"How long till were in-system?"
Leia's voice interrupted Han's wandering thoughts. He
brought his feet of the Falcon's front board and pushed
around to face her.
"About an hour." He answered,
watching her closely as she moved into the co-pilots seat and double
checked her husband's assessment. She nodded "Were going in
very slowly." She said.
"That, sweetheart, is
because of that large fleet hanging out there scowling in our
direction." He pointed out.
"They must have noticed
us by now" Leia said, pushing loose hair away from her face as
she leaned over the sensors. "Why haven't they done
anything?"
Han grunted in laughter "Probably because
we're no threat to them. They won't bother us as long as we
don't bother them."
"So we just sidle on in
there? Wait until they bother to notice us and swat us down." It
wasn't hard to hear the disapproval of his plan in her
voice.
He shook his head "It won't get that far. I'd
expected the fleet to already be here. Whatever's keeping them,
I could have just slipped behind that moon." He pointed to the
slowly turning orb several thousand kilometres of to their right "But
that would have been marginally more suspicious to them than us
crawling in. With any luck we'll look like a limping freighter,
or and old freighter with a bad sensor package."
She
laughed, "The Falcon certainly acts the part." she
said.
Han scowled, but he knew she didn't really mean it.
Not really.
"Whatever." He said, just a little
testily. "This way is safest." He pushed off any lingering
embarrassment, "Where's Luke?" Han asked, as if
suddenly noting his absence
"I left him sleeping."
Leia said, her voice slightly troubled.
Han tried not to sound
too worried with his next question, as he turned to face her. "You
think it'll work?" he asked. As he looked Leia stared out
of the Cockpit, the harsh lighting in the small room accenting her
features with a ghastly stark light. "I don't know."
She said quietly, then stronger."But then, I guess that's
what last-ditch attempts are like. They're last ditch."
Han nodded "You've been around me too much."
He commented.
"They've been saying that for
years."
Suddenly the comm lit up and Mara's voice
flooded the cockpit. "Solo?"
"Right here Mara."
Han answered, leaning to the pickup, "What is it."
"I
was just wondering if the fact that you're just gently cruising
towards the planet could be because you can't see the rather
large fleet massing there. Because otherwise, I'd have to
classify you as more than marginally insane." The droll humour
in her voice cushioned the tension they could hear in it.
Leia's
laughter filled the cockpit as Han itched uncomfortably in his seat.
Leia peered out past her husbands shoulder, trying to spot the sleek
shadow streaked with red that would represent the Jade's Fire.
"Feel free to go a bit faster if you want, but I think
we'll wait for the new Republic fleet to back us up." Han
said, thick sarcasm tainting his words.
"Thanks, but I
think that would be giving them an unfair advantage." Mara's
humour was as dry as Han's. Leia stared out at the deep black,
mentally gauging the difference between them and the ssi-ruuk.
"I
hope that fleet turns up soon." She said.
---
The
silence that hung in front of the two small ships seemed impossibly
endless. But even in its vastness, the tension was almost palpable, a
living thing that writhed, waiting for the agony to descend on it
like an avenging angel. It quivered, shook, and the tension brook
into a blast of fragmented light that burst in waves through the dead
plains. The explosion writhed and died and from it's midst
shadows appeared, dark shadows against the intensity. They grew and
smothered the explosion, vast figures stretching out with clasping
fingers to grab the night. The fleet had arrived.
---
Leia whispered in awe as gradually the Republic fleet
dropped from hyperspace and the slew to almost as slow a crawl as the
Falcon was travelling.
"Well, you called it."
Han said from beside her, his breath whispering soft against her
cheek.
"I guess I did." She said. In front of them
the huge capital ships, magnificent in more than just their size,
performed graceful turns as more ships exited hyperspace. Fighters
dropped from the bays, filling space with swarms of small deadly
ships, blacker than even the deep sky against the distant suns glare.
Corvettes, gun ships and cruisers at least 50 times the size of the
Falcon winked into existence, gun-ports bristling with equally
nervous gunners on the end of them. The sky was full, ships clambered
for distance and vantage space, and the Falcon lead the front.
Han weaved it's way through the maelstrom of blinking hull lights and
sleek, tarnished hulls, finding space barely large enough for the
Falcon to fit through. Mara, maybe acting out of pride, choose
to find her own path through and wove expertly through the mêlée,
whisking out of sight. Leia, though she had seen the arrival of far
too many fleets in her past, found her eyes drawn to the elegant
danger represented in the hundreds of ships, each travelling in
excess of hundreds of miles an hour, swirling speechless. The quite
whisper of the cockpit door resounded in deep echoes across the
cockpit and she tore her eyes from the vista.
Luke stood
silhouetted in the doorway. His stance showed no weariness and his
face betrayed none of the quite apprehension Leia could feel in him.
She didn't reach out and offer solace. She knew that the moment
she did, his barriers would be up and there would be no way in.
Because Luke's way of handling what had happened was no
different to the way she would have. He would contemplate, regrets
and guilt flooding him, and then he would put it aside. Because he
knew, like she knew, that what happened here depended on what he did.
That would be nothing new to him, though, as it would be for her. But
to act in the grip of such strong negative emotion was a bad idea,
even if he didn't have the Force. No. That was wrong. Emotions
were not as easily defined as good and bad, negative and positive.
Not even when it came to the Force. But guilt would lead to anger,
and anger was of the darkside. Not just that, but allowing your mind
to be plagued by emotions ripped apart any concentration you could
manage to throw together. And Luke, like her, knew that.
He
stepped forward into the light and placed an arm on the corner of the
seat he usually sat in.
"We've arrived, then."
He said, and though the tone of his voice was casual, the tone of his
emotions was not.
"A few minutes ago." Han said,
not taking his eyes off the screen and continuing the little dance
they had going on outside.
"You should have woken
me."
"We would have done, but the journey in wasn't
very interesting." Leia said, the words punctuated with Han's
laughter.
"She wanted a quick date with a ssi-ruuvi
cruiser." He said and Leia caught the laughter on Luke's lips
too. "A bit too much of the Skywalker in her." Han
continued and Luke did laugh this time.
"Well, I'm not
too keen to get any closer. It looks like a big fleet." He said,
the lights of the cockpit throwing an aura across his hair.
"It's
bigger." Han answered, as the Falcon broke free of the
tangle of fighters to take the point of the force. "Our fleet
might be big but theirs swamps it."
"Great. That
Mara?" he asked, pointing past Leia's shoulder to a sleek
ship that arrowed ahead of them.
"That's her."
He said, a grumble entering his tone.
Luke looked questionably
at Leia and she laughed now. "A little unofficial race."
She explained, "Which we lost, it seems."
---
The fleet advanced, the ssi-ruuk swinging into an
offensive position, welcoming them with open gun ports. Admiral
Ackbar sat in the command chair of the newly christened Starlight,
the Mon Calamari cruiser that was to serve as the home ship. Ackbar
had tentatively identified the Millennium Falcon as it swooped
past to lead the group, and also the Jade's 'Fire, though
why the Princess still had smugglers tagging along he didn't
guess. The Starlight was cruising forward at a relatively slow
pace, allowing all sensors to scrounge as much information as they
could about the fleet facing them. And valuable information it was.
For all the conflicts involving the ssi-ruuk, very little useful
information had made it out intact. And that which they were getting
now would likely be hardly enough, but Ackbar knew better than to
rush into battle madly. A slow approach not only allowed a full
sensor sweep, but also gave the enemy plenty of time to get more than
a little scared. Though in this case, the later wasn't likely.
Even if the ssi-ruuk were susceptible to strong emotions, which they
weren't, the fleet vastly out powered even this; the New
Republic's largest. Delaying also gave the backup fleet more
chance to arrive on time.
"Sir," the tactical
officer spoke up from his station "all squadrons report
ready."
"Good. Tell them to hold position until I
give the signal." Ackbar turned away from the man towards the
comm station.
"Selphie, I want a tight patch to the
Falcon, get it as secure as you can." Ackbar ordered, his
gravely voice echoing across the bridge as the mon calamari officers
hustled to their ready positions.
"Got it, sir."
Selphie answered with a curt nod at her commanding officer. Her dark
hair swept tight into a knot behind her head that emphasised her
petite features.
"Thank you." He moved over the
pickup built into the chair. "Solo, this is the Starlight,
do you copy?"
The pickup crackled slightly before
resolving into the voice of Han Solo. "We're here, Admiral.
Looks like you brought a few extra to the party." The usual
flippant tone was there, though laced with just an edge more concern
than was usually evident in his voice.
"Let's hope
it is enough." The Admiral worked to keep the gravity out of his
voice, but knew he had been only partially successful.
"Hope
is the beginning of everything worthwhile, Admiral." The
Princess spoke up through the Comm.
"That it is."
He replied.
"Ten minutes to intercept." The tactical
officer called out as the front screen switched to the tactical view
of the coming battle. Without the muddled perspective and confusion
of physically being amongst those ships, the display showed the true
comparison of the fleets.
The bridge was crewed by men and women
too experienced to show fear but the expressions on their faces said
enough.
"Is Jedi Skywalker with you?" Ackbar asked
into the pickup.
"I'm here, Admiral." The
Jedi's voice filtered into the room, rich silk tones betraying
none of the tension Ackbar was himself pushing aside.
"The
Princess sent a message concerning her plans for the battle."
Ackbar said, tone neutral.
"You have reservations?"
The Jedi's own voice, though in the same tone, almost commanded
an answer. Ackbar swallowed hard.
"The tactics
areunorthodox to say the least."
"I know, but
we're not going to win this battle by numbers."
"I
agree, however trusting our fate to a flimsy hope
was what the rebellion was all about." Skywalker finished for
him. "At worst we'll only get ourselves killed, we won't
interfere with your battles."
"I hardly see that as
a positive. You are carrying the Chief of State about that ship."
The Admiral worked not to sound disapproving.
"Perhaps
she should transfer across"
"The Chief of
State is going nowhere." Leia covered her husband and brother's
replies before they even started. "I'm staying here,
Admiral, where I can be the most useful." The Admiral felt a
wave of annoyance as he glanced out at the seemingly tiny Millennium
Falcon sweeping through the ranks. But he knew he would never win
this battle.
"Very well, but be careful. This is a grave
enough day for the New Republic as it stands."
"We
will, Admiral." Her smoky tones replied solemnly.
---
"Five minutes to intercept." A crewer called
out across the bridge.
Admiral Sh'rtokh was careful to show
no emotion as he stared out at the space in front of them. Space that
was rapidly filling with literally thousands of ships crawling with
deadly purpose towards the Calisaire and then waiting
ssi-ruuvi fleet. Waiting, whilst Sh'rtokh would have wanted to
attack. But, the elite standing next to him had ordered a
standstill. The brooding presence was overbearing in the small bridge
space. He stood very still; the only whisper of movement was his eyes
as they studied the tactical display with meticulous detail. Sh'rtokh
stood silently by his side, refusing to let his feet shuffle or his
mind wander. The elite had a similar effect on the Calisaire's
crew. Where Sh'rtokh would have expected tension in the ranks,
there was only quite concentration.
"They are within
firing range." The same crewer called, though there was no hint
of tension or eagerness in his voice.
"Wait for them."
