Part XIII -- Missing In Action
The Death Star was little more than smoldering space rubble, creating an obstacle course of sorts around the Home One. Outside the viewscreen Endor's verdant globe was a marvelous sight to behold, though chunks of the battle station and the skeletons of blasted fighters occasionally marred the view -- grisly reminders of the horrid battle yesterday. Beyond that, the glimmering eyes of the stars watched over the proceedings, ageless sentinels of the universe, to whom such petty dealings as civil wars were inconsequential matters.
Leia forced herself to look away. Mon Mothma was speaking to them. She couldn't afford to space out now.
"I have called you here to deliver some disturbing news," Mothma was saying. "It is believed that, contrary to our first assumptions, the Emperor did not arrive aboard the Death Star as scheduled. Our informants on Corusant report that he has not left the planet in months, and he does not appear to be preparing for a journey anytime soon."
The audience gathered in the Home One's briefing room -- Leia, Han, Chewie, Threepio, Trigger, Admiral Ackbar, and Ackbar's second-in-command Captain Dzi -- exchanged nervous glances. They had hoped beyond hope that the Emperor had died aboard the Death Star. So much had been risked to see to that -- and so much had been lost. Were the deaths of so many pilots and ground troops, as well as the noble sacrifices made by Endor's indigenous tribes, in vain?
"I thought this whole battle was supposed to be a trap for the Alliance," Han pointed out. "Why would the Emperor miss out on that?"
"Trigger can tell ussss," Captain Dzi hissed. Dzi was a serpentine Ramothian, with an eight-meter long silver-blue body and a bony green crest. His kind had been brutally persecuted by the Empire, with rich governors and bureaucrats wearing their hides and their young being enslaved as pets. The Alliance, however, recognized the Ramothians as an intelligent species and recruited them regularly.
"Meesa, Captain?" the Gungan asked skeptically.
"According to your report, you and Skywalker were ambushed in Area 51 by the Stardestroyer Executor," Ackbar said.
"Yessir. An' meesa hearin' Vader on da comm, too. Wesa told Commander Skywalker wesa send help."
Dzi flicked his jet-black forked tongue, a regretful gesture. "The ssscouts we sssent to Area 51 could find no tracccce of Sssskywalker."
Leia gasped and clutched Han's hand.
"That is very unfortunate," Mothma replied. "But the fact that Trigger and Luke encountered Vader provides a clue as to why the Emperor did not commence his visit to the Death Star. According to Intelligence, Lord Darth Vader has been reported as missing in action."
Han's eyes widened. "Did the kid shoot him down?"
"If I may say so," Threepio pointed out, "the odds of defeating a pilot of Vader's skills and experience in aerial battle are 5,823 to one."
"I don't think we needed to know that, scrap-bucket," Han snapped.
"Do not forget, Skywalker is an exceptional pilot also," Ackbar replied. "It is possible Luke killed Vader and is attempting to return to the Fleet. We will send a scout party to Sullust to see if he is at our rendezvous point. It is also possible, however, that he and Vader have crashed on a planetoid in Area 51 and cannot leave."
"Whatever the reason for these events, time is now of the essence," Mothma said. "Our war is far from over. Now our tasks are twofold -- find Commander Skywalker, wherever he may be, and seek another means of deposing Palpatine. With the Imperial Fleet in disarray, the time to act is now."
***
As Leia left the conference room, Mothma caught Han by the shoulder and asked to speak with him a moment. They returned to the conference room to talk, just out of Leia's earshot.
Luke missing in action! And Vader possibly on his trail! The news was almost unbearable. Luke was her best friend, nearly a brother, and she knew part of her would die with him if he were to perish. And Vader... the beast from her nightmares, the specter that continued to torment her spirit even though it had been four years since he had tortured her body... he killed Jedi. If he got his hands on Luke, the outcome would be no less than grisly. And she knew, with a certainty that rose from her guts, that the galaxy would be doomed if the last Jedi were to die.
But then... was Luke really the last of the Jedi?
She closed her eyes, wishing she could block the scene from the Ewok village from her mind. It had seemed so hopeless -- Han and Chewie were to be served as the main course at a banquet in honor of Threepio, whom the furry creatures had mistaken for a god. She had tried to reason with their leader despite her ignorance of their language, even tried to get Threepio to dissuade them by telling them that he would get angry and use his magic...
And then, inexplicably, Threepio had flown. The litter on which the Ewoks had carried him into the village had risen in the air and glided over the aerial dwelling, terrifying the natives into releasing the smuggler and Wookie. While the event had been providential, it horrified her.
Luke had mentioned that once, when he was a boy, he and his friend Biggs had been playing near an ancient shipwreck on Tatooine when a band of Tusken Raiders had attacked. According to his story, he had been so scared at the sight of the vicious desert nomads that he had shouted stupidly at their leader "You don't want to attack us!" Incredibly, the Raider stared at him blankly before hooting something to his comrades, and the entire pack had left him and Biggs unmolested.
