luke in the tank, but wasn't
sure. They seemed to be talking to him, and she was dimly aware of
words being spoken, but she couldn't understand them. She didn't need
to know what the conversation was to know what it had to be about;
every so often a ssi-ruuk, and then the droid, would gesture in her
direction as they spoke to Luke.
It had to be similar
conversation to the one she'd had with the blue ssi-ruuk on the
bridge a few days earlier. And as much as she wanted Luke to refuse,
she knew he wouldn't, no more than she had.
The conversation
ended as Leia's vision began to become clearer. She could make out
Luke now and the surrounding circuitry, the tunnel vision clearing.
The smaller brown ssi-rruk picked up something from the desk and
walked toward her as the blue one spoke into their version of a
comlink. The brown ssi-ruuk reached her and her eyes managed to focus
on the hypodermic in it's hand. She tried to move backwards but
none of her muscles responded as the alien ran a scanner over her.
Apparently satisfied, it brought the needle to her upper arm. She
never felt it enter her skin, but sense's flooded back to her. She
blinked twice to get the stiffness out of her eyelids, before taking
a first hesitant breath. Air rushed into her lungs and with it
strength returned to her muscles. Her cheeks flushed and she heard an
imaginary rushing noise as the blood surged back to her head. It was
the sensation of coming out of hibernation, or seeing something with
virgin eyes.
She sat upright against the protest of her long
unused muscles- how long had she been asleep anyway? She couldn't
begin to guess as all days merged and she was sure the ssi-ruuk
wouldn't run on Coruscant Time.
Her eyesight back now,
she could see Luke gazing at her, a queer melancholy in his eyes.
There was a tangible air of anticipation in the room. The big blue
ssi-ruuk approached her as the blast doors opened to admit two
ssi-ruuk guards with a frightened p'w'eck in tow. The p'w'eck honked
softly in confusion, eyes wide as it looked around the bay, before
resting a pleading gaze on Leia. The look somehow conveyed a dread to
her that made her shiver. The small brown alien worked off to the
side as the big blue one watched from a distance. Leia looked over at
Luke, and his face begged her not to ask.
---
At
last, the brown alien moved forward to face Luke. A mixture of
emotions spread in quick succession across Luke's face, before
finally settling on determination. Or, at least, that's what she
thought it was, but his sense in the Force was desperately trying to
keep down a growing fear that was beginning to spread across him.
Confused, she sat in silence, words sticking unpleasantly in her
throat, as she dare not ask what she wanted to know. The blue alien
moved closer to her,
"President." he started, the
tone of quiet excitation chilling "You know all that has
happened since Cassrine, but you haven't seen it before. I would ask
you to...remember my words to you on the bridge. And remember them
well, because what happens next will not be for the first time, and
will not be the last time. Do you understand?"
His face
was emotionless but his voice, even translated, held a note of menace
in it. Leia swallowed hard, starting to feel the same fear that
permeated Luke's sense. The ssi-ruuk's words could only mean one
thing.
"Yes."
The words raced
through her mind
"Any actions by you to either escape
or sabotage, wont just affect how you are treated. I hope that
is understood."
The
alien nodded and moved back before Luke.
"Jedi Skywalker.
This is just a test, but remember what we discussed earlier."
Luke didn't bother to glare as his focus in the Force became clear
and distinct. "Don't forget either, that any resistance will
only hurt yourself." he wasn't even listening now, and Leia
doubted that concern for his own safety could be further from his
mind. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his presence in the
Force as it became more and more diffuse, before finally
disappearing. Confused she opened them again in time to see Luke look
over at her. The noise of machinery in the room increased, barely
audibly, but it thrummed through her like a funeral beat. Leia let
her sense drift in the Force, waiting.
Suddenly, the p'w'eck
screamed in surprise, writhing in the grasp of the two guards. It's
shriek shook her and Leia thumbled for a connection with Luke as the
small alien began to scream louder. The Force tore through Luke's
mind as he tried to hide from it. Awareness flooded his senses as his
barriers crumbled and he couldn't stop it, his frustration and
concentration not holding back the tide. He couldn't stop it as his
mind reached out to touch the alien's. Leia strangled a scream at the
terror in the alien's mind. She tried to rip free of the restraints,
but they held, the hard metal biting into her skin. But that didn't
matter, all that matter was an end to the screaming.
Luke's
mind found the alien's and suffocated it, enveloping and
dragging it away. Leia watched in horror as both minds collided to
become one. The pressure screamed at her, and she was dumbly aware of
Luke and the alien screaming in unison.
"Luke!" she
wasn't sure if she screamed it or just thought it, but she tried to
reach him through the haze of fire that coursed through her
contact.
Leia recoiled in shock, her eyes flying open. Some outside
force seemed to clutch at the alien's sense locked with Luke's
and tear the two apart. Luke's hands pressed against the side of the
tank as he fought for concentration and stop himself from spiralling
down with the terrified alien. The circuitry behind him came alive,
writhing in a screen of blue static that struck out with sharp
fingers across the board, the blue glow queerly complementing the
bacta as the aliens energy arched through Luke.
The contact
snapped suddenly, the blue glow retreating backwards. Like an elastic
band suddenly released, Luke sagged in the tank as the p'w'eck alien
fell to the floor with a sickening thump.
Leia forced herself
to breath as the memory of her contact tore through her own
consciousness. A cold sweat settled on her and chilled her as she sat
still, eyes squeezed shut.
The brown alien stepped over the
p'w'eck and towards the tank. Leia forced her eyes away from the limp
body and back upwards, though her head felt leaden and her senses
stunned. She looked up at Luke, his eyes were shut and his head
stayed bowed, hands still pressed against the tank sides. The
ssi-ruuk reached the tank, and flicked through the machinery. "Luke?"
her voice croaked like she'd been shouting.
A comlink beeped,
the blue ssi-ruuk answered before turning to the other and whistling,
triumph in its voice. Leia closed them as out as she fought for calm.
---
The Admiral took a deep breath before
stepping through the ornate doors and into the senate hall. The plush
red interior was supposed to represent diplomacy, but to Admiral
Ackbar it felt dangerous. All eyes turned on him as he stepped
through the door and took his seat to the right of the huge circular
table. Gaviscom, standing in for Leia as he often did, though not
usually under these circumstances, stood at the head of the table and
let his gaze wander over each and every member of the inner council.
Council aides stood hushed in the background, blending with the grand
statues the decorated the room. Sunset on Coruscant flooded through
the huge windows at the far end of the room. Borak's seat was
empty.
The Admiral sat down stiffly as the other members of
the council did likewise, a hushed expectancy descended on the room
as they waited for the temporary president to speak.
"Admiral
Ackbar, perhaps you would like to tell us why we have been brought
here?" Gaviscom asked pleasantly. Pleasantly, but without any of
the usual rituals.There would be no running around the subject, and
for once Ackbar wished for the senate's usual protocols.
"Of
course. It concerns the situation out at the Sele system."
Ackbar answered.
One of the other senators spoke up "Indeed?
Then perhaps you would like to start by telling us here our Chief of
State is? Or for that matter, her husband and several carriers and
snub ships which have been taken off duty?"
So they knew
then. Well, that would save a lot of time.
"It is for
that reason that I called you here today. I fear that the ssi-ruuk
situation is far worse than you all presume."
"We
don't presume anything, Admiral." another Senator bristled,
"That is why we sent our own reconnaissance group out to
investigate"
"With all due respect, Senator, I don't
think that group will be coming back." Acbkar said.
"Why
do you say that Admiral?" Gaviscom asked
"For one
thing, the ssi-ruuk far out gun them and-"
"We have
been through this before. It was decided that we should be cautious.
What has been decided cannot be retracted."~
"Not
even when we know we had a spy in our midst?"
"That
makes no difference. We must wait for a report from senator Borak's
group"
"And suppose it is too late by then? The
ssi-ruuk are moving fast on New Republic space, and they are becoming
better armed by the day. We cannot afford to wait."
"But
we must. We-" Gaviscom quietened the group by holding up a
hand.
"What are you suggesting Admiral?"
"Just
this: that we prepare a group to be ready to attack if we need to. We
know their next targets. After Slastare, the targets are not minor.
Next is Cador, it has a population of over 5 million, then the
shipping port of Minist, with over 6 million on the surface and
countless stations and colonies on the moons. Then Bosse, a large
mining colony of over 20 million-"
"Are we certain
of this?"
"Very. And the battle plan is moving fast.
Less than 1 day to Slastare, an average of 3 days between each
attack..."
The senate hall was suddenly quite. "Can
the carrier group destroy them before they get the chance to
attack?"
"The whole fleet? No. In fact, I don't
believe the group has any intention of returning."
"What?"
"I
believe councillor Borak is on a vengeance mission. They wont be
returning."
"A suicide mission? But the Chief of
State..." the room was quite.
"Admiral, leave us for
a while to discuss this further. I believe we have new considerations
to take into account." Gaviscom said. "Thank you. Please,
we can stop them, if we act now." Ackbar rose from his seat, and
with a nod to Gaviscom, he left the stuffy room.
---
Han leaned back in the leather chair, legs propped up
on the control board in front of him. He dozed lightly, the
hyperspace background having an odd hypnotic effect. Behind him he
could here the clanging of Chewie forcing another of the Falcon's
systems to work. He checked the chrono. It had been a long journey
but now they only had half a day left. He stretched out his arms and
let out a tired yawn.
He might as well try and sleep first.
---
"Admiral, we will reach Slastare
within the next ten hours." Fr'h'tokh tried not to flinch from
the Admiral's steely gaze.
"Good. I don't want anymore
interruptions."
"There won't be any more
problems sir, our offensive is well on schedule."
---
A swarm of small cruisers hung warily in the outer
Slastare system. Their hulls bristled with gunports, warmed up and
ready. They floated conspicuously behind the system's outer
planets, waiting for just a few more hours before the command ship
would arrive and they could attack.
---
Leia
relaxed and tried to reach the Force, stretching out to Luke's
presence.
Luke?? His sense stirred from a weary
sleep.
Leia? He paused, not sure how to ask her Are
you okay?
Luke... I... I'm sorry. She said.
What
for?
I didn't realise. I'd hoped that...maybe. She was
stuck for words I guess I hoped you might be able to stop
it.
Luke's reply contained a kind of sad humour I'm
sorry, too. Sorry that I can't stop it. And I've tried,
Leia.
I know she paused Luke-
Don't ask me to do
that Leia. Luke's thoughts cut in You know I cant.
I'm
willing to risk it, Luke. You escaped last time when you tried to
entech Corran. Maybe if you try and entech me Luke sighed.
He couldn't do it.
Leia, you don't understand -if I fail.
If I cant stop it then you-- he couldn't say it. She swallowed,
quieting.
Leia, the last time I escaped......it was
because of Corran, but I doubt they wont have fixed that..
She
sat quietly, a sense of cold running through her.
I know. I
just.......I cant just sit here and watch. she choked, the memory
of the limp body of that p'w'eck stinging her mind.
There
is one thing you could do. he said, trepidation in his
sense.
What?... Leia almost daren't ask.
Earlier,
while you were asleep, they explained that they..well, they don't
want a repeat of Sele4. If anything looks like its going....wrong,
then they have a switch that will replace the oxygen supply with
something a little more...toxic
Leia froze, realising what
he was asking her. Luke. I cant.
It needs their claw print,
but if you get free...
I... her mind faltered.
Think
about it.
---
The large blast doors
swooshed open and the Fr'h'tokh strode through. Swh'hr'ring waddled
up to greet him, trying to mask his excitement.
"Greetings
elder, are we arrived?" he said, bowing low before hurrying to a
bench and searching for something.
"We're moving
past the outer planets now. The humans have their defences up, so far
we've only encountered a few scouting missions, though."
Swh'hr'ring stopped.
"They knew we were coming?" he
asked, puzzled.
"Yes. Never trust a human spy."