---
The slow journey in was nearly over. The crawl in had
been maddening, and Han was itching to get into the battle. Leia and
Luke standing next to him were more sober. Luke especially. He stood
with his hand gripping hard onto the soft back of his chair, his mind
obviously working furiously. Han broke the solid silence.
"Two
minutes. You two better get up in the gun-ports." He
said.
"Han, I can't do this if I don't have the
controls." Luke said, moving closer. Han felt a frown creasing
his forehead as he realised what Luke was saying.
"Wait a
minute-" he said, hands coming up in a defensive posture "Wait
just one minute. Nobody takes the Falcon into battle but me."
He pointed a finger into his chest and scowled some more.
Luke laughed and shook his head as Leia chuckled.
"What?"
Han demanded, his brow furrowing deeper.
Luke planted his
hands on his hips and adopted a scowl of his own. Then, in a perfect
imitation Han's dusty tones, he said "I take orders from
just one person." he made an exaggerate point at his chest "Me."
Leia choked down her hysterics.
"Very funny," Han
said, annoyed despite himself "You should do voice-overs or
something."
"If the niche for Jedi ever runs
out..."
"Your still not getting behind the
controls."
"Han"Leia said, sobering as
best she could, "This won't work unless he's
flying."
Han shuffled in his seat, knowing the battle was
already lost. But his pride hadn't realised that yet. He turned
to face Luke.
"Look it's not that I don't trust your
flying- I do- but the is the Falcon. My ship." His
words died on his lips. "I must be mad" he grumbled,
easing slowly and painfully out of his seat. "But no fancy
tricks like Dathomir" he said, staring Luke hard in the
eye.
Luke deflected the look easily. "Sure." He
said, but there was no promise in his voice.
"Good."
Han said, getting the unnerving feeling he was being done. He turned
to Leia. "Top or bottom?" he asked.
Leia was about
to answer but Luke interrupted "Actually, I could use her up
here." He said.
Han looked at him incredulously as Chewie
rumbled his problem with being thrown out of the co-pilot's
seat.
"First me, now Chewie?!"
"No
offence to Chewie." Luke hurried to say as the wookiee started
the grumble, "But Leia is attuned to the Force. For this kind of
thing, she'd be better."
"Fine." Han said
curtly. He shook his head as Chewie started to protest. "Top or
bottom?" he asked his partner. The wookiee subsided his moans
and harked. "Bottom it is." Han turned to leave as Luke
slipped into the pilots seat, then turned on the doorjamb "And
Luke?"
Luke looked up as Leia slid past him into the
oversized co-pilot's chair.
"Take care of her."
---
Han smiled lopsidedly then vanished from view. Luke
threw a belated smile in his direction before turning back to the
boards in front of him. It had been a long time since he'd
piloted the Falcon.
"I think he's a bit
peeved." Leia commented from beside him as she brushed away
stray brown wisps of hair from her eyes.
"Well, he
wasn't there when we piloted out of Coruscant." Luke said,
a boyish grin touching his lips.
"You mean after we took
down Black Sun? I was down in the gun-well." She said.
"Same
thing." He shrugged easily and she grinned.
"You're
going to enjoy this." She said.
"A Jedi does not
lust revenge." He said, unemotionally.
"Sure. But
blowing up a few lizards won't hurt much." She laughed and
Luke shrugged again.
"Maybe." He turned to look out
the cockpit, hands poised over the controls. Maybe. But this was war.
And people died, good people, people who had nothing to do with any
of this. And, though he knew he couldn't deny the guilt and
anger he felt, he knew he couldn't let it possess him.
Because
he'd been here before, so many times. As soon as you began to
enjoy what you were doing you were no better than your enemies; it
was to become that which you fought against, you'd end up
fighting yourself, and he couldn't afford to let that happen.
The ships in front of them hung in space, waiting. Waiting to kill or
be killed. Just like they were. Leia looked at him curiously.
"You
okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He said,
and knew that it was the truth. He was fine. Even if they died here,
he was fine.
Han's voice filled the cockpit and called
Leia's attention away. "We're ready, guns are hot."
He said, obviously charged for battle. Leia hit the intra-ship comm
and called back as Luke gripped the controls, hit the rudder and
twisted the Falcon sharply on the left of her belly. He gave
the braking thrusters on the portside a gentle squeeze and cut
thrust, turning the ship sharp to the right and making it a dive as
he kicked the power back. There was a shout from the comm and Han
called through.
"Hey! Take it easy!" He
called.
Leia laughed as Luke answered, "Just getting used
to the controls."
---
"Engage."
The elite spoke from beside Sh'rtokh waking him out of the
self-induced haze that settled upon him as his mind spun their own
tactical webs. Sh'rtokh took a moment to register the elite's
words before he realised the order to attack had been given. Snapping
quickly back into his position as fleet commander he called out to
the ships waiting the order to be relayed.
"All groups,
you have go." He said, glancing briefly at the deep shrouded
figure beside him. "Groups 5 through 11 take the point and snap
through to the capital ships. Focus on the largest as best you can,
but not exclusively. Watch for ion cannon fire and keep it close to
the hulls. Groups 12 through 14, keep those fighters off 5 to 11. All
others, keep close to the fleet with the battle droids and fend of
any attacks on the Calisaire and the rest. He got responses
and cut the comm turning to the forward view screen and watching the
fighters break free and dive for the enemies' ships.
From
beside him the elite spoke, charcoal tones soft in the tense
air "You choose offensive." He stated, sounding like a
question he had wondered at had been answered.
"We are
the larger force." Sh'rtokh said through a dry throat.
"Then
why not let them throw themselves at us and be squashed?" The
elite never moved but dark cloak he held around him seemed to
grow.
"Because that is what their commanding officer
would have expected." He managed though the words sounded choked
in his own ears.
"Hmmm" the ssi-ruuk beside
him turned to look at him. "You have much to learn of the
humans."
---
Luke shunted power to the
right drive and flicked the Falcon sharply over as one of the
sleek fighters came rushing in. It slid beneath their belly and
Chewie howled a battle call as turbolaser fire raked it. Chewie hit
aft of the engines, punching through the stabilizers and sending the
craft careening dead through space.
Luke had the freighter
banked starboard and scrapped another craft, Hans cries to take
it easy' punctuated with the ricocheting of fire across the
smaller ships as it exploded and shook the Falcon.
Luke's
hands flew across the controls, using instinct and the Force to guide
them as he acted as pilot and co-pilot and, on the occasions when Han
and Chewie missed, he was gunner too as he took control of the
forward guns. He was aware of Leia sat beside him, doing what she
could to help as she tried to keep up with his manoeuvres. He had his
eyes half closed as he relied on the Force more. They were just
flying for all they were worth, trying to avoid the deadly wave of
droids that had descended enmass.
In front of them, an x-wing
shattered under the fire from the combined power of one of the
jet-black droids and the sleeker, faster fighters. Luke flicked the
guns onto the fighter as it burst through the burning corpse of the
ship and blew out a sharp burst of fire at the fighter as it swung
around to target the Falcon. The first burst pierced the
weapons relay, melting and liquefying it, the return fire dying
before it was even loosed. The next shot took out the main engine,
striking with pinpoint accuracy the assembly that held the small
fusion reactor. The fireball raced across the small ship, engulfing
it as the shell fell away from them.
"Nice shot."
Han called across the comm as Luke twisted the Falcon again,
shifting the rudder back and forth to weave tightly between the
dogfights.
"Luke?" Leia said from beside him, her
voice laced with concentration and just a little awe.
"I'm
listening." He said, sparing her the concentration to turn and
look "What is it?"
"Over there." She
pointed. He followed her finger to see a group of a-wings struggling
under the assault of an army of battle droids.
"You
ready?" she asked.
Luke forced a swallow and nodded. "Now
for it." He said.
The Falcon leapt forward for the
fight, scything and weaving her way through the crossfire. He pitched
her suddenly, nose-diving down as one of the small droids shot fire
through the space the Falcon had previously occupied. Luke
twisted the ship to port, gritting his teeth as he leaned
unconsciously into the turn as the droid moved to follow them. Fire
lanced out but the Falcon duck below it, twisting again,
starboard this time and rocking on her axis to avoid the fire. Han
nailed the little ship as it swung fast over her bow, piercing it and
ripping it apart to form a brief fireball in the sky. Luke eased the
freighter back on her path to the fight between the a-wings and the
faster, smaller droids. He reached out for the Force, if this didn't
work - but no. If this didn't work then the Falcon and
all the other ships Ackbar had pulled together would likely not make
it back to Coruscant. As it was, even if it did work, many of them
never would. If the alien implant in his head, the small grey metal
contacts, could repeat on these droids what they had on the others,
then they had at least a fighting chance.
And that was all he
asked for.
The a-wings grew through the cockpit forward
screen, clouds of debris marking those that had been too slow against
the sleek black fighters; laser fire working to increase that number.
"Concentrate." He heard Leia whisper from beside
him, but he already was. He stretched out to the Force, feeling the
flood of energy surging around him. He pushed his awareness out
beyond himself, the ebb and flow brushing against his mind as the
Force swelled up around him.
Around him, and around the
implant.
It was almost like it was a palpable, living thing.
It seemed to react to the contact, energy surging along the tiny
pathways that marked it's existence. He knew, in retrospect, that the
implant was nothing more than man-made neural circuits shifting to
integrate with his own, but the thing almost possessed malevolence in
his minds eye. He pushed back misgivings to the recesses of his mind
and stretched deeper to the Force. The objects around him appeared in
hazy perception, barely discernable from each other. He felt the
Falcon, it's body and passengers working under equal stress.
The controls flowed underneath him: he didn't need to look; he
knew what to press, where to spin, dive and duck. Beyond was space in
all it's churning confusion as ships and droids ripped through it.
Kill or be killed.
He focussed finely on the a-wings
and their shape became almost distinct in his vision. The pilots mind
clambered at his senses. The concentration, fear and determination
stung at him through the space that separated them from the Falcon.
Droids swarmed over them, like insects gradually and meticulously
picking them off. He concentrated on them and they became clear in
his mind.
It was almost as if the implant found a kindred spirit,
circuits he hadn't noticed and could never have found sprung to
life, spontaneously creating and deleting their own neural nets to
align with the fighter droids own circuits. He forced himself to
concentrate back on the droids; felt the contact grow stronger and
firm.
The Falcon was skirting the battle; droids
intent on the a-wings seemed to notice her and dive for her. He knew
Han was calling out to pull back, could feel in the Force as Leia
clung to the arms of the co-pilots chairs, not daring to move her
eyes from the viewport, not daring to move the controls as the Falcon
skirted the droids.
Luke reached deeper for the droids
circuits, not to seek to twist and deform them. He knew, with the
contact the implant gave him and the Force, he could reach out to
each and break the circuits. But he had a simpler, faster option in
his mind. He formed a picture in his mind, not the simple view gained
purely from the one sense, but a woven tapestry of perception from
all 5, an intricate vision, delicate in it's complexity, strong by
it's standing. He felt the parts slip easily together. The view
of life, of freedom, of the final honours he could give the frail
life energies that still resided in the droids metal casing.
When
he was happy with it's completeness- when the Falcon was close
enough to stare through the black sensor eyes of the droids, he sent
it, a whisper of hope along the Force gateway the implant had opened
for him.