Leia didn't doubt that Luke had accidentally tapped into the Force during that moment of desperation. But did that mean that she had done something similar on Endor? That incident hinted at powers hidden deep within her, at mysteries she didn't want to see the answers to.
"Leia?"
She looked up to see Han running for her.
"C'mon, let's get to the Falcon," he urged her, putting an arm around her to herd her in that direction.
"Why?" she demanded. "Where's Mothma sending us?"
"Area 51. We're looking for Luke. Trigger'll take Rogue Squadron to sweep near Sullust while we scan the ambush spot."
She stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Don't give me that look, Leia. Mothma's orders. Though I don't like the idea of going through that system. The Empire keeps security tight there, and I've heard weird stories about..."
Chewie barked at him.
"I'm not thinking of backing out, dust mop! Luke's my friend. I'd fly into the Maw to pull him out."
Leia could have wept at Han's noble declaration. Was this the same man that four years ago could only think about gaining a reward from the Rebellion? Somehow she felt that, with Han and Chewie at her side, nothing could harm them. She was so glad they had been chosen to rescue Luke.
/Hold on, Luke. We're coming for you. Hold on./
***
It was only a minor setback, never mind what the Holonet said about the Death Star's destruction being a massive disaster. To Palpatine, losing the superweapon was the equivalent of losing an eyelash. Military leaders, starfleets, legions, planets... all mere pawns in a much grander scheme, all dispensable. If Corusant itself were to be pounded to ashes, its loss would be inconsequential -- as long as he was off the planet before it
blew.
Losing Vader -- now that was a loss worth noting. If the Death Star's explosion was a plucked hair, Vader's disappearance was a severed hand -- replaceable, but the initial loss was devastating, and the replacement would never measure up to the original.
When Vader had failed to return to the Executor, Piett had wisely contacted the Emperor before sending search parties. The Force was unusually strong on that planet, and it did odd things in odd places. Stars knew what would happen to those troops before they could locate Vader.
No, regular scouting parties wouldn't suffice. He needed a searcher who could cope with peculiarities in the Force, who could make themselves invisible if need be, who would never rest until their objective was completed... who was ruthless to an extreme.
A crook of his finger activated the comm.
"Hand."
"Yes, Master."
"Report to my throne room."
"Yes, Master."
The Death Star was little more than smoldering space rubble, creating an obstacle course of sorts around the Home One. Outside the viewscreen Endor's verdant globe was a marvelous sight to behold, though chunks of the battle station and the skeletons of blasted fighters occasionally marred the view -- grisly reminders of the horrid battle yesterday. Beyond that, the glimmering eyes of the stars watched over the proceedings, ageless sentinels of the universe, to whom such petty dealings as civil wars were inconsequential matters.
Leia forced herself to look away. Mon Mothma was speaking to them. She couldn't afford to space out now.
"I have called you here to deliver some disturbing news," Mothma was saying. "It is believed that, contrary to our first assumptions, the Emperor did not arrive aboard the Death Star as scheduled. Our informants on Corusant report that he has not left the planet in months, and he does not appear to be preparing for a journey anytime soon."
The audience gathered in the Home One's briefing room -- Leia, Han, Chewie, Threepio, Trigger, Admiral Ackbar, and Ackbar's second-in-command Captain Dzi -- exchanged nervous glances. They had hoped beyond hope that the Emperor had died aboard the Death Star. So much had been risked to see to that -- and so much had been lost. Were the deaths of so many pilots and ground troops, as well as the noble sacrifices made by Endor's indigenous tribes, in vain?
"I thought this whole battle was supposed to be a trap for the Alliance," Han pointed out. "Why would the Emperor miss out on that?"
"Trigger can tell ussss," Captain Dzi hissed. Dzi was a serpentine Ramothian, with an eight-meter long silver-blue body and a bony green crest. His kind had been brutally persecuted by the Empire, with rich governors and bureaucrats wearing their hides and their young being enslaved as pets. The Alliance, however, recognized the Ramothians as an intelligent species and recruited them regularly.
"Meesa, Captain?" the Gungan asked skeptically.
"According to your report, you and Skywalker were ambushed in Area 51 by the Stardestroyer Executor," Ackbar said.
"Yessir. An' meesa hearin' Vader on da comm, too. Wesa told Commander Skywalker wesa send help."
Dzi flicked his jet-black forked tongue, a regretful gesture. "The ssscouts we sssent to Area 51 could find no tracccce of Sssskywalker."
Leia gasped and clutched Han's hand.
"That is very unfortunate," Mothma replied. "But the fact that Trigger and Luke encountered Vader provides a clue as to why the Emperor did not commence his visit to the Death Star. According to Intelligence, Lord Darth Vader has been reported as missing in action."