Fr'h'tokh answered. "It won't be a problem. Are you
ready?"
"Very." he moved over to the bacta
tank. The woman placed an icy stare on him as he approached it.
"Good, a few more minutes and then we'll begin."
Swh'hr'ring flicked switches and Skywalker's eyes fluttered lightly.
Swh'hr'ring turned back to face the Elder "Yes sir."
he said.
Fr'h'tokh nodded and moved back towards the door
"I'll conduct the battle from the bridge. Keep me posted."
Swh'hr'ring bowed low as the elder left the entechment bay.
The aliens watched his face anxiously. Maybe if he pretended
he was still asleep they would leave him alone.
It was a
childish hope. A hiding-under-the-duvet philosophy, but he didn't
have a lot of grown-up ideas left.
This had to be one of the
strangest enemies he'd ever met: fighting his own mind, and knowing
he could never win. But he had to try; he couldn't just give up,
though his aching body begged him to.
The brown alien moved
over to a workstation and flicked up the tactical display. It
couldn't be long at all now, then.
He squeezed his eyes at
the memory of the p'w'ecks' fear as his mind had smothered it rose
back up again.
And it would happen again. And again. And
again and again and again. And there was nothing he could do.
He
felt Leia's look at him and opened his eyes. She gazed gently back at
him with a reassuring smile.
This time it would be different.
Now Leia was here. Maybe she could help him. He didn't want to submit
her to it but if together they could stop it...or at least slow it
down...well that would be something.
---
The
huge ovoid cruiser hung over the fiery gas giant. Small black ships
swarmed up from the surface to face it, silhouetted against the angry
red atmosphere. The smaller cruisers hung protectively around the
larger ship, forming up and riding shotgun. The cruiser closed in
slowly on the stations that hung vulnerable above the planet, simple
mining stations with few defences. The ships cut through space,
turbolaser emplacements snapping open, the air in them crystalising
into space.
The small fighters accelerated up from the
planets surface, joined by the few that scattered out of the stations
docking bays, approaching warily. The ssi-ruuk fleet hung back a few
hundred meters from the first station. The guns charged and a streak
of deadly red light sprang forwards from the front ship, leaping for
the station.
The lower docking pylon exploded in fireball
that engulfed the lower end of the station. The fighters leaped
forwards like angered vornskers and threw themselves in fury at the
ssi-ruuk ships. The battle for Slastare had begun.
---
Luke shied from the Force as the hull began to ring
with turbolaser fire. It's energy enveloped him again even as he
tried to abandon it.
The protocol droid approached him, gold
glinting off the bacta. Luke closed his eyes and began to throw up
barriers, just as he had before. Like before, they crumbled to
nothing as his own mind took them down faster than he could build
him. Leia's sense joined him, the warmth of her contact encouraging.
She wrapped the barriers protectively around him, hiding them both
from the outside.
For one, desperate moment Luke thought it was
going to work, but the implant stripped them, layer by layer and with
a mental shove, Leia fell away from him.
"Luke"
her voice was just a whisper. His mind stretched out now to the cold
of space, searching.
She tried to reach him, fingernails
digging deep welts into her palm "Luke!"
His mind
found the contact. Confusion and terror tore through his mind as the
pilot of the small craft panicked. Luke's mind took hold and pulled.
The power was rough and cruel but it worked; the man's mind ripped
free, his body dying instantly. His consciousness collapsed backwards
into Luke's, the energy channelling through him. He bit back a scream
as their minds collided, the pressure tearing at him. The circuitry
snapped into action. Blue tendrils of light raced over him, ripping
free the man's consciousness from Luke and pulling it back through
him. The contact broke, the sudden release making Luke's mind recoil.
His head burned with a fury, and he channelled the Force back through
his head gasping. The pain wasn't as bad as it had been before: they
must have improved it. Dimly, he heard Leia calling his name.
He
gasped for breath. The golden droid approached again.
---
The small fighter craft streaked across the huge
cruisers hull, reflected light blinding. Commander Ledu fought to
keep the small craft from crashing into it's sides. Four of those
small black ships came up behind her and gave chase,
"Blue
Leader, you've got a tail!" someone shouted in her ear.
"I
know. These things are too damn fast." She swore as the craft's
shots got closer, got mild satisfaction when they missed her and hit
the cruiser instead. She took the ship closer, the hull racing past
her cockpit.
The droids stopped firing as they realised they
were hitting their own ship. "All right!" she grinned,
pumping all the energy she could to
the shields. But she was
running out of hull already.
She watched the edge approach,
desperately thinking. From nowhere, a small black ship appeared on
top of her and fired. Before she had time to even think about firing
back, her control board exploded in sparks that flew up into her
face. "I'm hit!" she called, struggling to control the wild
craft as it spun out of control, the stars swirling in front of her.
The controls bucked out of her grip, the fighter spinning closer to
the hull.
"Blue Leader!! Hang on! We're on our way."
Blue Two shouted
She gritted her teeth and clung to the
controls tighter. The fighter was approaching the aft docking bay
now, the ship close enough to the hull to read part numbers. The
gaping mouth of the bay came in sight; it would be close but she was
going to miss it.
"Stay Back!" she called into the
pickup. Her squadron ignored her: three fighters appeared on her
scope, racing frantically after her. "I said, stay-" she
cut off, gasping. She could see inside the bay now. Hundreds of the
small black ships lined the inside, just sitting there,
waiting.
"Sweet mercy..." she whispered.
"Say
again, Blue Leader?"
"I found the nest!" she
called "Form up and attack that docking bay!" she shouted
as her ship flew past.
"Aye, Sir!"
If they
could just destroy that bay...her ship sparked again, throwing her
concentration off. The ship lurched and dived for the bay.
"Blue
Leader!"
She threw her eyes up and didn't look as the
ship became engulfed in flames. She screamed as the ship hurtled for
the deck, her cries cut short as the ship hit the floor and
disintegrated, engulfing the bay in flames.
---
Blue
two watched Blue Leader's ship blow up and swallowed back his
swears.
"Come on guys, let's finish off what she
started." He said, grief turning to resolve.
"Aye,
Sir." was the grim reply. Their ships raced towards the bay. The
huge doors began to shut, achingly slow but slow enough that
they
would never make it.
"Use your torpedoes!" he
shouted, fingers moving rapidly across his control board to arm his
own. A cluster of black ships swarmed in
on them as the doors
shut.
He fired two torpedoes, held his breath as he waited
for an impact, but they exploded harmlessly against the surface of
the doors
"What the hell is that thing made of?!"
he cried.
"You've got a tail!"
"We've
all got tails." he replied, trying to get enough room to turn
the ship around. Beside him, a fireball engulfed one of their
fighters.
He tried not to look. He battled with the control
stick, firing blindly at the small black specks that kept on coming.
Another ship exploded to his right. He swore, poring energy into
their shields. "Die you ba-" his ship exploded.
---
Leia sat tensely, her fists clenched.
She felt
sick, all this death around her.
The battle was going badly,
she could make that out from the tactical display. The small brown
alien was ecstatic, working furiously on picking new targets. Luke's
sense was despondent and weary. They had tried everything and Leia
could do nothing to help. He fought frantically, but it didn't work.
Suddenly, alarms shrieked through the ship, lights flickering
and turning red. The ssi-ruuk honked frantically, jumping for the
comm. Luke relaxed against the side of the tank, breathing deeply.
The alarms quieted and the larger ssi-ruuk rushed from the entechment
bay, its emotion tinged with panic. Maybe the battle wasn't going as
badly as she had thought.
The golden droid approached again.
Leia relaxed into the Force again.
---
The
proximity signal blared. Han got a hold of the hyperspace levers and
watched the countdown.
"Ready, Chewie?" he asked.
Chewie howled at him and nodded eagerly "Yeah, I could do with
some action too" he agreed with his partner. The countdown
reached zero and he pulled the levers back slowly. Realspace
reappeared, the starlines collapsing back into stars.
Chewie
howled as the Falcon ploughed through the middle of a battle
field. Han swore and grabbed the controls, aiming up and away from
the firefight. Stray turbolaser fire scrapped against the ship as the
Falcon sprang forward like a startled mynock, running away
from the battle, only slightly bruised. Han turned the ship around
and saw the rest of his carrier group reappear. They scattered away
from the fight, spraying out in different directions. A few didn't
make it.
"I think we're a little late." Han said,
flicking on the comm.. "This is General Solo, form up with me."
He said, assessing the battle from his vantage point. There were a
hell of a lot of small black ships and not too many fighters. Half of
one of the stations was missing. Han whistled softly.
"I'd
say we're very late."
"Han! Are we joining in or
what?" Wedge asked, Rogue Squadron climbing up to meet them.
"Yeah, listen up guys!" he called back, watching
the Republic fighters buzz the huge cruiser that dominate the sky,
"Go for the smaller ships and watch out for those little
black fighters. Remember what we said about their shields." He
said.
"Han, we should attack the main cruiser..."
Wedge said on the private comm as the new republic reinforcements
dived back down to join in the battle.
"I've no idea
where Luke of Leia are on that ship. We can't risk it." he
said, bringing the Falcon back into the fray.
"All
right, but when Borak's group arrives they'll be going straight for
it -you realise that don't you?"
"Yeah. We'll have
to cross that when we get there." Han answered. Small black
ships surged towards the newcomers. He flicked of the comm and
concentrated on flying.
---
Luke's eyes
flew open and he turned to stare at Leia. The look of dread on his
face chilled her. Her mouth was dry as she stretched out to him
through the Force.
Luke? She didn't get a reply: the
entechment circuitry reached out again. She looked over to the
tactical display, trying to find out what had shocked him. Ssi-ruuk
ships were disappearing; disappearing fast.
She stared,
confused. How had they turned the battle around? The brown ssi-ruuk
was leaning over the display, hopping agitatedly and talking
frantically into the comm. It worked the controls, centring on the
area where the most damage had been done. Had the Slastare ships
found a way through their defences? The ssi-ruuk brought up the scans
from one of the battle droids. Leia watched the footage, hopeful.
Stars streaked past; it was all in a sickening red colour, strange
alien script scrolling along the bottom. Suddenly, from the left, a
ship appeared in it's scopes. Leia's heart froze when she saw it.
Despite the queer red readout, it was unmistakably the Falcon.
"No." she choked, looking up at Luke. Blue tendrils
spread out from the machinery. He struggled, hands straining against
the side of the tank.
"No!!!" she cried. The alien
turned to look at her, shocked by her sudden outburst. "Luke!"
she ignored the aliens strange warbling. The tendrils moved away and
he sagged. She stretched out to him, eyes closed. Luke! He
recognised her touch and let her in.
Han was out there. And
Chewie and Rogue Squadron. With Luke, she could sense their presence.
She felt fear rising up in her.
They're okay, Leia.
Luke said in her mind. Or at least, that's what it felt like, though
there weren't any words.
She opened her eyes again, biting
back the fear angrily. She needed to think.
---
Han cheered as another battle droid blew up "All
right!! Nice going!" he called to the gunners in the Falcons'
gun ports. Five more appeared in front of them, bearing down on them.
Han put the Falcon into a power climb and spun it back around
the way they had been going, diving at the last moment. Two of the
droids collided with those that had been chasing the Falcon
originally, the rest scattered in confusion. The Falcon sped
away from the wreckage.
Han found a clear bit of space and
checked on the rest of the carrier group; Rogue Squadron were in the
thick of it, surrounded by a large group of the droids.
"Han-"
wedge started to say through the comm..
"Hang on Wedge,
we're coming." Han banked the ship around and headed towards the
ships.
---
Leia could hear her heartbeat in
her ears. She was waiting, waiting for the droid to approach again.
The ssi-ruuk were having a hurried conversation in the corner. It was
only a matter of time. Leia looked over at the tactical display: it
wasn't going so well; the group had lost their surprise.
Leia?
She looked over at Luke. The droid was approaching. Leia's heart beat
faster. She held her breath, waiting still.