He breathed deep, feeling small beads of sweat
trickle on his forehead and fighting through a queer dizziness to
switch back to the normal perception. He gripped harder on the
controls, waiting. If this didn't work-
The droids
stopped, quivering in space as Luke forced the last of his dizziness
away. As one, the droids swooped free from their formation, moving
independently of each other and with an elegance that didn't
befit the triangle shape, fell into each other. The explosion bloomed
outwards scorching the sky with fire. Luke threw power to the engines
and pulled hard on throttle. The Falcon twisted hard right,
shooting away from the fire as it blossomed outwards. Luke looked
over at Leia, saw the barely hidden tension there. Like him, for a
minute, she hadn't thought it would work.
"The
a-wings?" He asked her, sparing the attention as the Falcon
shot away from the destruction.
"They got out when the
droids stopped." She said, her voice calmer than he would have
expected. She turned to him and offered a smile "It worked."
She said simply.
He nodded "That it did."
---
Han instinctively threw his hands up as the explosion
reached out to him with fiery claws. The shockwave reached him first
and hammered his gun-well. He grabbed the seat and swallowed hard,
waiting for the fire to break through the transparisteel that
protected him from the vacuum of space. It never came; the Falcon
was already flipping over, putting him in marginal shadow of the
explosion as it rocketed away, the fire grabbing angrily at it's
tail.
"Han? You okay."
Leia's voiced
pierced through the receding terror and he brought a only-slightly
shaky hand up to press the pickup closer to his mouth.
"Fine.
Just tell that brother of yours that he'll be the one scraping
the carbon scouring off the hull if he tries that trick anymore."
He said, breathing deeply to kill the adrenaline rush that shook his
muscles. He heard laughter over the comm and Leia replied.
"I
hate to break this to you, but if that pack of droids biting the
Starlight we're heading for is anything to go by, you
better strap in."
Han raised his eyes to the ceiling
"Getting real cocky." He whispered.
"I heard
that." Luke's voice called across the comm, then the tone
changed "Heads up. You've got a big group of fighters
incoming."
"Your diving straight for them, you
mean." Han grumbled, but he grabbed the control stick and
brought the guns back around.
Chapter
two: into the fray
"Selphie?" He called, turning to his second in
command "Cut down their flanks. Get 3 squadrons on either side
to cut their way in. When they make it, go for their lead ship."
The young female officer bowed her head and hustled to the comm
station to relay the orders. Ackbar moved back to his command chair
and dialled in the secure line he had to the Falcon. As he
waited for the freighter to pick up the call he watched the mêlée
outside in space; swarms of the droids boiled over the Starlight's
hull, seeking out likely week spots in the cruiser. They wouldn't
find any, he knew, but enough attrition and even the Starlight
was susceptible to the droid's fire. He turned to the tactical
screen and found the Falcon's transponder signal,
watching the ship twist and roll with impossible
manoeuvres.
"Falcon." Ackbar heard the comm
crackle, "We hear you Admiral." The Princesses voice
said.
"Princess. "He greeted her "I see your
plan is working."
"So far." She agreed with
him, then paused for a moment. The admiral imagined the freighter
diving suddenly as on the tactical screen the ship suddenly changed
direction. "We're targeting the larger groups of the
droids, but there's just too many of them." Her voice shook
as the ship was buffeted by fire. It was quickly returned and on the
screen two blips chasing them dissolved.
"I know. They're
too fast to take down easily." He said. "Can I speak to
Jedi Skywalker?" he asked
"I'm here." The
Jedi's voice came back after a pause, it was decidedly clearer
and confident than the Admiral would have expected it to be, given
the amount of effort and concentration he had to be devoting to the
implant. "I think we need to do this more tactically." He
said.
The admiral nodded to himself "Agreed."
"We
just need a big enough mistake to exploit."
Ackbar looked
over at the display. In response to their attack down the ssi-ruuvi
flanks a lot of their ships had been diverted to fend of the x-wings.
Leaving a small gap in their defences just to the polar south of
their flag ship. A small gap, but it was all they needed.
"I
think I've found you your opportunity." He said flicking
through to get the larger picture of the whole battle. At the same
time he keyed in a secure link to the freighter.
"I'm
sending you some co-ordinates now. If you put them in, you'll see a
small gap in their lines"
He waited for them to punch
them in and finally Leia's voice came back "Small is right,
Admiral. I'm not sure we can get through."
"Not on
your own, no." he conceded. "I'm going to divert Rogue
Squadron to assist you. That should give you a better chance."
He said
Suddenly, as if a thought had just struck him, Luke spoke
up "Admiral, where's the Jade's Fire? " he
asked.
Ackbar frowned. He'd only been keeping a periphery
notice of the ship,
"Currently." He said, reading of
the tactical screen "She's just a little way north of you,
why?"
"We could use her, too." Skywalker said,
pausing as the ship rolled suddenly off to the left and caused the
two droids chasing it to collide in an explosion of debris and fuel.
"I don't like the tone in your voice. " Ackbar
said.
"Admiral, when I was aboard their ship, it wasn't
just the droids I could control." He said, a strange tone
touching the edges of his voice.
"Luke" Leia
said from beside her and the Admiral could imagine them locking eyes
as a silent battle waged between them. When they spoke again, he knew
who had won.
"I could access some of their other
circuits." Skywalker continued, and Leia said nothing,
"What
are you thinking?" Ackbar said, though he thought he could guess
at least a part of it.
"Just this; If I can get close
enough to the ship that I can alter some of the more vital circuits
it might give us the advantage we need."
"You might
be able to cause enough damage to make a difference..." Ackbar
said thoughtfully.
"Luke, you don't know anything
about this ship like you did the other one." Leia put in, fear
for her brother's safety lacing her words "You don't
know what it might do." The last was a harsh whisper
"They
can't be that different and we still have the schematics on the
Falcon of their other ship." Skywalker said, that deep
earnestness of his brushing his words.
"The gain
outweighs the risk." Ackbar pointed out
"The
possible gain you mean." Leia said back, frustration creeping
into her voice.
"We have to try it, Leia."
Skywalker's voice came again "The fleet is getting
massacred."
There was pause from the comm and Ackbar knew
as well as Leia that they had to try it.
"Okay." She
relented, "But we really are going need some cover."
"I've
already got Rogue Squadron flying your way."
"Good,
we'll call Mara along too." Skywalker said as Ackbar turned
to Selphie.
"Do you think you'll be able to inflict
much damage?" he said into the comm instead.
There was a
pause from the comm "To be honest, I'm not sure if we'll
be able to do a lot." He admitted
"Try for the
weapons or shields if you can." Ackbar answered, painfully aware
that he had no idea how this was going to work, never mind if.
"Anything to give us an edge."
"We
will." Leia said, and he could hear the tension in her voice.
"Good luck." He signed off and motioned to his
second in command. The young woman stepped briskly over form the
tactical station, a slight from creasing her brow "Admiral,
we've lost most of grey squadron. One of the gunboats must have
had a thermonuclear device on it, it blew up at least 5 klicks
squared." As she spoke, her words took emphasis as she gestured
with slender hands. "We can't keep taking losses like this
sir." She leaned in closer, almost conspiratorially "The
Chevron is almost down, she can't take much more. I've
directed red squadron out to them but" she shook her head.
Ackbar shook his head and sighed mentally.
"The Falcon
is going to try to get closer to their lead ship." Selphie
opened her mouth to complain but shut it as Ackbar continued, "The
Jade's Fire and Rogue Squadron will be going with her."
He finished and waited.
She sucked in a deep breath and
shifted her feet slightly "Sir, with all due respect, I'm not
sure that's wise." She seemed to brace herself for a rebute
but Ackbar just looked at her questionably.
"The Falcon
and the Jade's Fire has been causing the most damage. To
send them away now would leave some major holes in our defences."
She explained
The Admiral stood slowly and gestured towards a
far concern of the room. Silently, Selphie followed him until they
were out of earshot of the rest of the bridge crew but not so far as
to be noticed. "I know that." He said "But they have a
plan."
"A plan? SirI don't think I
understand." She said, the frown growing deeper.
"Jedi
Skywalker has anidea," he said.
"Sir?"
"I'm
sorry." He shook his head "I can't tell you. Most of
the inner council doesn't even know." She shuffled her feet
again - the only sign of her annoyance as a neutral face remained
plastered on her delicate features. For a moment Ackbar thought she
would demand an explanation - as the second in command in she
probably had a right to know. But; no. She trusted her superior's
judgement. With a curt nod she said, "I understand. I'll
move ships in to cover the gaps."
"Thank you,
lieutenant." Ackbar said, but she was already hustling for the
comm station. As he watched her weave her way across the chaotic
bridge, his glance caught the corner of his tactical screen. The
Falcon was moving through the lines.
---
"Watch
it Rogue Lead, you've got a tail dropping in hard to port."
"I
see him, Luke." Wedge's voice crackled across the Falcon's
comm system. In front of them, the nearest x-wing dived up to the
left and twisted halfway through, looping and falling into place
behind the would-be pursuer. A quick burst of fire and the droid was
random debris and static. Even as Luke checked Wedge was in the
clear, he threw power to the braking thrusters and pulled the ships
nose up hard, forcing her into a steep climb as he kicked the power
back in and the Falcon shot upwards. A swarm of droids swept
through underneath, firing on where the Falcon had been just a
second before. As their fire cut through space Mara's voice
filled the small cockpit.
"They're mine, Luke."
She said, and with obvious relish and overstated flair, the Jade's
Fire descended on the confused droids, blowing up two before they
even knew what had hit them. The other two used the cover of their
destroyed companions to sweep in opposite directions. Mara took the
left ship as it raced to escape. The Fire was faster and two
shots to the fusion drive later, the droid blossomed in a short-lived
explosion that lit up the Jade's Fire's red markings
as she cut through the wreckage. Luke had the Falcon twisted
back behind the second escapee and turned her on her side, giving Han
the perfect shot. Han whooped as the thing blew up in a cloud of
debris that arched across space.
"I said they were mine,
Skywalker." Mara growled, half joking.
"Fine. Don't
come moaning to me when you get the ship shot out from under you."
He snapped back, a little more stern than he had meant. Leia chuckled
at his side.
"Ditto." Mara said and the ship
twisted in half turn in front of them, blasting a droid that was
climbing for the Falcon 's only blind spot- behind the
sublight drive.
"Message delivered and understood."
Luke acknowledged and drew the Falcon back on course for the
lead ssi-ruui ship.
---
Mara gunned the
engines and had the satisfaction of seeing the small black droid
following them drop behind her as the Falcon raced alongside
her. Mara frowned and considered making it an official race. But with
Luke at the controls, she wasn't entirely sure she would win.
The Falcon danced in and incredible set of manoeuvres as more
of the droids moved into a pursuit vector and scattered the space in
front of them with pockets of deadly fire. Even as she marvelled at
the freighter's agility she frowned darkly as the Falcon
swept in front of her to take fire from an incoming fighter,
wondering if Luke was being deliberately overprotective just to annoy
her. After all, she was the one called in to run cover. Not satisfied
to take the back seat any longer, she threw more power to the engines
and angle to the Falcon's right, moving past her and
drawing the droid's fire.
Rogue Squadron were still
scattered around them in a roughly elliptical shape, stopping as many
fighters as possible from entering their ring of defence. It was a
good job they were there too. From what little Mara could see of that
line of defence, if they thought there were getting a lot of droids
descending on them now, she wouldn't want to try this alone. The
lead ship was just few kilometres in front of them, but they were
having to take a rather cumbersome route through to it in order to
permeate the alien defences. So far, it was working.