Han's eyes widened. "Did the kid shoot him down?"
"If I may say so," Threepio pointed out, "the odds of defeating a pilot of Vader's skills and experience in aerial battle are 5,823 to one."
"I don't think we needed to know that, scrap-bucket," Han snapped.
"Do not forget, Skywalker is an exceptional pilot also," Ackbar replied. "It is possible Luke killed Vader and is attempting to return to the Fleet. We will send a scout party to Sullust to see if he is at our rendezvous point. It is also possible, however, that he and Vader have crashed on a planetoid in Area 51 and cannot leave."
"Whatever the reason for these events, time is now of the essence," Mothma said. "Our war is far from over. Now our tasks are twofold -- find Commander Skywalker, wherever he may be, and seek another means of deposing Palpatine. With the Imperial Fleet in disarray, the time to act is now."
***
As Leia left the conference room, Mothma caught Han by the shoulder and asked to speak with him a moment. They returned to the conference room to talk, just out of Leia's earshot.
Luke missing in action! And Vader possibly on his trail! The news was almost unbearable. Luke was her best friend, nearly a brother, and she knew part of her would die with him if he were to perish. And Vader... the beast from her nightmares, the specter that continued to torment her spirit even though it had been four years since he had tortured her body... he killed Jedi. If he got his hands on Luke, the outcome would be no less than grisly. And she knew, with a certainty that rose from her guts, that the galaxy would be doomed if the last Jedi were to die.
But then... was Luke really the last of the Jedi?
She closed her eyes, wishing she could block the scene from the Ewok village from her mind. It had seemed so hopeless -- Han and Chewie were to be served as the main course at a banquet in honor of Threepio, whom the furry creatures had mistaken for a god. She had tried to reason with their leader despite her ignorance of their language, even tried to get Threepio to dissuade them by telling them that he would get angry and use his magic...
And then, inexplicably, Threepio had flown. The litter on which the Ewoks had carried him into the village had risen in the air and glided over the aerial dwelling, terrifying the natives into releasing the smuggler and Wookie. While the event had been providential, it horrified her.
Luke had mentioned that once, when he was a boy, he and his friend Biggs had been playing near an ancient shipwreck on Tatooine when a band of Tusken Raiders had attacked. According to his story, he had been so scared at the sight of the vicious desert nomads that he had shouted stupidly at their leader "You don't want to attack us!" Incredibly, the Raider stared at him blankly before hooting something to his comrades, and the entire pack had left him and Biggs unmolested.
Leia didn't doubt that Luke had accidentally tapped into the Force during that moment of desperation. But did that mean that she had done something similar on Endor? That incident hinted at powers hidden deep within her, at mysteries she didn't want to see the answers to.
"Leia?"
She looked up to see Han running for her.
"C'mon, let's get to the Falcon," he urged her, putting an arm around her to herd her in that direction.
"Why?" she demanded. "Where's Mothma sending us?"
"Area 51. We're looking for Luke. Trigger'll take Rogue Squadron to sweep near Sullust while we scan the ambush spot."
She stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Don't give me that look, Leia. Mothma's orders. Though I don't like the idea of going through that system. The Empire keeps security tight there, and I've heard weird stories about..."
Chewie barked at him.
"I'm not thinking of backing out, dust mop! Luke's my friend. I'd fly into the Maw to pull him out."
Leia could have wept at Han's noble declaration. Was this the same man that four years ago could only think about gaining a reward from the Rebellion? Somehow she felt that, with Han and Chewie at her side, nothing could harm them. She was so glad they had been chosen to rescue Luke.
/Hold on, Luke. We're coming for you. Hold on./
***
It was only a minor setback, never mind what the Holonet said about the Death Star's destruction being a massive disaster. To Palpatine, losing the superweapon was the equivalent of losing an eyelash. Military leaders, starfleets, legions, planets... all mere pawns in a much grander scheme, all dispensable. If Corusant itself were to be pounded to ashes, its loss would be inconsequential -- as long as he was off the planet before it
blew.
Losing Vader -- now that was a loss worth noting. If the Death Star's explosion was a plucked hair, Vader's disappearance was a severed hand -- replaceable, but the initial loss was devastating, and the replacement would never measure up to the original.
When Vader had failed to return to the Executor, Piett had wisely contacted the Emperor before sending search parties. The Force was unusually strong on that planet, and it did odd things in odd places. Stars knew what would happen to those troops before they could locate Vader.
No, regular scouting parties wouldn't suffice. He needed a searcher who could cope with peculiarities in the Force, who could make themselves invisible if need be, who would never rest until their objective was completed... who was ruthless to an extreme.
A crook of his finger activated the comm.
"Hand."
"Yes, Master."
"Report to my throne room."
"Yes, Master."