On the tactical
display, the scope pinpointed the Falcon. She forced herself to relax
and help Luke. She tried to find calm and reach out to him. He
accepted her help.
The droid pronounced the Falcon's doom.
Luke's barriers went up again, stronger than before. He put
all his energy into it. The tide of the Force washed against them but
the barriers held. The held on tighter. The Force tried to drag them
outwards, pulling on Luke's mind to let go. The barriers held but
Luke was weak, the energy draining. At last, like they always did,
the barriers began to fall
"No!" she heard herself
say, grabbing on tighter to the contact. But it didn't help, their
protection dissolved and the Force swelled around them. Luke
stretched out to space, found the Falcon.
"No!"
Suddenly,
his mind lit up, an idea forming. His hope was infectious; she fought
harder to stay with him.
What?
He didn't
explain, instead, he tried to avoid the Falcon. His mind
swerved towards it.
The ship was surrounded by small fighter
craft buzzing it. The shields were low. They were stuck in the centre
of a group of battle droids with Rogue Squadron.
Leia's
fingers dug into the arms of the chair as she fought to stay with
him.
---
Luke pushed away from the
contact of the Falcon, and towards the battle droids that surrounded
the ship. Last time he'd been on board, he'd been able to control
enteched circuits when they were close...
His mind brushed
Han, Leia's panic wrapped itself around him like cotton wool and he
fell towards the contact.
Realising what was happening, her
felt her fight for calm, trying to pull him back.
Luke minds
touched Han's, he struggled, pushing desperately away. The contact
wasn't strong enough for Han to realise what was happening yet, Luke
forced his mind away, achingly slow, and found one of the battle
droids. He channelled the energy of the contact into the droids
circuits.
It recognised him. Confused but obedient, it let him
in.
And like before he sent them a simple command:
move
away move away move away.
The ship moved with startling
speed, racing off in the opposite direction and crashing into it's
neighbour, both of them becoming engulfed in flames. Luke gasped as
her felt the fire burn him before the contact closed.
Leia's
elation threatened to weaken his concentration again but he clung on:
found the next droid.
move!
It shot away from
the field, colliding violently with a small cruiser.
move
move move...
One by one the ships collided.
---
"What the hell...?" Han asked, rubbing at a
slight headache in his temples. A minute ago they had been surrounded
by the battle droids, now the things were smashing into each other,
turning space into a burning mass of debree. Han fired into the crowd
of droids, had the satisfaction of seeing a few more
explode
"What...?"
---
Swh'hr'ring
worked the controls frantically. Skywalker was supposed to be
enteching the ships, instead the droids were blowing up.
Fr'h'tokh's angry voice sounded on the comm, "Swh'hr'ring,
what's happening?" he demanded.
"I don't know,
Elder!" he looked over at the Jedi woman, her eyes were closed
but she was smiling. Ecstatically.
"The droids are
blowing up! Stop the entechment!"
"Elder, we don't
know if it is Skywalker."
"Stop it now!"
"Yes,
Elder."
Leia could have cried with relief as the ships
began crashing into each other. The Falcon joined in, blowing
a few more away. They were still out numbered but if this continued-
Suddenly, the contact snapped. The sudden vacuum stung her
mind and Leia had the sick feeling of being dragged downwards. Her
stomach churned as she spiralled down. Panicking, she lost contact
with the Force. Her eyes flew open, she saw Luke do the same, biting
back a cry as the shock raced through his muscles. She held her
breath waiting for the blue energy to appear.
It never did.
Confused, she looked around, and suddenly understood. The
aliens had shut off the circuitry. They must have realised what was
happening. She looked over at the tactical display. More ships moved
in on the Falcon.
Han!
---
Han
didn't understand it, but he wasn't about to let it pass. He fired
back furiously as the ships collided. "Han...?" Wedge asked
in his ear
"Yeah, Wedge. Any idea what the hell's going
on out there?" he asked, blowing another of the ships to
expensive scrap.
"Corran thinks it might be Luke."
Wedge said, pausing to fire at another of the ships.
"Luke?
How?"
"I don't know." Corran put in, "But
it's definitely him, and Leia."
"Yeah, that'd
be right." he paused "They okay?"
Corran paused
for just a little too long "Yeah, their okay." he said
hesitantly.
"What does that mean-" he cut-off,
suddenly, staring suspiciously into space. The droids had stopped
colliding and were just sat still.
"Uh-oh." he
whispered. "I have a bad feeling about this."
More ships
appeared off in the distance, approaching fast. "Wedge, can you
get out?" He asked, searching for a way out for the
falcon.
"No. We're still trapped." he replied
tightly.
The new ships came in firing, the Falcon
rocked with turbolaser fire. Han tried to manoeuvre, but there wasn't
enough room, debris and ships cluttering space.
He looked over
at Chewie, "Any ideas?" he asked. One of the ships dived
straight for them. There was nowhere to go. Han held his breath. The
ship blew up in front of them, spraying debris and flak in a hail
across the cockpit screen. More of the little ships blew up around
them. Han grabbed the controls and sent the Falcon shooting
out of the wreckage.
A flame red craft joined him. "Solo?
Having a few problems?" the pilot asked.
"Not if you
keep showing up at just the right time, Jade." Han replied
gratefully. Laughter came across the comm as the ships climbed for
free space.
Chapter
Four: Faith in Your Friends is a Strength
"You got my message then?" Han said through her
comm. She reached over and flicked it on before answering,
"Yeah,
you're lucky we're here, Karrde wasn't going help." she said,
firing off a shot at a nearby droid.
"Then why are you
here? Did you use that infamous charm on him?" Han asked, with
only the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice.
She snorted
"Hardly. Ave's convinced him."
"Ahh. Well,
thanks anyway." Han said
"No problem. Let's
just say you owe me one." She said. Han looked out the cockpit
at the array of fighters Mara had brought with her, as well as a few
smaller cruisers. He whistled softly "How many of you are there
anyway?"
"Not that many, I'm afraid. All that Karrde
could throw together." she paused "So, what's the plan?"
she asked. Two groups of the small droids raced towards them, Mara
twisted her ship to the left, firing off a barrage of fire before
twisting away from the turbolasers and coming up behind them. Han
twisted the Falcon right, and joined her, blowing the ships up
before they had time to react.
"I'm open to suggestions."
Han said as the last one blew up and another group headed their way
"How long till Boraks' group arrives?" she
asked.
"Less than an hour, I'd say," he
answered. Chewie woofled softly, "or less."
"We
need to get onboard." she said, no question in her voice.
"Can
you sense Luke?" he asked, hoping she might be able to give a
better idea of where they were on the huge cruiser.
"Yes,
and Leia. She's fine, Luke isn't so good, but he's okay. And before
you ask, I can't pinpoint them exactly. They're near the
aft section, though." she said, her voice tight as she
concentrated.
"We can't just wander around the
ship. We need to know where they are." He said.
"I
know."
---
Leia held her breath as a new
group of fighters appeared and joined the battle, the Falcon
blasting away to safety. Luke looked over at her and smiled.
Mara
he said.
What was she doing here?
Can you contact
her? She thought/asked.
Luke seemed reluctant to try it,
but the entechment circuitry was off...he relaxed back into the
Force, he was weak, but he could just make the contact.
Mara?
Luke? Are you okay? She asked, concentrating on flying
at the same time.
Yes. Even he could hear the
lie.
We're going to try and get onboard, but we don't
know where you are. She said.
Luke hung suspended in the
bacta, trying to think of a way to help. He looked across at the
tactical screen. The battle droids were being destroyed, but not fast
enough. They wouldn't make it. Suddenly, a new sensor reading came in
from one of the droids, scrolling data across the screen...and just
as suddenly, Luke knew what to do,
Hang on; I've got
an idea. He said, breaking the contact. He stretched out to space
again, the turmoil rushing through the Force. Pilots and ssi-ruuvi
panicked thoughts ran through the Force, obscuring it. He found one
of the battle droids and channelled the Force into it...it should
still work, with the entechment circuitry off, it had when he'd
escaped over Sele4...
The droid recognised him and let him in.
Now, if they could send information to the cruiser, presumably, they
could download it to.
Hoping it would work, he tried to get
it to break into the main computer files.
It wasn't easy, the
sensation of controlling the machinery was odd. He'd never done
anything like it before, using the Force to control it. At last, the
contact was made. Hopefully, there would be so much traffic the
ssi-ruuk wouldn't notice the little droid downloading the schematics
of the ship...
The download was achingly slow, and Luke began
to fear they'd been found out. It completed and Luke moved to get the
droid to break the contact, the contact wouldn't break, instead, the
droid moved further into the controls, finding the simple systems.
Luke' s panic at not being able to break out dissolved as an idea hit
him. Searching he found the temperature controls and, just
fractionally, turned them up. The contact broke and the droid systems
returned to space.
Leia's questioning sense joined his own.
Finding the Falcon amongst the turmoil, he sent the
little droid a message to transmit to the ship before giving the
droid a final order;
Transmit...
---
The
Falcon's control board beeped.
"What...?" Han
asked looking over at the flashing light, suddenly suspicious. He
looked over at Chewie, who just shrugged. It was the private comm
channel; only a few people knew about it. Tentatively, he reached
over and flicked it on. Immediately, the system began download,
binary scrolling across the screen.
"Chewie, look at
this." Han said, staring in disbelief at the download. It was
the schematics of the cruiser. Chewie woofeld softly with
suspicion
"I don't know, wait a minute there's a message
tagged on the end. ' destroy the temperature controls. ' There's a
string of numbers on the end...AA- 589. What does that mean?" he
asked.
"Mara?" he said onto the comm.
"Yeah,
I'm here" she answered
"Any idea what AA-589 means?"
Han asked, still staring at the message. Two sections on the
schematic were highlighted now. One was up near the bridge, the other
was right in the middle of the ship, towards the aft.
"AA-589?
No....wait, isn't that Luke's x-wing registration?" she
asked.
"I don't know...hang on." he ran it through
the computer's files "Yep, that's it. Which means the message is
from Luke."
"Or from someone who wants us to think
it is Luke." Mara put in.
"How would he get a
message off anyway?" He agreed, waited for a reply, didn't get
one.
"Mara?" he asked again, looking worriedly over
at Chewie.
"Han, it is from Luke." She said, her
voice sounding distant.
"How do you know?" he asked,
already really knowing the answer.
"I just know."
Another of those Jedi things.
"What does
it say?" she asked.
"Hang on, I'll send it to
you." he said, keying the Falcon to transmit.
She
whistled softly "Where did he get that?" she asked.
"I
don't know, but if we're going to trust it, we should do it
soon. Why the temperature controls and not the system?" he
wondered out loud.
"Because he's already turned the
temperature up." Mara said, flatly.
"How do you
know- never mind. If we destroyed the system, they'd freeze."
Han pointed out.
"Yeah, except its kind of hard to
transmit heat into space. They'd take too long too freeze, even
for lizards. Heating them up is going to be much quicker."
"Point."
he did a quick scan of the area, "The cruisers drifting very
close to the planet." he said worriedly.
"It's
probably close enough to be in it's shadow." Mara
agreed.
"Hmmm"
"Your thinking.
Come on, what is it?"
"I don't know. Just an idea.
Let's take out those controls."
---
The
Falcon followed the Jade's Fire back into the thick of
battle, forcing their way through to the huge cruiser that was
skirting close to the upper atmosphere of the massive gas giant, well
in the planets shadow, the whole ship having a queer red shine from
the red gases.
"They're getting a bit close to the
atmosphere, aren't they?" Mara said into the comm, eyeing the
battle warily.
"I don't suppose the ssi-ruuk would choose
to go that low." Han put in. "Hopefully they're having
a few problems down there." he said stiffly,
"I
don't get anything from the sensors." Mara replied.