"Falcon,
Jade's Fire, we've hit a row of fighters up front."
Corran's voice filtered through "You'll have to go
around."
"Acknowledged." Mara said into the
comm, searching the tactical readout for the x-wings. He was right; a
massive row of fighters had appeared, presumably designed to send
them back the way they had come. Only this was strictly one-way
mission.
"Luke?" she called into the pickup, at the
same time angling to port.
"I heard." He came back
tensely.
"I'm going port. " she said. "Follow
me and I'll cover-"
"No." His sharp
statement interrupted her, quieting her more out of shock than any
command in his voice.
"I'm
not trying to, Mara." He came back with his own mix of barely
controlled annoyance and concentration "I'm going to try to take
them out."
"You what? You-" and she cut off as
she realised what he was saying. It made sense really, but
"Luke, we can't risk that. We have to get too the ship."
She insisted, but even as the words were spoken, she saw the Falcon
angle away from her. She bit back any words she might have said in
anger and changed the Fire's direction to match that of
the freighters.
She thought about warning Luke again, but
instead decided he needed his concentration and ran cover instead,
chasing off any passing fighters that looked like they wanted a
fight. She wasn't really sure what was about to happen - she
never had a chance to keep track of the Falcon when they first
arrived, she'd got tangled in a nasty fight with one of the
gunboats. With some annoyance, she realised she was unconsciously
holding her breath. She let it out in a sigh and concentrated the
Force on piloting. As she did so, she felt a wave of awareness reach
out to her.
It wasn't like the sick feeling of the
tortured persona's that the droids carried with them, but it
held a note of similarity as it reached across to the droids firing
madly at the Rogue's. She realised with a shock that that was
Luke's doing. His reaching out, in conjunction with the implant, to
create a surge of recognition in the droids. As she watched they
shook, shivering in space. And then as one, and with Leia's
warning call the Rogue's nearest them, they angled inwards,
searching for a single, common point in space. And in a fiery
explosion that reached sharp fingers of fire into space, they
collided and the wave dissolved with their destruction. The Falcon
was already retreating from the explosion's wave front as the
x-wings appeared as shadows against the fire.
"Luke?"
Mara asked when she finally clawed her voice back out of her
stomach.
"Right here," he answered after a pause,
his voice sounding a little shaky. She wasn't sure what to say
next. She'd never sent that done before, and she didn't
know how it worked, but what should she say?
"Lets get
back in course shall we?" Luke answered, ending the creeping
silence that had begun to hang between the two ships. As she watched,
the Falcon twisted
in an exaggerated, lazy loop and shot
back through the rapidly expanding debris cloud of the destroyed
fighters.
"Right." She managed to say and got the
'Fire back on course too.
"Luke? What the hell
was that?" Wedge spoke up through the local frequency. "What
just happened?"
Luke answered after a pause in which two
more droids became space dust, their destruction accented by a
wookiee cheer.
"It's a long story, Wedge." He said
"One I don't have time to tell."
---
The intense gaze on the elite's face meant
either the messenger had spotted something in the apparently random
figures that scrolled across the bottom of the tactical screen, or
else a sudden thought was working it's way rapidly into his
conscious. As the larger ssi-ruuk turned to face the admiral,
Sh'rtokh knew that the latter was true.
"Admiral I
believe we have a problem." He said, the deep tones of his voice
taking on a hard edge.
Sh'rtokh struggled to keep his own
voice suitably subordinate as he faced the other. "So I see from
the look on your face." He said, knowing that the remark would
hit hard to the elite's ideal of showing no emotions. Or
rather, showing only those that could be taken as a threat.
"Then
perhaps your observational skills have improved." The elite
bit back. Sh'rtokh quieted, mindful of the power the elite
could yield if he so chose.
"What is it you have seen?"
he asked, moving past the minor war of words.
The elite
shifted his stance before he spoke "There." He pointed to
tactical screen, finger lying next to a small group of ships "That
squadron of x-wings along with the two larger ships."
Sh'rtokh
stepped closer to the screen and studied the ships statistics. "The
freighter is faring pretty well, but I don't see a problem.
We've already sent out two fleets of droids and one of fighters
to block their movement forward."
"And would you
care to tell me where those fighters are now?" The elite's
asked.
"They should be-" Sh'rtokh stopped in his
tracks. The droids weren't where they should be. In fact, they
weren't anywhere. "I don't understand." He shook
his head.
The elite's shadow seemed to grow and
begin to swallow Sh'rtokh's perspective. "I presume,
Admiral, that you have studied the records left by the droids of the
Slastare attack?"
"I have." Sh'rtokh said,
"Though I'm not sure I see the connection."
"The
connection is that that is the same freighter as was in that attack,
as was the other ship there." The elite's voice was
cool but did not hide his contempt.
"You meanSkywalker?"
but it was not really a question. In retrospect, he supposed it made
sense. That freighter had made a spectacular showing of itself, which
fitted with the Jedi's reputation.
"Sir," he
almost choked on the word, but kept going "If your suggesting we
try to recapture Skywalker, I don't think that's a good
idea."
He swallowed hard and waited for an answer
"I
was not about to suggest that." The elite said, "In
fact, I think the whole plan was folly to begin with. It made the
fleet liable to danger."
"Then what?"
Sh'rtokh forced himself to ask, as he didn't see the
answer.
"The problem is the very reason I just stated."
He answered, "Skywalker still has the implant."
And
suddenly he got it.
"Then we have to destroy the
freighter." He said,
"Indeed."
---
Luke had the Falcon gunning straight for the
huge cruiser, Mara's Jade's Fire hot on their tail.
Every time a group of the black droids cut their outer ring defence
Leia couldn't help but hold her breath just a little. The
x-wings were doing a good job of sweeping up any of the fighters that
tried to break through, but the numbers were too great to stop them
all. The ships were perfectly intergrated in their attacks, working
with a single purpose. Every attack was in the form on a fan; flaring
out across them and sweeping high and low. Luke would find away to
avoid them, but the droids learnt fast, and it was getting more and
more difficult to avoid their turbolaser before it scathed across the
Falcon's hull. Each manoeuvre got more and more intricate
as Luke ran through a totally illogical series of banks, curves and
twists; cutting power to the drives and throwing the small freighter
around her axes. Leia consciously stopped herself from clinging to
the seats edge, reminding herself that the internal compensators
should take care of the g-forces that played around with her insides.
But then, Han had probably cross wired it to so many other circuits
that they didn't work so well anymore. At least, that was what
it felt like.
In the distance she saw another wave break
through and turned to tell Luke,
"Luke you've got
more coming in-"
"I see them." He answered even
as the Falcon bucked down beneath their fire. Fire from both
Han and Chewie swept across the oncoming fighters, joined by Luke's
from the forward guns.
"How far to the cruiser?"
Luke asked as another droid blossomed outward into the vacuum. Leia
glanced down at the sensors and swallowed hard "We're
nearly there. A few klicks." Even as she spoke, the comm light
flashed and Wedge's voice came over the internal speakers.
"Falcon? We've met the hull." His voice
was tense and as Leia stared out through the cockpit she could see
why - the gunmetal grey hull was barely visible past the buzzing
field of angry droids and fighters. It was disconcerting to see so
many enemy ships and so few allies, but that really wasn't
anything new to her. As Luke was concentrating on avoiding their
newest bunch of followers she flicked the send button
"We
hear you, Rogue Lead. We're going to have to cut in close to the
hull. Double back and run cover from the top." Wedge
acknowledged and the small specks that were the x-wings cut loose and
came back, bring the line of defence closer to the Falcon.
She
turned to her brother as the last of the droids was scattered across
space "You ready?" she asked. His hands paused slightly
over the controls before he turned her and smiled,
"Sure."
He said and as he said it she felt him draw strength from the Force.
He sighed deeply and she thought she saw him shiver slightly. She
nodded and turned back to the controls, aware that she would probably
have a larger part in the piloting now. The hull loomed closer.
---
Luke watched the last of Rogue squadron disappear
behind the Falcon's cockpit's line of sight. Pushing
the last of his fears behind, him he concentrated deeper into the
force. The space seemed like it was lain bare for him, where before
he had been restricted by his own vision, suddenly it was all there;
every moving element in it's own place, everything clear even in it's
complexity. The cruiser loomed over them throwing shifting shadows
across the Falcons cockpit. Beside him he felt the
pressure emanating from Leia as she clung to the controls and
resisted the urge to take the con from him. He threw power over to
portside engine and the Falcon slew over and kicked forward
across the cruisers hull. He felt his body pushed back into the deep
folds of the pilots seat even as his mind stretched forward into the
cruisers circuits.
It's immense complexity threatened to
swallow him as the maze of the energies worked to wrap themselves
around his consciousness. His panic pulled him further in and he felt
the link back begin to darken and fade. Realising that thrashing in
the maelstrom of energies would only tangle him more, he calmed and
tried to see his way through.
There wasn't any path; he
realised that almost immediately. The circuits were put in when and
where they were needed, the ship was almost as patched as the Falcon.
He didn't let despair crawl in even as doubt began to claw at
the edges of his mind.
Leia's warning call brought him
back to the battle outside. He climbed back through the contact and
knew it was taking too long. He felt the ship buck as Leia took the
controls and twisted the Falcon away from the hull and deeper
into space. As she did, the contact dissolved around and him as the
real world came back. He could hear Leia calling, her voice echoing
painfully around his head.
His throat was dry and he realised he
was gasping for air. He forced himself to breath normally and tried
to bring his vision back to normal. The Falcon shook and
tilted suddenly under them, the jolt shaking him back to reality.
"I'm here." he managed as Leia began to call
Han.
The Falcon was rising rapidly from the cruiser and
Luke came fully awake with a jolt.
"Turn her back."
He said, grabbing for the controls as another bolt whistled overhead
and Falcon was thrown on her side again.
"What?"
Leia asked almost incredulously.
"Turn her around."
He repeated, taking back the controls and throwing on the braking
thrusters, turning the ship in a classic smugglers brake as he did.
"Luke!" Leia shouted as the chasing fighters
suddenly found themselves the being the target. "Luke, you cant
-"
"I have to."
"Luke, it didn't
work." Her words stung of failure.
Luke shook his head
and tried to think of how he could explain. It wasn't logical,
his first attempt had failed and nearly cost the Falcon, but
he knew he had to try again.
"Luke, I nearly lost you"
He turned to look at her and frowned "What do you mean?"
He asked.
She shook her head, a chestnut strand of hair
falling across her face. She threw her hands up in the air and
shrugged "I don't know. Your presence just seemed
todissipate."
Luke frowned again, feeling the start
of an idea begin to form. Before it could grow, a sudden crackling
cut across them comm.
"Falcon this is Starlight.
Do you read?"
Luke saw Leia start and she turned an
anxious glance at him before reaching over and flicking the comm to
send again.
"Starlight, this is the Falcon.
We read you." Her voice was clear and steady, though he knew she
too was beginning to feel a nasty sensation crawling up her
spine.
"Falcon, this is Lieutenant Selphie, we've
had new instructions from Coruscant." A young woman's voice
answered Leia and her anxious gaze turned to concern as she spoke
again,
"Lieutenant Selphie, where is the Admiral?"