"Well,
it doesn't matter, just don't go too low." Han said, dropping
the Falcon close to the planet's gravity well. This close
to the gravity well, there would be no chance it jump back to
hyperspace if they needed to. But, then, Han had no intention of
taking his eyes of that ship, so it didn't matter.
The ships,
flanked by a group of Karrde's fighters, Z-95's for the most part,
tore through the battle, taking the glancing fire from the battle
droids whilst the Falcon and 'Fire made it through
unhindered.
"Keep it close to the hull, they won't
want to shoot at their own ship." Mara advised, bringing the
'Fire within a stones through of the ship, gunmetal grey hull
displaying a striking mosaic of red and orange from the planets
noxious atmosphere, streaking past blindingly fast.
She didn't
look at it, but concentrated on the area near the bridge, which the
schematics had highlighted. The Falcon followed her down,
flying close to her wing.
Mara set the photon torpedoes and
kept her eyes open for any suicidal battle droids. She reached out
through the Force, making the contact as strong as she dare whilst
flying this close to the hull.
Luke
She got a
faint reply: they weren't too late. Yet.
She cranked up the
acceleration and the ship pushed her back in her seat as it sped for
the far end of the cruiser.
---
The 'Fire
streaked across the hull in front of him as Han readied his own
torpedoes, setting the ship up for an automatic lock as soon as they
were in range. Turbolaser fire stretched out from the hulls surface,
but they were coming in far too fast to be caught them. Han thought
briefly of that first Death Star trench. Hopefully, this target would
be a little easier to hit.
The computer beeped frantically:
they had a lock. Han clenched his fingers around the controls, eyeing
Chewie warily. Chewie woofled softly as ahead of him the 'Fire
dropped suddenly, two sharp points of light blazing away from it
as Mara climbed hard for space to give Han a clear shot. His fingers
jabbed on the fire controls, two streaks sprinting from the Falcon.
He grasped the controls and pealed away fast, at the same time
watching for an explosion. Fire plumed out from the cruiser's hull,
grabbing out for the Falcon. Han held on and they shot through
the fireball before loosing the ship's hull altogether and joining
Mara.
---
"It's a hit!" Mara called over the comm,
sweeping the 'Fire around for a better look, the Falcon
shot from the explosion like a startled mynock, and looping over to
match her vector.
"Did we get it?" Han asked over
the comm. Mara hurriedly checked the sensors for a better look.
"I
think so." she replied. There was a gaping hole where the
temperature controls had been.
The Falcon suddenly
shot out from under her, heading back towards the cruiser.
"Solo!
Where are you going?" She called,
"I've got an
idea." Han's voice came back, the sound of his wookie co-pilot
strongly objecting coming over the receiver, too.
"What!"
she called over the confusion. The Falcon swept in low and
fired again, only this time on an area close to the last target, but
not the same place. The Falcon swept up and away again,
settling into place beside her as the explosion died,
"What
was all that about?" she asked, a little angry.
"When
we came in low I recognised some of the circuitry down there."
Han started to explain, "There is -was- an array down
there that I recognised from the old Star Destroyers-"
"Star
Destroyers? Wait a minute, what are ssi-ruuk doing with imperial
technology?" Mara put in, puzzled,
"I don't know,
maybe the Emperor's deal at Bakura went deeper than we thought. Or
Borak gave away more than we know about. It doesn't matter; the point
is that sensor array I just blew up is -was- the Sensor
Automatic Realignment Centre."
"So?" she asked,
still not getting it
"Think about it, we'll be crossing
the terminator in a few minutes...." Han left the thought
unfinished-
And suddenly, Mara got it. She inhaled sharply.
The SARC unit would normally counteract the effects of the sudden
light intensity increase when they crossed over, only now it was a
pile of twisted scrap metal. When they came around, all the sensors
would lock off.
The ssi-ruuk would be blind.
"You
planning on sneaking on board when the lights go out?" she
asked.
"Yeah, you got it." he replied, angling the
Falcon towards one of the closer docking ports that was near
to the second area highlighted on the blueprints.
"Wait a
minute- even with the sensors down you cant get in threw the docking
bay. That's suicide." She warned stiffly,
"Not the
docking bay; there's a small service bay next to it, see?" he
said. She brought up the schematics again, and there was indeed a
small hatch there. "The Falcon can use the landing claw
to grip onto the hull."
"The 'Fire doesn't
have one" Mara pointed out sourly,
"That's okay;
your not coming in anyway." Han said, she opened her mouth to
protest, but Han cut her off, "I need you out here, Borak's
group will arrive an minute, and someone has to slow them down."
Mara kept quite, complaints dying in the face of his logic,
"Okay,
but be careful." she said, checking the chrono "You've got
one minute." she said
"I'm ready." was the curt
reply.
---
Fr'h'tokh paced uneasily across the
bridge. It was getting uncomfortably hot in here, the heat of battle
hitting them all. And the humans were up to something. He could feel
it.
He walked over to the sensor controls and leaned to watch
the two small ships streak within a few meters of the ships' hull. He
didn't like it.
"Get more battle droids onto them."
he instructed the technician before wandering back to stare out the
view screen. Tendrils of noxious red gases reached across from the
huge gas giant they were skimming, the Slastare sun was blocked by
the huge bulk of the planet obscuring their view. Fr'h'tokh didn't
like being this close to the planet, but the ship should be able to
hold its ground here.
There was something else on his mind too:
Skywalker. He was tempted to order Swh'hr'ring to kill the Jedi: they
didn't need any more problems at the moment.
But...No.
A
lot of hard work had gone into the capture of Skywalker, and he was
not about to waste all that effort. It went against the Admiral's
orders that Skywalker should be terminated at the first sign of any
trouble, but so be it. If Swh'hr'ring couldn't get the entechment
circuitry back up again soon however...well that was different.
Suddenly a plume of fire rose forward of the ship, the bridge
crew jumped in surprise as the two ships shot into view.
"What
was that!?" Fr'h'tokh called to his sensor crew,
"Sir!
I don't know! They don't seem to have hit anything
important-"
"They're coming round for another pass."
Someone shouted. Fr'h'tokh braced himself for another hit. There was
a dull thud as the larger ship scored another hit and climbed to be
free of the volley of turbolaser shots that followed it.
"Report!"
he called over the confusion.
"Sir, they...they don't
seem to be hitting anything vital." the technician replied
nervously, trepidation in his voice.
Had the humans made a
mistake? He didn't think that likely.
Fr'h'tokh rushed over
to the station and took a look for himself: they were indeed minor
systems they had lost. It didn't make sense.
Suddenly, bright
white light flooded the bridge. The bridge crew whistled in terror as
the blinding light dazzled them. Fr'h'tokh threw up a claw to cover
his eyes from the glare. The light didn't cease.
"Turn
off the view screen!" he called over the panic. Several ssi-ruuk
lay on the floor, clutching at their heads. One crawled for the opps
console and smashed a claw down onto the controls. The sudden lack of
light was striking; Fr'h'tokh rubbed his eyes, working the spots out
of them as stars danced in front of him. When he opened them, the
view screen was grey like the rest of the walls. He pulled himself
shakily to his feet and lurched over to the sensor station. The tech
was on the floor still; Fr'h'tokh stepped over him and worked the
controls.
All the sensors were dead.
---
"Go!"
Mara called, needlessly: the Falcon was already dropping like
a stone towards the hull of the cruiser. Han held the acceleration as
long as he dare, then braked hard, wincing in expectation of a
collision. The Falcon stopped a few feet from the hull, and
Han lowered her gently but quickly on repulsors. There was a clank as
the two ships met momentarily. Chewie howled at him,
"Okay,
okay! I'm trying my best." he shouted through gritted teeth,
edging the Falcon a bit closer "Okay, lower the claw!"
he called back through the cockpit door.
There was a clank
and a thud, and the Falcon lurched suddenly to a stop, held firmly in
place on the cruisers hull. Han let out a breath he hadn't realised
he'd been holding and let go of the controls, allowing himself to
relax a little.
Chewie came in, woofling loudly. "Right."
Han said, pushing up from the seat and flicking off all the systems:
it wouldn't take the ssi-ruuk long to get the sensors back online. He
shut down everything but the pre-flight sequences, the lights in the
cockpit dulling. Han squeezed past Chewie and into the main hold. He
broke open the weapons locker, snatching his blaster and holster from
it, along with Leia's lightsaber. The small black translator that
Admiral Ackbar had given him stared up at him; on impulse he stuffed
it into a pocket and shut the locker. Chewie appeared with his
bowcaster. Han grinned, moving towards the hatch "Ready?"
he asked. Chewie howled affirmative and slapped the hatch control
button.
---
Luke's mind spun, every muscle
aching. He could feel Leia watching him with concern evident on her
face. His fingers were numb and his eyes stung and his body longed to
sleep.
Suddenly a questioning presence reached out to him.
Leia? No, it was Mara, her sense distracted. He didn't have
the energy to return the contact. His mind drifted towards
sleep...
Suddenly his eyes snapped open as alarms started across
the ship. He blinked them, trying to focus. Leia leaned forward in
her chair as the ssi-ruuk, still working on the far console, jumped
in surprise and dashed out the room.
"Luke?" she
called to him,
"Not me." he answered, shaking his
head faintly. Luke stretched out to the Force, free to use it now the
entechment circuitry was off,
and sensed a familiar
presence.
"Han?" Leia asked, her voice rising
hopefully,
"He's here." Luke nodded in agreement,
feeling a flicker of hope himself.
---
Han
hugged the walls, keeping close and hoping no stray ssi-ruuk would
walk into them. Chewie came up behind him, bowcaster held ready, and
Han could tell he was dying to use it. The sound of approaching feet
drifted down the corridor towards them and Han motioned them
backwards into the slight coverage of a small alcove, holding his
breath.
A group of smaller aliens rushed past, oblivious to
the intruders hiding just a few meters away. When the group had past,
Han waved them on, Chewie close on his heels. According to the
schematics, they were enroute for the entechment bay, though it was
above them, and they'd need to use one of the lifts. That would be
the most dangerous time, Han knew, getting on and off the lift
without being spotted-
Chewie howled softly into his
thoughts, Han turned and started to warn him about speaking, but the
comments died when he saw
Chewie pointing to the other side
of the corridor and an open hatch. Checking the corridor, Han
sprinted lightly over to the opening, hoping his luck would hold out
long enough for him to inspect it.
It did. No one approached
as Han slunk into an alcove near the opening. He leaned around the
edge and peered into the dark hatchway, knowing Chewie was standing
guard. The hatch opened into a spiralling stairway that wound up to
his left, and down to the right. A cool draft drifted through the
narrow tunnel. It was dimly lit by fading glow-lamps. Further down,
Han could see moving shadows against the walls, running rapidly up
and down the tunnel. But none were close enough to give them any
trouble.
Han grinned, realising it was a walkway, and turned
back to Chewie,
"Lets take the stairs." He
whispered, stepping closer to the hatch edge and poking his head
through to look up.
The level they wanted was another10 decks
up, but it was better than taking the lift. Easing a hand to the
other side of the hatch, then a leg, he clambered into the cramped
area and moved to let Chewie through. There was a low growling from
the hatch and Chewie's head appeared in the bright opening, grumbling
profusely.
Han stared at him sternly "Come on, furrball,
this way's much safer." He said, but with no real annoyance in
his voice, waving upwards with his blaster hand. Chewie moaned some
more, pointing at the hole and indicating that he definitely didn't
like the idea. Han spoke again, keeping his voice quite but letting
an edge of annoyance creep in "Come on, we've been in worse."
He said, and then grinned slyly "It could have been a garbage
shoot." Chewie snorted disgustedly but began to clamber in, his
massive bulk having problems with the small entry, Han held back a
laugh.
When the wookiee had finally bent his body through the
opening they began to move, Han taking the lead up the spiral ramp
and further into the dark.