"In
sick bay, Madame Chief of State. The Starlight has taken some
bad hits, the Admiral has suffered a mild concussion."
Leia
nodded, her relief evident. "Good."
"However,
that may change." Selphie's voice held a tone of
apprehension.
"Why?"
"New orders."
She repeated, "President, the Starlight is in bad shape.
We can't hold out much longer." There was a pause "We've
been ordered to ram the cruiser."
Luke felt a ripple of
shock run through him, feeling a tinge of déjà vu.
"Lieutenant, you can't do that." He said, "If
that cruiser blows along with the Starlight they'll take
out half the ships here. Theirs and ours."
"I
realise that. But we've already lost at least a quarter of the
fleet and that's got us nowhere. The Starlight isn't
going to make it," despite the ships dangerous position, there
was no remorse or bitterness in her voice "and if she blows out
here, with our fleet, it'll only be our ships that are lost.
This is our last hope."
"There's always one
more hope, Lieutenant." Leia put in suddenly as she grabbed the
controls one more time and nodded towards Luke as the Falcon
swung back towards the cruiser."
"Madame-"
"Give
us ten minutes, if we haven't made it by then, then carry out
your orders. But give us our ten minutes."
The woman
paused and Leia used the moment to gun the accelerator up full. Luke
was pressed back in his seat as Selphie replied.
"Ten
minutes." Selphie's voice was slightly mournful "After
that, get out of there. The New Republic needs it's leader."
Leia cut the comm and smiled grimly "Like hell we will."
She said, and then turned to Luke "You better be right."
She said.
---
Mara frowned as the Falcon
swung back from it's retreat. The freighter killed it's speed
suddenly and headed back for the fighters scattering in confusion at
the move. Mara knew the trick hadn't worked. The minute she felt
Luke stretch out she had known something wasn't right. Reaching
across, watching the ship as it suddenly kicked forward again, she
keyed the comm
"Skywalker?" she called, throwing
power to the back drives.
"We're here, Mara."
Luke's voice came back.
"What's going on?"
"We're
going back for another try." His answer came back and she
resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"That much I figured
out for myself." The 'Fire bucked suddenly, throwing
sparks across the forward display, "Even if it is suspiciously
like trying to get us killed."
The Falcon danced
through space in front her, missing most of the droids shots and
gaining only a few grazes from the few that made it through.
"The
Starlight isn't going to last much longer," Luke's
voice came through clear despite the intricate moves he was putting
the freighter through. "If we don't do something soon, the
Lieutenant will have to ram that cruiser" He let the
implications of that hang in the air.
"What, that very
large, fusion generated cruiser?" Mara tried to keep the fear
from her voice
"That's the one,"
She
whistled quietly through pursed lips, "Luke, that will be one
big explosion."
"I know. We have to get back there
and finish what we started."
Mara let her thoughts drift
for just a moment before replying, watching the firefight outside,
feeling somehow suddenly external to it.
"Only it didn't
work last time. And there's no reason for it to work this time."
She pointed out. Her attention was suddenly broken by one of the
fighters cutting in on her belly so Luke's reply was lost on her
as she chased the small jet-black droid down.
"Say
again," the droid blossomed in a brief explosion behind her.
"I
said, I think I know why it didn't work."
Mara bit
down her impulsive reply and waited.
"The circuits on
that ship." He paused, as if gathering his thoughts
"Go
on," She urged him on.
"What I felt; it didn't
feel like the others."
Mara felt a frown forming on her
forehead "How do you mean? They're not powered by trapped
energies?" She knew as soon as she said it, it was wrong: the
sick feeling that ebbed out of the big cruiser looming in front of
them was unmistakable.
"No. They feel patched. Nothing is
connected anymore. When I tried to touch it - it felt like I was
drowning."
Mara laughed, "And growing up on a
desert world you'd know all about that."
"Maybe
not, but that's not the point," he hid his annoyance well.
"It was all too vague for me to contact properly"
Mara could tell he was searching for the right words. "And
it felt like you were being strangled by the very energies you were
trying to control?"
"Yes, that's it." He
agreed. " But there was something else. I was like a pressure on
the back of your mind, a deep brooding shadow."
"What
does that mean?"
"I don't know, but I don't
like it."
"Your thinking, Luke, let's hear
it."
His sigh was audible over the speakers "It
seemed to centre on the bridge."
Leia's sharp intake
of breath interrupted Mara's own fears "You think there's
someone there. Someone using the darkside of the Force?"
Skywalker's sister's voice was controlled.
"Maybe
not the Force, but a personality with a strong leaning that way,
yes."
Mara leaned back into the pilot's chair,
feeling that fear trickle uncomfortably down her spine.
"And
we're heading back there why?"
"It was
something Leia said that triggered it." His voice came back.
Beyond them, Rogue squadron was again running cover against
the droids Luke's supposed commander threw at them. The cruiser's
deep grey hull filled in the background, all the stars cut off by
it's massive bulk. Mara suddenly felt very small in the face of the
huge ship, feeling like they were the small pebble thrown against the
Rancor.
"Luke, this is stupid." Mara felt her voice
catching in her throat and chided herself for it.
"You
feel it, don't you?"
"What?" confused, she
shook her head even though there was no one there to see,
"That
malevolence. It's eating away at the corners of your resolve."
Now
that she concentrated, she could feel the pressure on the back of her
mind. She scowled. "What is it?" she asked
"I
don't know," he admitted
"Ten to one it has to
do with your brooding presence out there."
"That
would be my guess."
"You still haven't answered
my question. If it didn't work last time, why will it work this
time?"
Mara flicked red-gold hair from her eyes as
another barrage of laser fire cut across her path. She threw the
'Fire into a steep dive below the droids line of sight and
kicked the ship forward away from the fighters.
"I think
that ship's been on a long journey here. And it's already seen a
lot of battle since it left home."
"So all the
confusion in the circuits is, what, rewiring? Like trying to patch
into the Falcon's computer?"
"That, and
our brooding friend."
"So what you need is a circuit
that won't have changed"
"Yes,"
Another batch of the fighters cut through again. The Falcon
skipped around and charged straight for them. She could almost hear
the cry of dismay from Han as the two played chicken. The Falcon
won through, the droids scattering in a confusion that only got them
blown by either the Falcon, the Rogue's or their own
panicked fire.
"And?" she prompted
"And
I figure the only system that can help us - the only one that
definitely won't have changed but can be of use, is the self
destruct."
The way he said it, the tone in his voice,
chilled. It took her a minute to figure out why.
"Only
the actual circuit; you wont be able to get it. But you might be able
to get at the control."
And then, Leia got it
too,
"Which is on the bridge." She gasped. "Luke
you can't do that."
"It's the only way."
The earnestness of his voice hardened Mara's own resolve. That,
and seeing on her sensors that the Starlight was coming around
on a ram vector.
"Leia, you have 5 minutes, maybe less.
Can you think of another way?" Even she was shocked by the hard
edge in her voice. But it worked.
"Okay, then. Luke, same
routine." She said, calling up Wedge and patching him into the
conversation. "Rogues, give us an arrow point straight past the
bridge. We get one shot at this."
There was a sharp
intake of breath over the comm.
"Mara, that's the
most heavily guarded part, I don't think-"
"If
I'm right," she interrupted "from what we've already
seen, the closer we get the better chance we have Luke can pull it
off. Am I right?"
"Yes. The closer I am, the
stronger the contact." Luke agreed.
"And the closer
to-"
"Leia." Mara imagined Luke turning to
regard the less reckless Skywalker with an earnest stare. "We
have to do this."
The comm remained silent but Mara could
sense Leia's grudging agreement.
"Okay. Rogues,
take us forward. Cut in close to the belly of this thing, most direct
route. Luke, I'll take aft and cover you from behind. Stay in
the formation, don't try anything fancy. We need to get as close
as possible, but watch your flying and don't run into the
hull."
"Yes, ma'am." Luke said and Wedge's
quiet laughter echoed over the comm.
"Good," she
laughed, "let's go hit the Rancor."
---
Leia knew her knuckles were white with the grip she
had on the controls without having to look down. Luke had relinqused
the position of copilot to her, all be it hesitantly. She could tell
from the intense look on his face and the set of his jaw that no
amount of persuasion would change his mind. And there was a good
reason for that. Even with their limited view across the battle, they
could see in the far distance the gleaming streak that was the
Starlight vectoring around for the ssi-ruuvi cruiser. When
Mara had said they would only get one shot at this, she hadn't
been exaggerating. One shot, and with that one shot Luke had to
somehow find, connect with and then trigger the self-destruct
circuit. And that whilst getting past that ominous presence sat on
the bridge.
Leia wasn't convinced with Luke's
assessment that he/she/it wasn't using the force. Though Leia
had not been in the presence of many people using the darkside -not
whilst trained in the Force, anyway- she knew the signs. And the fact
that the slow, steady pressure building in the back of her head was
coming from that presence did not give her much comfort. She glanced
sidelong at Luke and saw him staring at her.
"We'll
make it, you know." He said, giving her a reassuring smile.
She nodded at him, giving a knowing wink.
"Sure
we will."
She watched her brother reach over and flip the
comm on. As he did so, she wondered just when it was she'd
gotten used to him being there. For the past few weeks she had been
mentally forcing herself to move past his death, and that had felt so
wrong. This, now, sat in the heat of battle, working together again,
felt so right. But here they were once more, risking heir necks.
Neither she nor Luke knew what would happen when he reached out to
that cruiser, and in a way that didn't matter. Whatever
happened, she had now what she had felt so denied of back on
Cassrine. The chance to do something instead of sitting back and
watching. And Leia had never been a watcher.
"Han?"
Luke's voice seemed to echo through the cockpit
"Right
here, Kid. You ready to stop testing the inertial compensator
yet?"
"I've not even started yet."
There
was a deliberately audible groan from the comm.
"You
heard the plan?" Luke asked, spinning the Falcon suddenly
on her axes as a wave of fire from one of the droids skirted the
.
"Yeah." Hans' reply was punctuated with
blasts from the quad guns "Not that you're fancy moves left
me much concentration to spare."
"Han," Leia
put in "Hopefully we'll get some good cover from the
Rogues, but you're going to have to watch for emplacements on
the hull."
"Luke, if you're going to be
concentrating on the " Leia could imagine the frown
forming on his face as he sort for the right word. In
the end, he
gave up.
"whatever. You're going to need me
down there."
"We could, Han, but I need control of
the ship if I'm going to get in accurately enough. You're doing
the most you can fending of those fighters."
Leia knew he
was aching for control of his ship back, but he knew that they had
the best chance doing it Luke's way.
"All right. But just
shout if you need me."
"We will" Luke assured
him, "But Leia's doing a pretty good job already."
Leia
smirked "Can we have that one in writing for the next time he
grumbles about letting up control to me."
"I will,
just as soon as we get out of here." He flashed her a winning
smile and gunned the Falcon forward. "Right now, though,
seems we've arrived."
---
The
cruiser's hull swept past in a blinding array of blurred lights
and deep shadows; amazing in it's complexity, the image was
transfixing, a work of art in it's own right.
But Luke didn't
let his mind linger on that, didn't let it wander at all. The
hull, the lights, the x-wings that cut across his vision and the
shrapnel that splashed against the forward shields; all were
periphery. His concentration was focused not on the metal skin that
encased the ship, but on the twisting energies that powered the huge
vessel.
All of them were similar and yet utterly dissimilar;
all emanated a sick, perverse feeling and yet were distinct even as
each member of the same species had it's own rhythm in the Force. The
whole thing was meshed into a matrix that was incalculable and
unfathomable to his mind, and even as he brushed the edge of the
energy, he felt it's immensity tearing at the corners of his mind.
But now he knew where that tugging came from. Like a mental
magnet dragging him down, he felt himself slipping. The presence on
the bridge definitely wasn't using the Force, that much he could
tell. But it's impact on the ship was obvious, creating a nexus
towards which all energies fell, pulling Luke along with them.
That
moment of perception lasted for just a flicker of his eyelids before
he moved past it. He knew what needed to be done; had already set
himself to it. But now that it came down to it, the pressure was
immense.
All sense he had of the Falcon and her
systems was swamped as his mind concentrated on the rapid reformation
of neural nets by the implant inside his head. The complexity of it
was staggering. He could feel waves of dizziness spreading out and
smothering his sense and he had to fight to keep his concentration.
And when he had it back, he dived deeper.
The torrent of energy
carried him deeper towards that presence, his instincts screaming at
him to turn back. His will set, he pushed further.
And
suddenly, like a blinding light being shone in his eyes, he was
there. The sudden realisation impacted against his mind, but Luke was
stronger than that. He pushed past it, searching, brushing his mind
against the ssi-ruuk that was creating all their problems. Somewhere,
seemingly way, way above him, Leia's voice was calling. He could
hear the urgency even if he couldn't make out the words. Whether
it was because, again, she could feel his own presence slipping away,
or because of the more urgent needs of the Falcon flying above
the cruisers hull, he didn't know, but he took it as a signal to
act. And to act now.
Concentrating on the implant, he felt the
small machine work at altering his nervous system to fit it's own
neural net much further beyond the extent it had before, and had the
momentary wonder of what it would do to his brain if they got out of
this. Not that that mattered right now, of course.
The
presence of the ssi-rruk was staggering. It seemed perverse to have
such a hub malevolence in the deep calm of the Force and left a
sickly taste as Luke concentrated his mind past him.
And as
he pushed past that cloak, he realised he had been wrong. The ship
was patched together; the networking of wiring was dizzying, be it
was suddenly like someone had turned the lights on or put it back in
focus. He didn't know the ship, had never been on it, but
suddenly, with the impairing of the implant gone, he knew where he
was. He couldn't explain that, except that the ssi-ruuk on the
bridge had been actively working against implant, so that Luke wasn't
flailing in the dark anymore. He had a focus, and with it, he had a
direction.
---
On the bridge of the Calisaire,
the elite dug deep claws into his fingers and snarled.
---
The aliens ire sent waves of anger through the contact
and Luke shivered in sympathy with it. The ssi-ruuk knew what he was
doing. But it was too late. That brief glimpse was enough. Like a map
emblazoned on his memory, Luke knew where he was going.
He
felt contact snap and the implant's activity grow as it found a
kindred spirit in the energy of the ship. He knew as he went deeper
into the very heart of the ship and it's systems that that the
circuit was there, he could see it in his mind, could see the surge
of energy he was looking for, the exact set of switches and wires -
And suddenly, he was there.
He gathered the energy
around himself then. This would have to be right. This would have to
be perfect.
He sent the impulse and waited for it to reach.
Waited, and watched it snake down the wires. Watched the switch
trigger.
---
Admiral Sh'rtokh staggered as
the noise burst through his senses. The shock of it shook him for a
moment before the elite growled from beside him
"Turn
that off!" The blaring alarm resided, but the deep red wash of
the bridge stayed. Along with a small number on the front viewscreen.
The number 30. No, make that 29. 28. With shock, Sh'rtokh realised it
was countdown.
"What the?" He turned to the
elite but the elder had no time for him. He was rushing to a
forward console, punching in his id code.
25.
Instead,
Sh'rtokh turned to his crew. "What is it?"
Before
the juniors could answer him, the elite replied.
"Self
destruct." He shouted in a voice that showed his clear disdain
for Sh'rtokh's lack of knowledge. A lack that was understandable
- Sh'rtokh had never been on a ship that was about to blow itself up.
20.
"Turn it off!" Sh'rtokh said, showing
far more emotion than was considered dignified for a ssi-ruuvi
Admiral.
The elite didn't even both to throw him a
withering look.
"Overrides are not working."
---
Even as he felt the switch trigger and the circuit
begin to pulse with life, he felt the energy pulse straight back at
him. He knew the self-destruct was not a circuit you could not turn
off. He knew that was just what they were doing. Or trying to do.
Even though he could feel the countdown in the panic of the
aliens on the ship, he knew he had to stay. He had to block the
command codes.
---
"What?"
The
elite ignored the comment of the admiral. "The Jedi."
He hissed, a rasping sound that stung the air.
He spared a
quick glance for the tactical viewscreen - saw all chance that the
freighter that had penetrated their full defences was not likely to
be destroyed in the next. 15 seconds.
"Lieutenant."
He turned to slightly panicking officer beside him. "Can you
shut down that circuit?" He kept his voice icy calm, not
betraying even slightly the nervous fear crawling with cat-claws up
his spine.
The ssi-rruk shook his head marginally, thinking
fast. "No, sir. Not without shutting down the whole of the
bridge systems." The elite scowled.
"It was
never designed to be cut off." He shrugged.
The elite
never even heard that last.
"Do it." He said.
"What?" the officer asked, confused. The sound of
sharp claws raking across the console filled the small bridge.
"Shut
down the systems." He glanced at the clock.
10
seconds.
"Aye, sir."
9.
The elite
knew even as the junior officer started punching in the key codes
that he would never make it. Gripping the edge of the console,
determined not to look at the inept Admiral in the last 8 seconds of
his life, he concentrated on glowering.
---
The
energy pulsed faster and relentlessly, and Luke struggled to stay
with it. He knew he couldn't, and felt the contact dip and cut
off suddenly. He scrambled to return to it but knew he never would.
And at the same time, knew he was out of time. The energy pulse
reached an infinite pulse, a long string that signalled the end of
the countdown. And the end of the ssi-ruuvi cruiser.
And
suddenly, in the blink of an eye that it took him to see that, he was
flailing and alone in the maelstrom of power. It sank down on him
then, the same panicked feeling of drowning amongst the tangle of
energy that he didn't, couldn't understand. He felt like he
was gasping for air and mentally pushed away from the circuit, in the
direction he perceived as up'.
As he calmed, as he
forced aside the fears of being trapped and lost, he rose faster,
surfacing above the maze of energy in a flourish. Not halting,
counting down mentally the tenths of seconds in his mind, he didn't
stop running.
---
"Sir, the shutdown is
engaged. We should have complete systems -
The counter hit 0.
The elite shuddered as the air boiled, fire scorching
across his face, stripping layer from layer off his skin, his flesh,
his bones. The air burned bright as the cloud of white-hot debris
from the front bulkhead collapsed towards the occupants of the
bridge; as air raged out and the vacuum rushed in. His last vision
was the terrified, pleading look on the Admiral's face before
the darkness took him and the Calisaire died.
Chapter
three: the price you pay
His vision came in fits and starts, the gaps
between seeming long and painful, like swimming through treacle,
though each vision was only a millisecond between.
He shed the
last link to the dying ship and came back to reality with a sharp
gasp of air and a throbbing stab of sympathetic pain in his head. The
light blinded him, just for a moment, his vision swinging
precariously before he found the controls of the Falcon and
yanked them hard up.
Leia's warning cry pulsed through
him like a wave of realisation, and the whole picture was back clear
with him.
"Hold on!" He called through a dry throat
as Leia kicked the forward drives up full and the acceleration
plastered them back in their seats. From down the corridor there was
a yelp as Han careened into the corridor wall. His appearance in the
cockpit doorway, turning on the jam, was accented with a curse. Leia
turned to him but Luke didn't have the time. Flames reached
scorching fingers over the
Falcon's hull, long
wisps arcing over his view and turning the whole of the cockpit a
sickly crimson colour.
Han began to shout something, but then
the shockwaves hit, kicking the freighter around in stomach-churning
turns.
Through the flames, he could see the small streak of
the Jade's Fire in a similar position, rocking like a
feather in the wind. A quick check of the rapidly depleting sensors
showed the New Republic fleet fleeing from the dying ship like birds
from a thunder storm.
The fleet would make it, but the Falcon
and the Jade's Fire weren't going to, he knew. They had
been too close to the hull when they'd started to run.
"Hold
on." He repeated. Mentally crossing his fingers, he boosted the
power. The Falcon groaned in response, but jumped forward.
Parts of debris started to appear in front of them, white hot
fire-balls flaming tails behind them: small parts of the hull not
fully destroyed in the initial blast hurled before the wave front
with the ferocity of the blast.
Impacts sent shivering echoes
across the hull and the lights on the Falcon's boards
blinked green then red then green. Luke tried to ignore the ominous
thuds as they reverberated along the ships length.
Han's
cry to straighten their erratic path was drowned out with his yelp as
the Falcon was shaken down to it's bones as the main blast
hit. Luke resisted the urge to squeeze his eyes shut as their view
corkscrewed and the Falcon tumbled head over heals, shaken but
still whole. He glanced over at a furiously blinking red light, then
called out over the deafening rattle,
"Forward and port
shields are down."
His voice still croaked in his own
ears.
Han had clawed his way forward and gripped the back of
the pilots seat Luke was jammed into,
"Swing her
starboard." He called into Luke's ear. Luke shook his head,
though he doubted Han could have noticed that over the beating the
Calisaire's destruction was giving the small ship.
"Can't." He called back, gripping the controls
with white knuckles "All thrusters have locked." Leia
turned an alarmed gaze to Luke, her eyes mirroring the horror they
all felt.
Without thrusters, they would ride the brunt of the
wave like any other piece of debris.
"Just hold on"
Hans gruff voice said.
And they did, Luke gave up battering
the controls and clutched tighter onto the restraint straps. Han
tightened the restraints in his passenger seat, as Chewie howled a
warning growl from the quad guns.
Fire and space swirled
together as one as the freighter hurtled forward.
---
Mara gasped in awe at the scene in front of her.
Trailing just port and astern of the Falcon, she'd had a
wonderful view of the hull in all it's intricacy, so when it had
suddenly started to blow up, it was a bit of a shock.
The
bridge went first; the Falcon was a bare 100 metres from the
brunt of the first explosion. Small charges blinked in succession
across it like winking eyes, lighting it up a split second later. The
fires they ignited raged in boiling fires outwards into space; shards
of transparisteel from shattered ports gleaming in the firelight.
Even as Mara swerved hard to escape the reach of the flames,
she knew this explosion was just periphery. Any second -probably less
than that, even - the fusion drive would be triggered and the ship
would be engulfed by it's own drive system. She jarred hard on the
controls, climbing for space and seeing the small glint of white in
the distance which meant Rogue Squadron had figured what was going on
and were running like hell. Which was exactly what she should be
doing, but looking far down at the very bottom of her vision line as
the Jade's Fire clawed for space, she saw the Falcon
wavering.