---
Swh'hr'ring
burst through the bridge doors. Not waiting to be greeted, he rushed
down to the main area and up to Fr'h'tokh. Fr'h'tokh gave him a stern
look, then turned back to the sensor station,
"What's
going on?" the younger ssi-ruuk demanded, puffing a little from
his run up to the bridge.
Fr'h'tokh moved out the way of a
technician, who clambered underneath the console and began undoing
the casing,
"All the sensors went down when we hit the
terminator." The Elder explained, moving to the back of the
bridge away from the chaos that was the crew rushing to repair the
sensors.
"What?!" Swh'hr'ring asked incredulously.
"How is that possible?"
"We don't know yet,"
The Elder said, turning a beady gaze over the bridge "Maybe the
humans-"
"Sir!" a junior lieutenant
interrupted, running up to them. He didn't wait to be told to
continue "Sir, we've found the problem; the SARC is down."
"The
what?" Fr'h'tokh asked, not understanding.
"The
realignment system for the sensors." Swh'hr'ring said, moving
past his commander to a nearby console and bringing up a display of
the system. "It's one of the systems we got off the human
spy, much better than our own."
"Except this would
never have happened had we stuck to our own technology."
Fr'h'tokh growled, and the younger ssi-ruuk flinched: he had
recommended using the superior human systems.
"They must
have recognised it as a weakness." He said.
Fr'h'tokh
nodded in agreement "Can it be fixed?" He asked
"No,
but I can bypass it and realign it manually." Swh'hr'ring said,
already moving for a console.
"It won't take long."
he added after a look at the Elder's face,
"Make it
quick." Fr'h'tokh said, his voice tinged with anger.
---
Leia watched Luke trying -again- to find a weakness in
the circuitry behind him, fingers running over the equipment and
stretching out to the Force, trying to find anything they could use.
Han was here. He was onboard and he was coming for them.
She could feel his unmistakable presence just a few decks
down. And when he got here they needed to get out as quick as
possible.
"It won't budge." Luke said, his
voice disgusted, fingers yanking at the board and slipping free of
the grip. Han was getting closer now.
"Just hang on, he's
nearly here." She said. Luke nodded and stopped trying to break
the machinery, turning back to regard his sister with a warm
smile.
"What?" she asked, smiling despite herself.
They would be free. Soon, very soon, they'd all be free again.
She
didn't want to think beyond that yet: to how to defeat the ssi-rruk.
All that mattered was that Han would get them out of here and,
finally, she would have her family back whole again. And free.
"I
was just wondering what weird diversion Han used to get them out of
here." he said, raising his eyebrows.
The alarms had
stopped but there was a definite sense of panic onboard the ship.
Leia chuckled "Trust Han to come up with something
elaborate." she said.
Luke laughed in agreement, that
boyish smile spreading across his features.
---
Mara
was facing it when the advance task force arrived. Several small
assault vehicles and a large cruiser suddenly jumping into the fray,
guns already firing. The cruiser came last, protected by the smaller
attack boats skirting the hull. The fleet sprayed a fiery death onto
any ssi-ruuk ships caught by surprise, but despite the sudden
reprieve from battle, Mara had a bad feeling about this.
She
brought the Jade's Fire about as one of the assault boats
rocketed past turbolasers raking the surface of an attacking ssi-ruuk
gunboat. Mara headed for the arriving fleet, opening a channel to
both Han and Karrde's fleets.
"This is the Jade's
Fire." she said, "Watch out for those reinforcements.
As yet, we don't know whose side they're on, so don't go getting
complacent."
"They look like they're on our
side. They're certainly not on the ssi-ruuk side. Common enemies
makes common allies, surely?" One of the few remaining Slastare
pilots said
"Don't count on it." She growled,
changing channels to try and contact Borak. She had to work to get
through, but her status as assault group commander' finally made it.
"Commander." Borak's sarcastic voice cut across her
comm. Mara grimaced. "Am I to assume by your title that General
Solo is no more? I see no sign of his ship." There was almost a
measure of delight in his voice as he said it, too.
"Sorry
to disappoint you, councillor." Mara said, making sure her own
voice held plenty of smug pleasure "General Solo is very much
alive. " -I hope-
"Then where is his ship?" the
councillor asked, suddenly suspicious, the contempt gone from his
voice.
"If you scan a way aft of the centre of that large
cruiser I'm sure you'll find it." She said, rolling the ship
over suddenly as one of the battle droids came in blazing. She waited
for Borak to scan as told, firing at the pursuer. There was a sharp
intake of breath and Mara knew they had spotted the Falcon
perched on the ships' hull.
"They should not have
boarded." Borak growled.
"They boarded to get your
Chief of State back, I would hope that would be a course of action
you would approve of." she replied, dispatching the droid
buzzing her.
"We were ordered not to board." Borak
said
"You were ordered, Borak. We came to help."
"You
may be a smuggler, Jade, but that does not place you beyond the law."
Mara noted the distaste in his voice at the word 'smuggler'.
Biting back a vicious comment, she said instead "And neither is
your brother, I believe. " the remark must have stung, because
the rail of insults that came across her speakers was very colourful.
"And I thought bureaucrats were supposed work within
polite society." she murmured.
"This makes no
difference." Borak said "We must take out that central
cruiser if we're to have any chance here." Already Mara could
see droves of a-wings and y-wings diving for the huge ship.
"Borak,
you can't do that. General Solo-"
"Councillor
Borak, to you Jade. And General Solo knew the risks, if her wants
to die alongside his family, so be it." Borak snapped.
"You
can't attack that ship-"
"Watch me."
"-
we won't allow it." Mara all but shouted over Borak.
"Really."
came the cool reply "You would attack a New Republic Defence
Group? My, my, but you pirates really have lost any shred of decency
you once possessed, haven't you?" Mara gritted her
teeth.
"Whereas you and your brother never possessed
any." She spat.
"Don't play word games with me,
Jade, you won't win." There was a pompous confidence in his
voice.
"I don't intend to play any games here, Borak.
This is war, and if you pick the wrong side, you'll have to
pay."
Borak Laughed "This childish banter is getting
us nowhere," suddenly his tone was deadly serious "You
fight this war your way, and we'll win it our way."
"Admit
it, Borak. This is just a vengeance mission. Pride and-" the
click of the comm told her she'd pushed him too far. She sat in the
relative silence of the cockpit and fumed.
Of all the
arrogant, stupid, self-centred-
No, there was not time for
this. Flicking the comm onto the secure line to Solo, she watched
Borak's cruiser swing around for a direct pass over the huge
ssi-ruuvi ship.
"Mara?" Han's voice came across the
comm.
"Solo, our friend's just gate-crashed and you've
got incoming."
"Damnit," he swore, "Okay,
see if you can keep buy us a few more minutes, we're nearly
there."
"Got it. Good luck" she replied,
flicking off the comm and sending the Jade's Fire back into
the thick of it.
"Got it," the younger alien declared,
moving away from the board and hovering a hand over the controls.
Ceremoniously, he put the sensors back on line. The grey screen
flickered and blasted with static, before finally coalescing into a
view of space, showing the ferocity of the battle being fought just
beyond the hull.
"Well done." the Elder
congratulated his technician and moved forward. The sleek red ship
that had fired on them earlier moved across the screen, blasting
another droid to tiny pieces, flying without her wingman. Where was
the larger freighter that had accompanied it-
Suddenly, it hit
him. The sensors were a diversion.
Swh'hr'ring saw the stony
expression spread across his Elder's face.
"What is
it?" he wondered out-loud.
Suddenly, Fr'h'tokh was all
action "Secure the bridge!" he called out to his crew. They
stared back up at him in surprise. But only for a moment, the
expression on his face motivating them to movement
"Bring
up the stun traps." He said, moving quickly to the back of the
bridge.
"What is it?" Swh'hr'ring asked again,
rushing to keep up with the others sudden manic movements.
The
Elder turned and looked at him, saying slowly and quietly so no one
else could hear
"We have an intruder."~
---
Luke looked up suddenly, catching the sudden change in
the alien's emotions, and the importance of the change blossomed in
his mind; they knew.
No, that wasn't right. He would have
shook his head if the world was still spinning; not all of them knew,
only the two in charge. Still, he knew it made little difference how
many of them knew. The fact still remained: they knew. He knew it
would only be a matter of time, so the bitter taste of defeat wasn't
quite as soar as he might have expected. It was still there,
however.
"What?" Leia asked, her voice trembling
slightly.
"They know." Luke explained, tensing
slightly as he felt, through the implant, the ship buckle up,
defence's springing into place. The implant was irreversibly linked
to the life-energies powering the ship and their sudden activity
struck up a kin-ship in the implant. He knew he should be more
careful of thinking of the thing as living, but to think of being a
part of himself was too repulsive.
Suddenly there was a loud
thump from the blast doors, they both turned to stare at it.
Leia's
eyes lit up. "Han." she breathed, barely audible.
The
blast doors began their characterstic slow ascent. Luke stared at the
door,
"Han!" she called through it. Chewie came
barrelling in first, bowcaster ready as always. He stopped suddenly,
looking around, perplexed at the emptiness of the bay. Han followed
soon after, nearly bowling the wookiee over in his haste.
"Its
okay, its clear." Luke said. Han started at the familiar voice,
breaking him out of his momentary reverie at the laboratory. He
turned in Luke's direction and Luke braced himself for Han's
reaction. He wasn't disappointed; Han froze when he saw the
bacta.
"Luke?" He said, almost as if he wasn't
certain he was right and could trust his own eyes. He started
involuntarily towards the tank but changed direction when Leia called
his name again, a grin beginning to spread across his face.
"Leia."
he said, enveloping her in a hug and holding onto her tightly like he
was never willing to let go again. Chewie grumbled beside
him.
"Right." Han said, pulling away reluctantly.
"We probably haven't got long." he started to pull at the
restraints around Leia's hands.
"You've got less than
that," she said, "they know your here." Han looked up
at her in surprise
"Already?" she nodded.
"Okay,
hang on- damn it! What are these things made of!" he growled.
"Han, the lightsaber." Leia said, looking pointedly
at her saber hanging off his belt.
"Right," he said,
again, pulling it of his belt a little clumsily, and flicking the
switch uncertainly. The bright blue blade sprang to life in his
hands,
"Mind your hands." He warned, slicing the
blade across the metal. The restraints fell, split open, to the floor
and Leia rubbed gratefully at her wrists.
"Come on."
She said, heaving her body out of the padded chair and moving for the
tank. Han was right behind her; Chewie already studying the
controls.
"What the hell is this anyway?" he asked,
surveying the complex machinery behind it with mixture between
disgust and awe. He didn't get an answer from either of them, and
when he saw the glance that passed between brother and sister, he
decided not to ask again.
---
Fr'h'tokh's
anger was intense but hidden behind a mask of confidence. On the
outside, he worked with the sensor stations, trying to track down how
they had got in. Whilst on the inside he fumed. Intruders! Here!
It should never - Never - have been allowed and someone should
pay- would pay.
But not now. Now was not the time to get
caught up in emotions; now was the time to track down these intruders
who thought they could wander his ship in impotence, and to get rid
of them.
Logically, there was only one reason they were here,
and, therefore, only one place they would be going.
"Is
the entechment bay sealed yet?" he asked Swh'hr'ring, who was
working frantically beside him,
"Not yet, sir. We need
to send a command code, but the circuits still won't send."
the technician said, not hiding his fear nearly as well as the elder
managed.
Fr'h'tokh considered for a moment- should they wait
until the circuits were up again, or would that be too late? None of
them wanted to die away from consecrated ground, but this went beyond
such fears. Making a fast decision, he called to his chief of
security.
"I want a group of guards -not p'w'ecks-
outside this door in one minute." he turned back to Swh'hr'ring,
standing beside him.
"We're going to go after them
ourselves." he said, voice lowered. Swh'hr'ring almost
physically paled at that, but his resolve stood, and he just nodded
agreement.
---
Han hit the console in obvious
frustration.