Her first thought was that they must not have
realised, her second, following rapidly on the first, she knew was
right: Luke couldn't disconnect. But even as she stretched out
to see if she was right, the Falcon jumped suddenly forward.
As it did so, a blinding light flared across her vision. She wanted
to throw her hand up and shield her eyes as the fusion drive blew,
but her instincts kicked in and instead she directed full power to
the drive, twisting the ship over as she did to put her view in
shadow. She blinked the burning yellow spots from her eyes and
reached to switch the comm on,
"Luke?" No
reply.
"Falcon, do you read me?"
There
was only static and her viewpoint - pointed away from the rapidly
expanding explosion, didn't allow her to see if the Falcon
was following.
And then the shock wave hit.
---
Luke could feel a sharp pain in his head, but even as
he acknowledged it, he knew the blinking red lights across the board
were more important to their immediate safety. The Falcon was
tumbling head over heals, but the internal gravity was holding. It
was about the only thing that was however. Thrusters were down, the
hyperdrive was completely fried and the comm -
He tried it
again; switched it back off rapidly as static burst across the
cockpit.
As he took his hand away the lights died, plunging
them into a deep black, lit faintly from the outside by the dying
remnants of the explosion and small smouldering hull plates drifting
across their view.
There was a grunt from the cockpits floor
and Luke swivelled in his chair, the restraints cutting into his
shoulders.
Han was sprawled on the cold floor, a hand rubbing
the nape of his neck.
"Did someone just turn the lights
off or did that flash loose me my eyesight again?"
Leia
was by his side and pulling him into a sitting position from the
elbow. She shook her head, more tousled, wild hair falling loose from
her plaits across her dirt spotted face.
"The lights
died." She said as Han shook his head to clear it.
"Ouch."
He muttered. He fixed a sharp-eyed glare on Luke. "I told you no
one else should pilot the Falcon."
Luke laughed
and it was infectious, reducing Leia to wiping tears of laughter from
her eyes. "We're alive." She shook her head and
laughed again, the sound refreshing and lighting up the dark room "We
made it."
"We made it, but we're just hanging
in space." Han looked up at him and frowned.
"No
drive." Luke explained.
"So try the comm."
Luke shook his head "Down too."
He rubbed
his hand to his temple as the pain he'd felt earlier began to
spread.
"Don't worry about it, the Starlight
-"
He cut off. The Falcon's wild trajectory
had brought them back around to face what was left of the ssi-ruuvi
cruiser. Bare skeletal parts were all that remained; drifting in
pieces and slowly moving away from each other, looking for all the
world like a charred skeleton. They burned slowly, flames licking at
it's edges as it tumbled.
Everything was gone. The plates
that had made the corridors had gone; the crew quarters were gone,
the machinery and it's sickening life were gone. What was left of the
black battle droids swarmed around the carcass as if looking on in
disbelief.
Their view was cut off as an x-wing slowly lowered
itself to face the cockpit and then adjusted to their course. Luke
stared into the cockpit and saw Corran grinning. He threw them a
salute, pointed upwards, and then back to them, an indication help
was on the way. Luke threw a salute back to him and watched as the
ship slowly moved away again.
"Like I said, don't
worry about it." Han said.
He pulled himself up from the
floor and grinned as Chewie entered, looking a little shaking and
drastically reducing the room in the cockpit.
Luke thumbled
with the restraint straps and slid out of the pilot's chair. Han
shoved past him and pushed angrily at the controls, but got about as
much response out of them as Luke had.
Leia moved past Chewie
to the side of the cockpit. "Hang on," she said, then gave
the top consoles a hit. Nothing happened. "Ah, well, can't
use the same trick twice."
Han chuckled and Leia turned
to Luke as if to explain the joke, but frowned before she spoke.
"Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded, swallowing
hard as his vision split and wavered for a moment before returning to
vaguely normal "You look pale." She said.
"I'm
fine." He said, the resemblance between the conversation and a
similar one on Cassrine not lost on him.
And then, suddenly,
everything changed.
He saw her reach a hand out to him, but
she wavered in his minds' eye. He stepped back from her, trying
to regain his perspective. The
Falcon's bridge had
just misted over, his vision tunnelling. Fleeting memories of
Cassrine came back to him as Leia started to speak again, achingly
slow, her words stretching beyond recognition.
He thought he
could smell the musky dew from the trees; could feel the mud clammy
and cold against his skin; could taste the bitter metal tang of
blood. He could feel other things too: the salty sting of tears and
his hands tingling with the blood-rush of adrenaline.
Leia's
outstretched hand touched his shoulder. Pain exploded up his arm,
deathly cold claws digging into his arm. The touch of his clothes
against his skin burned him and he moved back from her, sucking in
air.
Leia held onto him as he felt shivers course up his
spine and his legs began to crumble beneath him, sinking him to the
cold deck. He tried to speak, but his voice choked into a strangled
cry. Even as she grabbed for him, every nerve in his brain seemed to
fire. He convulsed suddenly with pain as a dagger sliced through his
mind. He screamed and didn't stop, feeling for real the taste of
blood as he screamed his throat red raw, blood vessels bursting with
the damage. What portion of his mind was left to register such things
brought images back of clawing at the death star throne room floor as
the emperor's lightening coursed over his body. But this time
there was no lightning, his body only thought there was, his muscles
contracting in excruciating waves that travelled from the tips of his
hair to his feet. Peripherally, he was aware that he had sunk to the
floor, and Leia was there, cradling his head in her arms and crying
his name, over and over. He couldn't even begin to reply, he
couldn't even begin to form the words. His consciousness
spiralled down a slippery slope, Leia's voice drifting further
away from him, a chasm opening between the real world and the pain.
He recognised his mind retreating, going back to a place where it
didn't hurt. He almost wished it on, wished to be rid of the
pain. Cool dark called and he let himself fall.
---
"No!!" Leia cried through her tears "Luke?"
He was quite, still in her arms. She was knelt, clasping both
hands across him, cradling him, his head in her lap. He had been
shivering, and screaming, screaming so loud she wanted to scream with
him. And now he was quite, slumped in her arms, slow beads of sweat
trickling down his forehead.
"Luke?"
Her
voice was begging, but her brother never moved, never whispered. She
bent over him, placing his cheek next to hers "Luke?"
His
breath whispered shallow against her skin, but he never spoke, never
opened his eyes, never reassured her he was okay.
"Leia"
Her
name scared her, but it wasn't Luke. Han's arms clasped
around her shoulders, gripping tightly. He was squeezing hard but she
didn't tell him to stop; the pain was a focus.
"Leia.
Come on." He pulled her away.
"He's breathing,"
she whispered as she looked into Hans eyes. Han nodded.
"Come
on." He managed to move her away and knelt down beside the
forlorn figure of her brother. Leia's eyes stung from tears and
she wiped angrily at them. Han placed a hand to Luke's forehead,
Leia looked expectantly at him, but his face fell into a mask of
stone as he sighed quietly,
"He's breathing,"
he confirmed. "But, he's out cold." He went to lift
Luke up from the floor.
Leia was there helping him supporting
Luke's weight as Han flicked on the comm with his free hand. Leia had
her hand around Luke's waist. He was so painfully cold; she didn't
think she could bring herself look into his face, but she had to,
searching for any sign he was awake. The Force told her he wasn't,
and his cold, placid expression confirmed what Han had told
her.
"Starlight," Han called into the comm,
taking Luke from Leia, she let go reluctantly, fighting with a
growing despair. Han didn't wait for a reply before continuing
"The is the Falcon, we need a pick up right now."
There
was a crackle of static from the comm before a voice answered,
"Falcon, we copy. You're in line, please hold, we
have injured fighters to take."
Han growled underneath
his breath "Understood, Starlight, we have a medical
emergency here. We need immediate pickup." Han didn't give
room for argument,
"One moment, Falcon." The
voice came back, and the click of a silencer could be heard.
Han
nodded at Leia, "Come on," he said, heaving Luke into both
arms and leading quickly back to the main hold and the bunks, Leia
followed anxiously.
As Han laid Luke down gently onto the bed,
the comm clicked back in,
"Falcon, you are cleared
for pickup, please standby."
"Understood. Falcon
out." Han said, flicking the comlink off and attaching it back
to his belt in one swift move.
Han looked around the bunk
anxiously, as if searching for something to do for his friend, but
there was nothing they could do for him but wait, and Luke never made
a sound. Leia snagged a blanket from the back of a chair and laid it
over him, kneeling as she did.
"Stay here," Han
said needlessly, "I'm going to chase the pickup up." He
squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and left.
Leia brushed a
strand of blonde hair from Luke's face. Memories were stirring
painfully from within her. The last few months finally crashing down
her. She had lost her brother, her twin. She had thought he was gone,
but he wasn't. She'd been blissfully unaware whilst he'd
been out here, fighting for his life and his sanity. And then she'd
found him again. she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped his
cold, motionless hand in hers. She could loose him again. She could
loose him. She laid her head on the side of the bunk and gripped his
hand tighter.
Chapter four: prologue
"I'm not sure I find the price quite as
absurd as you seem to, Princess." He was saying.
"Karrde,
we - the New Republic- thanks you for you help, but that thanks isn't
meant to be in credits."
Mara smirked. Leia obviously wasn't
seeing the joke in Karrde's eyes that Mara was, but then Leia
hadn't worked with him for over ten years.
"Really?"
he raised a bushy eyebrow "I thought you'd be a little more
grateful even than that. Let's see," he held up a
hand and started counted fingers for effect, "We told you the
ssi-ruuk were back," he lowered one finger, "we sent Mara
out with a fleet of ships to help, and then Mara accompanied you on
your final assault"
Mara stepped into the room,
shaking her head as Organa Solo began to reply with a shake of her
head and another rolling of her eyes,
"Relax, Leia."
She said. Leia whirled about in shock at her voice.
"Oh,
Mara," she said, seeing the redhead standing there.
"He's
joking." She said, indicating the now laughing holo of her
captain, "we're just as grateful as you are that the
ssi-ruuk are gone
"Not gone, we haven't found the
last of their ships." Leia answered.
"Whatever,"
Mara shrugged her shoulders, throwing red hair over them, "They're
not a problem anymore."
Leia glanced back at Karrde, an
angry expression spreading across her still-beautiful
features,
"And, apparently, Karrde hasn't had enough
fun killing Hutts lately"
"Ooh, touché,
Princess." Karrde said with a wink.
"So did you call
to annoy me or had you got a more productive scheme in mind?"
Karrde
nodded, his face suddenly taking on a graver look "Actually, I
wanted to now how Luke was. Mara has given me some information,
but"
Mara frowned in turn now as Leia replied, a
weight suddenly seeming to be placed on her shoulders. "She
probably hasn't told you any less than we know," she
replied, shrugging her shoulders slightly dejectedly "He's
been unconscious and unresponsive for 2 days now."
"Actually,"
Mara interrupted "That's why I dropped by," she
said.
"What?" Leia whirled, and Mara could see her
force down equal amounts of fear and hope.
"He hasn't
woken, but I was just up there, " she said, smiling "he's
picking up. The too-onebee said he could wake any moment," she
stepped up and placed a comradely hand on Leia's shoulder, the
gesture somehow not at all like her, "That's why I came
here, I think you should be there when he wakes."
Leia
looked up with glistening brown eyes. She swallowed and nodded, then
turned back to the comm,
"Karrde- "
Karrde
shook his head and put his hands up "Go, Leia. Tell him I said
hi and to stop laying around." He winked at her and cut the
connection.