"Damn it! How the hell do you shut this
thing down?" he growled at the computer. Was he trying to stare
it into submission? Chewie growled in agreement with Han's
assessment of the truly alien nature of the equipment: they'd never
seen anything like it before, and there was no way they were going to
open it. Though the tank was obviously salvaged from a NR medical
centre, that was where the connections with republic technology
ended. Leia watched them anxiously.
"Come on, they could
be here any minute!" she said, anxiety breaking as she resisted
the urge to shove him out the way and have a go herself. She had
watched the aliens work the banks of controls, but of course they'd
never had reason to open it up so she had no idea how to even
start.
"I know, I know." Han called from the far
side of the room, having pealed back the side of one of the huge
consoles and trying to get at the power source. When the elegant
routes didn't work it was time to go back to basics.
"We
don't have time for this." She said again, fists curling into
balls and fingernails digging welts into her palms. She looked over
at her brother, whose eyes were closed, whether out of concentration
or weariness she wasn't sure. As her gaze settled on him and a
plethora of emotions spread in quick succession across her, his eyes
snapped open as if stung.
"Leia, you have to go."
Luke insisted again, as he had for the past 5 minutes. He had a
penchant for over-earnestness, but even his expression now surpassed
even his usual intensity.
"No." she said, sternly
ignoring his pleading looks, "You think we came this far to give
up now? We're not going without you."
"Don't be
stupid Leia. Just go." He insisted, sober regret creeping into
his voice and mocking the boyish outline of his features.
"We
can't leave you." She whispered, a little too harshly. It
wasn't the defeatist talk that bothered her, but rather the fact
that she might be beginning to see the logic in it.
"I'm
not asking you to leave me. There is a way. You know that.
You-"
"No." She cut him off, fear and
assertiveness raising her voice, "Don't ask me to do that Luke."
She said, quieter. In reply Luke looked down pointedly at the small
read kill-switch.
"Leia" he started.
"No"
she said, crossing her arms in front of her "We're not out of
ideas yet." Which was, of course, not true.
The sound of
another descriptive Corellian curse came from across the room, and
Leia turned to ask Han how much longer. She swivelled back when she
caught the sudden shift in Luke's emotions, feeling like an icy
dagger edging slowly into her heart. Despair was something none of
them could afford to allow purchase in their minds.
"What
is it?" she asked, seeing him staring of blankly into space, his
eyes totally lacking in emotion.
She didn't need an answer as
her own danger-sense flared up.
"Han!" she called,
running for the far side of the room swiftly but also with a measure
of concern for stealth.
"Leia, you have to leave. Now."
Luke called after her.
"Han, they're coming." She
said, when she reached him. From inside the gutted panel, Han's head
reappeared, looking desperately around for a way out. With a snap
decision, he grabbed her hand
"In here." he said
calling Chewie over too. Chewie reached them and Han shoved him into
the open computer panel, ignoring the wookiee's protests at the
cramped space. Leia pushed Han in too, and then climbed in herself,
reaching for the panel and bending it back to bear at least some
resemblance to an intact console. As she did so she caught the
concerned look on Luke's face, and understood it well. For she, too,
knew what would happen if they were caught, but she wasn't about to
abandon him. A thin sliver of light reached the inside of their
console, which, fortunately, reached back much further than she would
have guessed for its size, and she could just about see out and into
the bay.
---
Luke tensed in anticipation of
the approaching aliens. They were angry, very angry, and they would
be a whole lot angrier when they got here and discovered Leia gone.
Through his slightly distorted view of the world, Luke glanced at the
console that just hid them. He feel his sister practically
broadcasting her fear.
They should have left! They could have
been long gone by now.
The blast doors on the far side began
their sluggish rise, and Luke pushed down the urge to hold her breath
as a guard of ssi-ruuk came springing through the entrance. They did
an adequate job of covering the two ssi-ruuk as they entered more
cautiously. These two were definitely the two Luke was used to
seeing. He fought down his own fears, more inspired by Leia's
feelings than any concern for his own safety, and remained calm as
they stalked towards them. One of them -the smaller one- whistled in
surprise as Leia's vacant chair came into view. He braced himself as
the larger one swivelled back towards him, fire behind its eyes.
In
a sharper voice than normal, it called out a snapped command and the
golden protocol droid hustled into the room from behind the ssi-ruuvi
guard. Luke still could push down the retching feeling he got every
time he saw this particular droid. The large blue alien, its ire
obvious, snapped something to the other one, which moved hesitantly
towards the console, hand resting shakily over the small red button.
Well, it looked like they were going to do Leia's job for him. The
golden droid approached, and translated as the blue ssi-ruuk drew
itself up to an imposing height.
"Where are they?"
Somehow, though, it lacked the menace that was intended in
the question. Luke considered for a moment telling them they had left
a long time ago, but doubted it would be good enough to satisfy the
hunger for blood in the aliens obsidian eyes. The alien, either not
adept at reading human emotions or too far into the throws of anger
to care, took his pause to be insolence. Baring predator's
teeth, it scowled and looked pointedly at his technician.
"Not
here." Luke said, for lack of anything better.
"Jedi
Skywalker, I do not offer threat mildly." The other warned. Its
voice husky, though the droid gain failed to convey the menace.
"I
don't know". Luke answered again, trying not to look at the
smaller ssi-ruuk nervously holding its hand ready for the given
order.
He could feel Leia's anxiety like a tightly coiled spring,
ready to rush forwards; only Han's strong grip holding her back.
"I
should kill you." The alien grinned slyly as if in it's
mind it already tasted his blood, "But I don't believe they've
left the ship yet." he turned to the technician and, making sure
the droid translated said, "Technician Swh'hr'ring, restart the
entechment circuitry." It said each word deliberately slow and
meaningful; though there would have been no mistaking it's
intent.
Luke's stomach roiled "No." he whispered,
unable to keep the sentiment quite.
The ssi-ruuk heard him,
"Yes, I hope you can save us a lot of trouble tracking them
down." the entechment circuitry sprang to life
around him,
the whine increasing audibly around the room in a drone that was
sickeningly familiar now.
"No." Luke said again
louder this time and with as much conviction as he could
muster.
"It's too late. You could have told us where
they were, but chose not to." The ssi-ruuk said, and then
grinned slyly again, "Ah, but at least you have the satisfaction
of being able to say a final good bye as you kill them."
Luke
choked off a retort and sank deeper into the tank, knowing what was
coming as the blue energy sprang across the circuits in a web of
deadly energy. In his mind he saw Han hold back the squirming Leia,
either not knowing what was about to happen, or knowing running out
of hiding now would only get them killed all the sooner
Falling back on old, inadequate tactics, Luke blocked any of
his own use of the Force, fighting for control. He was too weak from
continual enteching throughout the battle and he knew even if he
wasn't, with Han and Leia so closer there could be no stopping
it. His eyes closed in concentration; he told himself it was for
concentration anyway, though it may have had more to do with his
unwillingness to meet Leia's startled gaze through the crack in
the console. He waited for the tug to come.
---
Leia
was frantic, knowing what was about to happen, seeing her own fear
mirrored on Luke's face. Han held her back from moving forwards
though, his strong grip firm around her shoulders. She turned round
to face him,
"Han, if we don't go now then-"
"We
wouldn't get a foot before being cut down." He whispered harshly
into her ear, silently reminding her of the need to keep quite, the
noise of the machinery barely masking their voices.
"Better
that than..." she trailed of feeling sickness well up with her
own terror. Suddenly, blue light sprang across the boards behind Luke
and the circuitry was ready.
---
Luke braced
his hands against the side of the tank, mentally and physically
steeling himself. He didn't know why but the feeling of physical
control of his environment somehow felt like it help in his mental
security.
Time stretched into a blurred mess of images from
his own and Leia's mind, and the wait seemed to last forever.
But, inevitably, it
happened.
With uncontrollable force
born of his won mind, Luke's sense was flooded in a cacophony of
images presented to him by the Force, his mind reaching out along the
many routes it presented to him, seeking one in particular. He pulled
back, but it was all so much futile gesture, and he knew it even
before he started to do. The analogy that sprang to mind was of
trying to slow and x-wing with his teeth, and it didn't take his mind
long to overcome him. Luke found himself yet again in the position of
spectator.
Except, this time Luke was so close to the
targets....
Tired but determined, Luke channelled all the
energy he had left into one final gamble, feeling it drain out of his
muscles, out of every cell, until he took himself to the point of
unconsciousness Dazed and with spots appearing before his eyes,
though never allowed close enough to the brink f unconsciousness that
he could sink happily into its cool depths, he forced his mind to
focus, only the discipline from years of Jedi training allowing it.
With one, decisive blow he forced the contact away from his family.
It wasn't much, a bit like trying to kick a Rancor, but it was
enough. His mind flailed as the machine retook control and caught
onto a presence. The wrong presence.
One of the ssi-ruuk
guards whistled suddenly in surprise, its shrieks grating the air.
Luke couldn't have broken the contact even if he'd wanted to as the
Force suffocated the terrified alien mind, quenching any resistance
with ease, choking the alien's cries as the presence ripped from
the body.
Peripherally, Luke saw Swh'hr'ring dive for the
boards as the ssi-rruk realised what was happening, but Luke didn't
have time to think about that as the aliens mind surged towards him.
Not for the first time he felt like he was stood at the bottom of a
long tunnel, watching the screeching terror-filled presence descend
towards him. And then their two minds collided, overwhelming his
senses.
Luke, already drained, never had a hope in resisting
as the aliens body slumped to the floor, devoid of the very thing
that made it alive. He was ready for the tearing of the circuitry
when, suddenly, around him, the energy disappeared.
He felt
the crush of the alien's mind, still working against him and
writhing, screaming at him. Nothing happened; no pull, no blue
tendrils, nothing. Then he understood as his eyes flew open in reflex
and saw Swh'hr'ring standing by the console, the lights off. They had
shut it off, trapping the presence in his body.
"Return
him." a voice boomed in his ears. Luke fought to keep his mind
as it began to crumble under the pressures, his arms and legs
flailing against the sides of the tank trying to get any hand on
reality. He could hear his voice screaming but was barely aware that
it was his own, and wasn't entirely sure the downed ssi-ruuk
didn't add it's own voice to his scream. Desperately he
pushed the other presence away from him, weakened mind still trying
to gain a grip. Without the pull of the implant, the two minds
separated, pushing the alien sense away.
Luke didn't have the
strength to even begin to get the presence back to the body; his mind
was shutting down, darkness falling. He gasped for breath and felt
Leia's presence well up to help him stay conscious as the alien
presence dissipated into the Force.
Luke seemed to hang like
that for a long time before the alien spoke again,
"Return
it!" he shouted this time. But it was far, far to late for the
alien, already long dead.
"He's dead." Luke managed
with a scratched voice, his nerves screaming at even that use of his
muscles.
A deadly quite descended on the room, and Luke sank
back against the tank, mind reeling.
---
Han
stared out into the room in shock at what he had just witnessed, no
words possible.
Leia's eyes were closed as a croaky Luke
spoke at last.
"He's dead." was the faint reply. The
alien's froze as Luke sank back against the tank side. Suddenly,
they moved to a corner, talking quietly. Leia's eyes opened again and
she took a deep, shivering breath before looking up at Han.
"What
happened?" Han managed, but she didn't reply, still trying to
get her own breath back. Han dug into his pocket and found the small
black translator Ackbar had given them and in the darkness managed to
flick the display on. Leia turned to him at last, not recognising the
object in the dark.
"What is it?" she asked, her
voice sounding no better than Luke's had.
"Shush."
he whispered and waited for the display to coalesce into something
readable. It gave of a faint green glow that lit their faces in a
ghastly green colour. At last, it got into gear and words started to
scroll across the screen, though there was an obvious
time-delay.
'They couldn't have gotten of the ship yet,
we'd have known, they must still be onboard somewhere....'
'can't risk
it happening again. If he can control it, he must be killed.'
Elder, I don't want-'
'It has to be done, Swh'hr'ring,
now, please.'
"No." she breathed, trembling.
Suddenly,
she knew she was out of time.
Reaching down, she yanked the
lightsaber from her belt and dived for the entrance as Luke's eyes
snapped open at her sudden movement. The console side yielded under
her decisive thrust sat it and she sprawled through the opening on
onto the sterilised floor.
"No!" she cried,
adrenaline working her past any fear she might have had left and
propelling her forwards. Han shouted after her, grabbing at her, but
missing as Leia flew from their hiding place, brown hair flying out
behind her in a wave of fury.
Leia bolted through the opening
and into the open bay, clambering to her feet and pushing up off the
floor in one smooth movement. The aliens, too slow to shoot her down
and probably chilled by her cry, didn't manage to keep up with
her: the surprise attack stunning them.
Awareness flooded
into her like sunshine after a storm, and suddenly it was like she
was moving with two perceptions, freed from the restriction hers own
body placed on her.
And Luke was there, helping her, rushing
her forwards with all the strength he had left. Helping her, guiding
her as she dodged the aliens and sprinted for the alien moving for
the kill-switch. The contact was sudden and startling strong, Luke's
sense bolstering her own with a clarity should could never have
imagined.
She reached the console in a hurry, lightsaber
flashing angrily, she cut of the fore-claw off the small brown alien.
It screamed in startled pain, not really comprehending what was
happening to it as she altered grip on the saber. She ignored it's
terror-filled cries. As Luke's awareness joined hers fully she
suddenly she was moving with finesse and power she could only dream
of; with the power of a Jedi Master.
An alien came in behind
her. Leia hadn't even sensed it, but her body nimbly rotated and
ducked at the same time, coming up behind its beam and sweeping off
the claw that held it, before neatly changing direction and slicing
the guard in half. She jumped suddenly, leaping high above the beam
of a paddle beamer and twisting to come right in front of the
would-be assailant and killing it with a quick thrust through the
chest, her hands moving with practised ease as the lightsaber buzzed
angrily.
Her fighting was fluid, moving from enemy to enemy
as Luke guided her.
Behind you came the call and she
swung hard round and up, cracking open the helm of another ssi-ruuk.
Now Han was moving too- had she been fighting for such a
short time?- bursting from concealment to blast one of the aliens
into the far wall with a thud that continued to resound through her
consciousness.
Giving up on their beamers, the ssi-ruuk
produced blasters and a missed hit showing her they were set on the
highest setting. Luke's
contact started to flicker: he was weaker
than she realised and couldn't keep it up much longer. No time to
think: another alien moved in from the right, blaster firing. She
blocked it easily and moved closer to it, ready to kill.
Luke's
mind was slipping fast; she fumbled to cut of its arm as it dived
down on top of her. She rolled to the side, the impact knocking the
wind out of her and her arms trembled with fatigue, her muscles not
used to this. Intent on killing the alien that had knocked her down,
she barely heard Luke's warning call.
Leia! He shouted,
but she kept on at this one, as it dodged her saber and came at her,
anger flaring in its eyes.
The first one.
What?
The alien kept coming. She lunged for it but missed.
Leia!
Finally, she struck the big blue alien
and it collapsed, falling across her knees.
Leia! She
twisted, trying to find the danger, and, to her horror, saw the alien
that had gone for the switch crawling for the button. She struggled
with the alien body laying across her, realising her intent on
killing it had cost her her concentration on the whole fight.
The
alien clawed for the board.
Desperately, she cocked the saber
over her shoulder and flung it at the alien, twirling blade
travelling with deadly precision as Luke tried to help her again.
It struck the alien across the head. But too late. The
alien's last act was to slam its hand down hard on the small,
inconspicuous red button.
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 fingers dug around the breathing mask pulling
hard at its edges in a desperation that belied the trembling in his
muscles, but nothing happened. He dug in deeper, ripping at it, as
the dioxins flooded through and into his body. His muscles tired of
the fight, his body 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.
---
Han was already
moving, seeing Leia's error. The lightsaber cut towards the alien but
it was going to be to late. The alien hit the button and Leia
screamed as Luke flailed in the tank, hands trying to rip the mask
free. The urgency of the situation wasn't lost on Han: he dodged
the blaster of one of the big aliens, knowing he had to move quick
even as Luke sagged in the tank, not moving.
He dived for the
fallen lightsaber, turned it into a tuck roll and, snatching it up
off the floor in a smooth movement, continued rolling to his feet,
never slowing. With a flick of his finger, the blue blade appeared,
buzzing as he ran for the tank. Stopping just momentarily to get a
firm grip on the saber with both hands, he held the blade low and
brought it back over his shoulder before it swept across the front of
the tank, the blade tugging against the thick transparisteel walls.
There was tremendous crack, but it didn't break. Painfully
aware Luke was not moving and hung as if in death, Han reversed his
momentum and sent the blade across in the opposite direction,
sweeping downwards. Fine lines raced away from the cuts, spreading
fast away from where he struck, and, suddenly, the tank burst.
Shards of transparisteel bit at him but he kept on cutting
the tank, trying to fight his way through as the bacta poured forth
over him, sticky and cloyey as it surged out of the tank. The bacta
spread across the floor; the tank emptied up to the jagged edge the
splintering of the tank had left. Bacta dripped slowly from the
machinery and Luke's still body.
Han stepped nearer and,
in one smooth motion, cut the lines leading from the tank's
breathing apparatus and entechment circuitry to Luke. Arms trembling
from sudden fatigue and dread, he let the saber fall to the ground
and moved for Luke, realising he would fall onto the sharp edges.
Leia got there first, diving under his arms and falling onto her
knees, holding the limp body of Luke above the shattered edges of the
glass. She was plastered in the sticky liquid and her arms shook as
she held the body of her brother above the sharp edges.
Han
stepped in, taking the weight off her and cradling the Jedi as he
lifted him from the tank and away from the bacta.
Luke's face
was a ghastly pale and his lips were blue. A lump in his throat, Han
set him down gently onto the bacta-covered floor in front of the
tank. Leia was there with him as Han moved to check for a pulse, and
didn't get one. She rocked back on her heal, eyes closed. Alarms were
ringing across the ship, Han looked up anxiously, saw Chewie moving
towards them, having finished off the remaining ssi-ruuk. He held a
hand over Luke's mouth: he wasn't breathing. Not waiting any longer,
he placed both hands across Luke's chest-
Leia's arm snaked
out and grabbed his arm.
"Wait." she said, eyes open
again "He's still alive, he's in a very deep healing
trance."
Relief flooded into Han's emotions as he
realised what she was saying.
"I'm going to try and
reach him." he voice became distant, eyes close again as she
cradled Luke's hand in her own.
"Leia wait-" but she
was already gone.
---
Leia took Luke's
hand gently into her own, shutting out Han's concern as she searched
for him, knowing inside that he wasn't dead, couldn't be dead. She
held onto him as she sank towards the Force, reaching out to the cool
of her brother's mind, hoping to feel even a slight echo in the
darkness.
She sighed, feeling desperate, groping in the dark
and not being able to find him. She opened her eyes again, her hand
still holding onto Luke's own, now chill and lifeless.
"Leia."
Han's words broke through to her and she lifted her head up, feeling
ancient.
"I can't find him." She admitted.
Chewie woofled softly: a warning they shouldn't be staying around
here. Leia shifted on the sticky bacta-covered floor, shards of
plastisteel cutting into her knees.
She stared down into
Luke's face, deathly pallor covering his features. Han reached
over to her and wrapped his arms around her, ignoring Chewie's
warning. He put his head next to her and whispered softly.
"Leia,
you can." His words were firm, leaving no room for argument, and
Leia was shocked by the resolution in them.
"Help me."
she said softly, drifting back again and feeling Han holding her up,
helping her the only way he knew how, his determination infectious.
Again, she felt the cold of Luke's mind, but she didn't stop
looking. He had to be here somewhere, she knew it.
This time,
images coalesced in front of her, random pictures moving too fast for
her to see, she held on firmly through the ride, her mind recoiling
from the barrage of information. She shook, but Han held her firm.
Suddenly, the images disappeared and Leia squinted in bright, sudden
sunlight. Instinctively she threw her hand up, and realised at that
moment that she was here, that this was where she would find
him.
The dream like world shivered as she looked around,
stunned by the intricate detail. Flat sand stretched for miles,
broken only by the edge of enormous dunes in the distance. The ground
was sandy but littered but bleached rocks in places and a heat-haze
rose from the roasting ground. She turned away from the spectacular
scenery before her that stretched for miles all around, and saw a
small, bleached dwelling rising up from the ground as if sprouted
from it, walls weathered and beaten by decades of sun and sand
working together to bring down the small residence.
She
approached slowly, twin suns glaring in her eyes. Her virtual
footsteps were as shaky as her mind felt in his foreign environment.
Foreign, but somehow familiar.
Reaching a sudden dip in the
ground, she stared over the edge. The dwelling went further down
here, a courtyard arrangement that sprawled in a rough circle with
plants and stairways leading back out again. Realising suddenly where
they were, Leia just stared at the homestead. A noise to her left
turned her attention from the Lar's home, and she looked over, seeing
the silhouette of a small boy sat on the edge of the ridge, back to
the sun, kicking at the fine sand and watching it curl slowly to the
courtyard below.
Leia stared at the small figure, who sat staring
resolutely downwards, and approached him slowly. She walked towards
him, heart skipping as he looked up, achingly blonde hair flying into
disarray as he jumped in sudden alarm at her appearance, white
clothes stained by the sand. He backed away from her, obviously
scared by her sudden appearence.
"Go away. You can't
be here." he said, voice trembling.
"Luke, wait."
she said uncertainly, the husky, honey tones of her voice in sharp
contrast to the child's high timbre.
His eyes widened when
she said his name, and he backed away hurriedly, throwing up sand
into the air as he skidded backwards. She stepped towards him and he
backed further. She stopped and held out her hand to the child-Luke.
"You have to leave." His stare was intense and filled
with child courage. Leia smiled, recognising the features of the man
she knew on the boy's face.
"Please." she said,
holding out her hand again. "I just want to talk."
Luke
looked around uncertainly, clear blues eyes still frightened but
curious too. She took a step closer and he held his ground staring up
at her. Gingerly she took his hand in her own. Again, the world
trembled, she looked around but the boy ignored it, gripping on
tightly to her and whispering, "You shouldn't be here."
She sat down on the ground and looked over the courtyard.
Hesitantly, Luke sat down next to her and stared forward, brow
crumpled as he thought hard. Leia recognised it as one of Anakin's
expressions and she smiled.
"Come back with me." she
said, kicking now at the sand.
"Can't." he said
bluntly.
"Why not?" she asked. She expected an
answer about having to stay home. A child's answer. Instead Luke
faltered and his hands
curled into fists.
"They're
still there." he said, voice trembling with emotion. She looked
down at the small figure beside her.
"No, they're not."
she said. The boy looked up, crystal blue eyes focusing on
her.
"Really?" he asked, pleading.
"Really."
She said. He looked away again.
"Can't," He
repeated.
"Trust me." She said. The world blurred
around her, shivering. She grabbed for the ground, shocked at the
sudden change.
Luke shot up from his place and ran from her. Leia
tried to gain her feet whilst shouting for him to stop. The tremors
stopped and she leapt upwards, chasing and catching him easily. He
wouldn't look at her, tears streaming down his cheeks, shaking
slightly and holding back the sobs. She gripped him by both shoulders
and turned him to face her, dropping to one knee and staring up at
him. Eyes rimmed with tears, he wiped them on the sleeve of his
jacket.
"Luke, what is it?" she asked "Why cant
you trust me?" her own voice breaking slightly. He tried to turn
from her but she held him firm.
"Not just you." he
said, staring up at the sky and sighing slightly. "I cant-"
he broke off.