Leia breathed deep and Mara sensed the shorter
woman brace herself.
"Coming?" She asked Mara as
she turned in the entranceway.
"Right behind you."
Mara answered.
---
The light wasn't
really painful. It was bright, white and clear, it didn't really
hurt to stare at it, not really.
But somehow, he felt like
he'd seen it before.
There weren't any memories
there to tell him why, he just knew a queasy feeling was steadily
crawling it's ways from the pit of his stomach and up his spine.
The feeling might not even have been there; the line between
memories and reality was blurred.
There weren't any
images to go with the memory.
There weren't any images
at all, just the light.
The feeling was growing, though it
didn't hurt, not really.
It at least told him he was
alive.
Now why did that feel so strange?
Hadn't
he expected to wake up again?
There were no images for that
either.
---
Leia gripped the corner of
the door as she turned on the jamb. She'd called ahead to Han,
and could see him in a corner talking with the medic droid. Luke was
laid on a single bed in the far room. The fact that Luke was in a bay
to himself was a rarity in this post-battle situation - usually the
medical bays would be full of injured pilots. But not only was it
several days since they had left the dying hulk of the ssi-ruuvi
cruiser far behind, but the ssi-ruuk had done a good job of not
leaving many survivors: the radioactive debris made certain of that.
Leia, for herself, would have insisted in being in a bay like
everyone else, had it been her in Luke's position, but her conscience
wouldn't allow her to let Luke to be put in a one of those bays.
Luke would admonish her for pulling rank, when he woke up. When he
woke up. She smiled at that thought. Lying in the bed, unmoving, he
didn't look any different. And through the Force he didn't
feel any different, but somehow she knew he was going to wake soon.
Han look at her, eyes scowling.
"What is it?" She
crossed the distance between them, passing by the foot of Luke's bed.
"Ah, just a little disagreement." He said,
gesturing to the droid with one hand and tucking the thumb of his
other hand into the belt tag of his trousers.
"Oh?"
she raised her eyebrows and the droid answered her,
"Master
Solo believes I may not be telling him everything to do with my
patients condition." The droid said, decidedly annoyed. "I
have told him everything I told Miss Mara Jade."
Han
scowled but Leia placed a cooling hand on his forearm. She turned
back to the droid "What's happened that you told Mara Luke
might wake?"
The droid looked exasperated, as if the
humans were taking this all too seriously. "His vital signs
picked up. When you brought him in, you informed me that he was in a
Jedi hibernation trance. His life signs were very different to what I
would expect to see in a normal human. His life signs have returned
to what I would expect." The droid said.
Leia turned to
look over at Luke "He's out of the trance?" She said,
but even as she reached out to touch deeper into Luke's mind, she
knew the droid was right. Maybe that was what she'd picked up
earlier?
Han stared at the droid for a moment before speaking
"So, he's going to be all right?"
Before the
droid could answer, Mara stepped beside Luke's bed. "Leia?"
She called softly.
She reached a hand out and placed it one
Luke's arm as Leia stepped over.
"Luke?" His eyes
fluttered slightly and she nearly held her breath. Slowly, he opened
his eyes and blinked.
"Hey." Mara said
warmly.
"Ouch." He said, his voice faint but strong.
There was chuckle of laughter behind them and Leia looked over at Han
as he stepped forward.
"Kid just went through hell, and
moans at a slight headache." He shook his head, laughing again.
Luke grinned and Leia squeezed his hand,
"How do you
feel?" She asked. The medical droid moved closer to the readouts
to Luke's left. He changed something, and Luke visibly relaxed.
"I've felt better." He swallowed as his throat
became dry and scratchy, "What happened?"
Leia
paused for a minute, and the too-onebee answered for her. "The
implant suffered a massive overloading of its neural networking. We
presume that there was a massive feedback from the ssi-ruuvi cruiser
when it went down."
"Feedback?" Luke asked,
heaving himself up into a sitting position and waving back Leia's
offer of help. He put a hand up to his head and tentatively touched
the area where the implant should have been.
Should have
been: when they had rushed Luke in comatose, it had taken them a
while to figure out just what had happened. When they had, they
decided the only option was to remove it. Luke looked up questionably
at Leia.
"It's gone," she confirmed for him.
He nodded, not showing any of the relief flooding out of him.
The medic droid missed the moment and carried on with his
explanation "The implant was interlaced with your neural
pathways - it created a wave of impulses travelling throughout your
nervous system.
Luke shivered, remembering. "Kind of
painful." He commented.
"It caused massive
calcification of your skeletal structure"
"I
thought it felt kind of familiar." He said, thinking back to the
last Death Star.
He shifted slightly on the bed and wince at
the shivers of pain that ran up his legs. A wave of dizziness spread
up with the pain and he bit down hard as the world suddenly began to
spin. Leia said something but he didn't catch it. The droid must
have done something - the pain began to ease, but he knew he was
sinking back into unconsciousness. He tried to open his eyes but they
were heavy, so heavy.
"Leia," he tried to whisper
through numb lips. Had that been a sedative the droid had injected?
"Thanks." He slipped back into the still dark.
---
"You shouldn't be up yet."
"I
wanted to walk off the ship, not be carried off for once."
Leia looked up and smiled at her brother. "Well just
take it easy, else you won't get a choice." She said,
turning back to stuffing the last of her clothes into a
carryall.
"Yes, ma'am," he said, giving her a
mock salute. She chuckled, then zipped the bag shut before slinging
it over her shoulder.
"You ready?" She asked as she
approached Luke. He did look better. The pale colour was gone
and his eyes gleamed again with intelligence and a sharp wit. But he
was leaning heavily against the door, and he looked weary,
"I
travelled light." He said with a nod, "Han already on the
Falcon?"
She nodded as they left the quarters
she'd been bunked in for the slow trip back to Coruscant.
"Prepping her for flight," she answered,
"She's
not really ready for a long haul, not after the beating you put her
through-"
"-and you-"
"Yeah, well,
he didn't want to leave her here and take a shuttle down so he's
doing what he does best."
"Welding her together with
hope and duct tape?"
"Yeah."
They
started to walk down the corridors, slowly making their way towards
the docking bay. They talked a little, sharing the idle conversations
that only true friends can enjoy. She noticed Luke walked slowly, and
with a slightly forced gait. That would be gone soon, she knew; he
just needed a bit more rest, like all of them.
Crewmen
dressed in Republic grey uniforms bustled past them, more than a few
with cuts and gashes from the fighting. They saluted the Chief of
State as they passed, giving a curt nod towards Luke as they
recognised the Jedi Master. Luke responded in kind, but Leia, with
her position as in the republic hierarchy, wasn't expected to
respond. She frowned, mulling that over in her mind. She wasn't
sure she was planning on being in that position for that much
longer
She sighed, deeply enough that she gained a
curious glance from Luke.
"What is it?" He asked.
They had reached the end of the corridor and Leia paused in front of
a lift door. She shrugged,
"I've been thinking,"
she said, "After all this, running around the galaxy and then
fighting the ssi-ruuk, I feel like"
She paused not
able to get the right words.
"Like too little moisture
spread over too much desert?"
She laughed, remembering
why she'd missed the company of her brother. "Definitely
something like that," she agreed. They walked to the final
turbolift and waited. Luke turned to her, his look concerned but his
eyes smiling. He placed both hands onto her shoulders and looked at
her with a gaze that held infinite empathy and understanding. The
lights danced of his hair and Leia suddenly felt very small before
him
"Leia-" he began but she cut him off.
"You
know don't you?" she said. It wasn't a question.
"You want to leave the senate?"
She nodded
as the turbolift door opened. "Only for a short time. I just
need a rest. That's all. I thinkI think the arena has seen
enough of me and.."
"And you ran off without telling
them?" he asked. Again, those eyes.
"I didn't
run off, Gaviscom was in charge." She said, struggling to keep a
begging for forgiveness out of her voice. She didn't manage it
well enough.
"Leia, don't chastise yourself."
He shook his head, taken his hands of her shoulders and throwing them
up in the air. "I don't even want to think about how things
would of turned out if you hadn't done what you did."
"The
senate see things in more shades of grey, Luke."
"I
know, that's political bodies for you."
"And
you're supposed to play by the rules. I didn't. I broke the
rules." She shook her head again.
He stared at her for
minute more, "This isn't really about what they will say
though is it?" he said.
She looked up sharply
"What?"
"Leia," he flashed her a grin,
"what do you want to do with your life?"
She
faltered for a minute, not sure how to answer, not sure what the
answer was. "I don't know. I suppose I wanted happiness and
freedom for us -for everyone."
He nodded "And you've
fought for it, all your life."
"I've tried."
"And you've succeeded, so what else do you need to
do to get that happiness complete?"
The lift door began
to close, but Luke reached out and kept the open door button pressed.
"What's left to make it absolute?"
She stared
down at the floor, her forehead creased. "I don't understand."
She knew she did really, though
"Leia, you've done
it. You've got three wonderful children; you've made Chief
of State and lead the Republic through the growing pains. You've
got a decent and devoted man as your husband, and a group of friends
that would stick by you through anything. What's left?"
She
sighed, "I suppose I am." She said.
"Leia, you
can't have that freedom if you don't allow yourself to be
free." He said, "You've done it. Now enjoy it before
the next crisis rears it's head."
She looked back up
at him "You think I should step down?" She asked. He
wavered for a minute.
"I don't know, I can't
tell you that. Have you finished? Maybe just a break is what you
need. When was the last time you kicked back and relaxed?"
She
laughed, but there wasn't any joy in it. She dragged a hand
across her face and shook her head "The last few months, I
haven't felt like really doing that." She said.
She
felt a pang of guilt from him, but he covered it quickly before she
could pick up on it.
"And now?" He asked.
She
smiled, "How come you always manage to get me round to your
answer?"
He shrugged "Must be because I'm
right."
"Right, you are. Except for one thing."
She turned to him and placed a cautious hand on his sleeve. "Luke,
I want you to listen to me now, because what I'm going to say I
mean, more than anything."
He pre-empted her,
shaking his head. She didn't let him speak.
"No,
listen." She said, and then swallowed hard, "What happened
wasn't your fault. There will be questions, but no one, when
they know the truth, will blame you. It won't go any further
than the military high command. It'll be locked up tight and
hidden in a self-erasing file."
He seemed about to say
something so she squeezed his arm, "Luke, if you go blaming
yourself, you'll spiral down and" she swallowed, not
able to look into his eyes, "Luke, I don't want to loose
you. Do you understand?" She stared intently at the floor "I
can't loose you."
He wavered for a minute and she
felt salty tears roll slowly down her cheeks. His hand snaked around
hers and he squeezed it
"Leia-" he started, but the
words seemed to catch in his throat. For a minute she fought he would
turn away from her, but he didn't. He pulled her closer and into
a hug. She laced her arms around his waist and accepted the
hug.
"Leia, we feel so close to what we lose. We'll
never have to loose it again." He held her as brother and sister
entered the turbolift and descended to the docking bay "I'm
not going anywhere, I promise."
Well,
that's the end folks!! I hope it was a suitable oneplease
email me any comments, I really enjoy reading them, and I'm
writing an epilogue complete with common questions and answers that I
will post tomorrow probably.