Leia understood then and she drew him to her,
enveloping him in a hug. Hesitant at first, but then certain he
wrapped his arms around her and cried.
Leia's heart ached for
him, understanding at last what he was so afraid of, what only the
child in him would acknowledge.
Throughout his life, Luke had
laid his trust in people, had devoted himself to them, and they had
let him down. She felt Luke draw back from her as images sprang
through her mind. Ben Kenobi, his mentor, had lied and used him. His
foster parents had kept his father a secret from him, and if they'd
had their way, he would never have known, always living in quite
animosity on this scorched planet. Even more recently Akanah had
given him the false hope of their mother, and then snatched it back.
And now, Leia realised, her too. He had trusted her on Cassrine, and
she hadn't come. The boy pulled back from her.
"No."
He said "Not you." She wiped tears from her own eyes and
nodded. Standing back up she held out her hand again "Come with
me." she said, again.
Cautiously, the small boy reached
for her hand. She grasped it and the world collapsed around them.
---
Leia blinked, the sudden loss of light blinding,
she rubbed at her eyes, trying to focus them. Soft twilight shades
wrapped the landscape in cool blue shadows.
The air was
chill; the twin suns already set beyond the distant horizon. The
landscape was strikingly similar: long flat plains surrounded by deep
dunes. A few meters away from her, though, a small tower-like
structure rose up from the sky. Crudely designed and tapering to
upwards, Leia recognised the basic design, realising it was a
moisture evaporator. Beside it, a lone figure stood, staring up into
the sky with a pair of macro-binoculars. An old droid worked
alongside, its lights illuminating the area as it whirred to itself.
Leia approached the figure and stood beside him, staring
upwards.
"What is it?" she asked, seeing lights
flash across the deep indigo sky. Luke turned away from the
binoculars and looked at her.
"The beginning," he
said, "or maybe the end."
He leaned back against
the vaporator and handed her the binoculars. She took them from
him and he watched as she stared through them to the battle raging
above them.
"The Tantive IV." she said slowly,
lowering the binoculars. "Why here, Luke?" she asked. He
shrugged, staring back up into the sky.
This was the breach
between his life and his destiny, she knew. Maybe this was where he
was most comfortable, most safe. Before the galaxy moved in and
forced him to fight.
She knew how that felt, but she didn't
regret what had happened. She didn't think Luke did either. Maybe
this was a just a poignant reminder of how things should have been.
She sat down beside the vaporator, the sand already cold. Luke
sat down beside her.
"I should have stayed here." He
said.
"On Tatooine?" she looked at him
curiously.
"No. Here, at home. Then none of this would
have happened." A flash of light shot out from the two ships
high above the planet; the escape pod leaving the crippled rebel
cruiser. Leia was silent for a moment, watching it streak away.
"You
don't mean it." She said at last. He put a hand through his
hair, blonde even in this light. Another reminder of how much things
had changed.
"You can't mean it."
"Really?"
he asked, his tone taking on the seriousness she was used to from the
man she knew rather than the boy she'd known.
"All of
that," she lifted a hand towards the two ships "All of that
would have been in vain. Threepio and Artoo would be dismantled. Han
would still be running from Jabba, or worse. The Empire would still
be around, Vader and the Emperor still in charge. The rebellion would
be dead, I would be dead. Mara would still be-"
"I
know." Luke interrupted her "But how many would be
alive?"
He was silent then, the sincere expression
somehow not fitting on his young face.
"How many died on
that first Death Star? How many innocents just doing their job?"
His voice became more animated, "How many hotshot pilots from
backwater worlds like this who just wanted a little adventure?"
he said scornfully.
"I don't know." Leia answered
honestly.
"Or how many died when the Empire collapsed?
How many under the Emperor depended on the Empire for work? And Black
Sun? How many died when we blew up their headquarters on
Coruscant?"
"I don't know, but it was war. People
die. Good people, people who had no part in the fighting, honest
people trying to just get along." She replied, shifting to stare
sternly into her brother's eyes, "But millions more would be
dying right now," She stabbed her fingers to the cool sand "if
you had just 'stayed home'. "
"And the
ssi-ruuk-"
Leia cut him off "Same thing." she
said "If you're going to go blaming yourself, you might as well
just curl up now and crawl into a hole, but you know something?"
she asked, her voice as stern as her expression "We both know
you would never do that and would never forgive yourself if you did."
She continued to stare at him before standing up again and offering
her hand. He looked at it, his brow furrowing in concentration. In
the sky, the blazing meteor grew.
"Come on, Luke. Let me
help you." she said softly.
"It hurts." he said
roughly, not looking at her.
"Let me help you. We can do
this." She said, emphasising every word.
He looked up
into her eyes, pleading for her to mean it. At last he reached out
and took her hand in his own. As his fingers clasped around her hand,
he rose from the ground to stand next to her, features shifting
slightly to the man she knew. He nodded "Thank you." he
said.
---
Leia rocked back against him. Han
still held onto her, her looked nervously at Chewie. The wookie just
glanced back towards the door. Leia's eyes flickered slightly and
with a shivered breath, she was back. Han released his grip on her
and she pushed away from him to lean over Luke. She griped Luke's
hand, her knuckles white with the pressure. Gently, she let her grip
on Luke's hand fall. Han moved next to her as she stared at Luke,
eyes distant.
"Come on." She whispered, looking
back at Han. He looked down at her questionably, but didn't say
anything.
Luke shivered, eyes flickering open for a moment. He
breathed a first, shaky breath and colour flooded back to has cheeks.
She took his hand again, and he squeezed tightly, breathing shallow
and rasping. She reached out and gently brushed the back of her hand
against his cheek. His eyes flew open at the touch and he started to
move away from her. She held on to him, pulling him back as easily as
if he were a child.
"Welcome back." she smiled. She
saw the realisation on his face and he relaxed,
Han stepped
in, eyebrows raised, his deep voice breaking the tension
"Jedi."
he said, mock-amazed. He grinned and then his voice took on a more
serious tone "You okay?" he asked, reached deep into his
pocket and fishing out an exotic array of medical equipment.
Luke
nodded but didn't answer. Han frowned at him.
"Here,"
he said, reaching over and placing one of the patches onto Luke's
neck. Luke relaxed visibly, the pain suppressor working immediately.
"Come on, we have to get out of here." Han said as he bent
down and gently lifted Luke into his arms.
"It's
okay, I can walk." Luke managed, his voice still weak. Leia
stood up beside him, retrieving her lightsaber from the floor.
Han
stared down at him, incredulous "Careful, you just came back
from the dead, don't push it too far." he only half joked,
Luke looked like he was about to object "Seriously, if we run
into any ssi-ruuk, they'll probably be gunning for you, not us."
He turned back to Leia
"Ready?" he asked.
"Ready"
she said. Han strode towards the door, Leia close on his heels.
"All
clear?" he asked Chewie. The wookiee woofled softly.
"Good,
lets get going."
---
Borak was making
some good hits, but the big cruiser wasn't going down without a
fight. Small black fighters swarmed around them, most of the
republic's fighters were gone, their shields no match for the
battle droids. And Borak's cruiser was having its own problems; the
shield were down to less than 30% and from all sides plumes of fire
could be seen. Even if the ship did survive this fight, it was
doubtful it we ever manage to limp back to Coruscant. Mara bit her
lip as another x-wing exploded in front of her, colliding with one of
the fighters and spraying flak across her screen.
"Borak,
this is madness," she called into the comm. There was no reply,
just like there'd been no reply for the last twenty minutes. He was
determined to get revenge any way he could. From the side of the
ship, a huge explosion burst out into space. But the ship was so big
it made little difference.
"Borak!" she called,
frustrated with the ex-imperial' s attitude. "Call them off."
another assault boat went up in flames, the cries of its pilots
shutting off suddenly as it was engulfed in flame.
"Jade,
we have been through this." The slightly flustered voice of the
commander came through, surprising her.
"Borak, you're
killing them." Mara said.
"There is no other way."
He said, voice tight.
"No- no other way to get your
revenge, but there are better ways of fighting this-" she cut
off suddenly, her danger sense flaring. She looked around her, hands
tensing on the controls.
"Jade?" Borak called over
the comm. She glanced at her sensors but they didn't tell her
anything.
"Borak-" she began again, but stopped
suddenly, her eye caught by a limping ssi-ruuk gunboat far to her
aft. Fire bled from its engines, leaving a trail of streamers as it
hobbled slowly forwards. Mara stared at it, quiet fears growing.
Suddenly, the ship lurched foward, sprinting, its course taking it on
a straight, unwavering path to the Republic cruiser.
"Borak!
You've got a gunboat-" she started to call.
"We see
it." he called back. Turbolaser fire sprang from the cruiser,
fire splashing harmlessly of suddenly reinforced shields. The small
ship didn't even flinch, storming on determidly for the
cruiser's bridge.
Mara's comm erupted into chaos, the cries of
desperate orders drowned out by the gravel-tones of Borak, ordering
them to fire the thrusters. The ship began a lumbering turn, trying
to escape. The small gunboat shifted course to follow it. The last
barrage of fire erupted form the turbolasers. Across her comm the
noise increased before the small ship ploughed into the bridge.
Mara
closed her eyes as the fire light up the sky, the cries of the bridge
crew calling across the comm as the oxygen ignited a massive fireball
rushed through. She reached over and flicked of the comm, but already
the screams had turned to the ominous buzz of static. When she opened
her eyes again the ship was burning, a huge chunk of the front
charred and open to space, sparking. The ship was still turning from
the crew's last manoeuvre. Mara stared at it, the breath going out of
her as she hurriedly reached for the sensors, hoping she was seeing
things. She wasn't.
In horror, she watched the cruiser,
out of control and without a bridge crew, lurch slowly onto its side
and start an unstoppable plummet towards the ssi-ruuvi ship.
Onwards
to Episode 7
She scowled. "You
shouldn't be up." she said, replacing the blaster back into
its holster..
Her scowl faded as Luke grinned. "I
wouldn't be, if I'd have known you were going to shoot me."
He said stepping into the light where the coloured lights threw a
dazzling halo over his head. She smiled as her stepped
forward,
"Teach you to go sneaking around other peoples
ships, " she said, but there was only humour in her voice.
"Seriously, though, you shouldn't be up." she gestured
to the seat beside as she said it, though. "Your sister would
kill me." Luke's grin widened.
"I'm fine..." He
said sitting down- a little too heavily- and suddenly trailing off.
Mara looked at him curiously.
"Sure." she said. He
sighed and stared out beyond the cockpit screen, is face set in
stone.
"It's gone you know," she offered,
recognising that he was fine physically, though not mentally.
"Oh"
he said. Tone neutral, turning back to stare forwards and leaning
back into the pilots seat.
She sighed, realising she wasn't
going to do any good trying to reassure him.
"How far
out are we?" he said at last.
She glanced down at the
chrono and was mildly surprised to see they were over 11 hours out
from Slastare. "Only a few minutes left." she said, trying
not to look flustered.
Luke nodded, not noticing. He leant
back again quietly. Strangely, the silence didn't seem to hang
between them, instead they both sat in quiet thought.
"Does
it hurt??" she asked at length.
"What?" this
time he did turn to look at her.
"The..." she
couldn't bring herself to say the word 'implant'. His face
creased when he realised what she was asking.
"Oh."
He said "No. Not really. There are some pain suppression tricks
I know."
"Useful." She said "You'll
have to teach me them someday." She turned fiery green eyes on
him "How about mentally?"
She braced herself for him
to close off to her, to run back inside himself. Instead he stared at
her, eyes going distant. He swallowed hard before answering.
"Probably not as much as it should." he said,
straining to keep his voice.
"Look, Luke-" she
started
"Don't Mara, " he interrupted her
"Just.... just don't"
She bit back a comment
about refusing help, knowing she would just be the same in his
position. He folded his arms across his stomach, not so much a
defensive gesture as a lonely one.
"I won't," she
promised. "But just remember where I am"
He paused
"I will."