Part XVIII -- The Falcon Has Landed

Two weeks had passed. There had been no sign of Imperial or Rebel search parties, and the castaways didn't know whether to be glad or not. To be truthful, none of them wanted to leave Earth or their newfound friends. But at the same time they knew their fates lay in the "real" galaxy, not here, and that sooner or later they would have to return to their lives outside the system.

Tonight, however, they could forget about the Galactic Civil War. For it was the American Independence Day, a night of celebration and high spirits. Once again the crew had gathered at the Osmonds' for food, music, and games. This time, however, they held the gig outside, with the brothers barbecuing hot dogs, steaks, and burgers on the grill. Conrad and Diana doled out sparklers and firecrackers and kept a close watch on those wielding them. Amethyst, Vader, and Steve played a little football on the lawn against Brigham, Mike, Luke, and Zack, the dim twilight making the game even more challenging. A makeshift stage had been set up with concrete blocks and plywood, and here Liberty performed songs honoring the Elite's home country.

"Happy Fourth of July!" Cody bellowed, waving his sparkler as if he were flagging a cab.

Luke, exhausted from the game and clutching an ice pack against his bruised forehead, collapsed on a bench and watched as Emily tried to light a stubborn Roman Candle. He hadn't had so much fun in a long time. Part of him felt guilty for being on a vacation of sorts while the Rebellion worked, but it hadn't been his decision to crash here. Besides, the last four years had been rough. He thought he deserved a little time off.

"Hut!" bellowed Steve, crouching on the lawn with one hand on the ball. "Hut! Hut! Hut! Hike!"

He pelted the ball to Vader, who raised it over his head to pass to Amethyst for a goal. Brigham slammed into the Dark Lord, gripped him around the waist, and tried his hardest to pull him down for a tackle. Vader glanced down at his futile efforts, then lobbed the ball to Amethyst.

"Score!" she shouted, throwing it down for a spike.

Brigham groaned. "Can we PLEASE change this to touch football?" he begged.

In the light of the blazing Roman Candle Luke could see Fett and Liz talking quietly on a bench near the stage. He smiled. Those two were obviously an item, despite their initial mutual hatred. Tonight the woman had actually gone so far as to invite the hunter to sit next to her.

"Tired already?" Sparky asked Luke, pushing his chair next to the young Jedi.

"A bit," Luke confessed, removing the ice pack and gingerly touching his bump. "Football in the dark's pretty rough."

"Your old man seems to be having the time of his life. And you were doing well too, up until you and Vader knocked skulls."

Luke chuckled. "I can't explain it. A year ago he was this close to decapitating me on Cloud City." He held apart his thumb and forefinger a few centimeters. "And now we're playing games together! Sure, things aren't perfect, but with everything that's gone on in our lives you can't expect them to be."

Sparky smiled. "With everything you two have been through, I'm surprised things have turned out this good."

He nodded acknowledgment and took a long swig from his soda bottle, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "Does Liberty sing professionally?"

"Not anymore. When she was in high school she joined a band called Cloning Luke that released a couple of albums. Now she just sings for herself. Amazing singer. She puts her whole heart and soul into a performance. Of course, that means she's exhausted at the end of each show. She did an hour-long concert last year at the close of Nova-Con and passed out on the stage."

Luke laughed heartily.

"It's a beautiful night," Sparky went on. "You can see the galaxy." He pointed to a misty band striping the sky. "I always wanted to go into space, you know. I was a boy when our planet finally sent an explorer to our moon. When I saw Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on TV, I knew that was what I wanted to be -- an astronaut. I kept myself in good shape so I could join the space program, got science scholarships, did a stint in the army. But after my accident..." He gestured helplessly at his legs. "That's why I 'went all Star Wars,' as my wife calls it. Through the movies and the fandom surrounding them, I was able to let my mind go where my body couldn't."

Luke squeezed Sparky's hand in sympathy. "When my friends arrive, I promise I'll take you for a ride in a starship before we leave."

Sparky blinked back moisture. "Thank you for the offer, Luke."

Liberty plucked away at her guitar, her Lady Vader armor sparkling in the light of the fireworks. The metallic embroidery of her Chinese dragon cloak glittered as she shifted her guitar, which also bore a rampant dragon across its surface. Her song, the American anthem, carried powerfully over the noise of the celebration, her voice clear and vibrant.

At the end of the song, as if on cue, green fire blossomed in the sky, followed by bursts of red, blue, violet, and gold as the Star City Fireworks Display began. Everyone cheered at the unintended finale to Liberty's song. Everyone except Liberty, who gave a shaky bow and sat down on the edge of the stage to recover.

"Daddy, Daddy, the fireworks!" Rachel shouted, pulling on her father's pant leg.

"I know, sweetheart."

"And look! A shooting star! Make a wish!"

Luke abruptly shot to his feet. A reddish object arced across the sky behind the fireworks, angling for the woods. He had seen plenty of meteors in his lifetime, and that was no meteor.

It was a starship.

Break…

"Leave it to the Gungan to forget to give us exact coordinates," humphed Han as the Falcon slipped quietly past yet another TIE formation beyond Area 51's fourth world.

It had taken nearly six days for the Falcon to make the hyperspace journey, which included a pit stop at Bespin to refuel and replenish supplies. Then it had taken eight more days so far to thoroughly search the system for a life pod, a scrap of familiar-looking wreckage, a distress signal, a body, anything. Absolutely no sign of Luke had been uncovered, though numerous sightings of TIE fighters and the occasional overheard Imperial transmission indicated they were not alone in their search.

"Oh, I don't like the look of that," whimpered Threepio as a clump of mangled metal floated past a viewport.

"It's just a burnt-out satellite, Threepio," Leia told the droid.

She kept her eyes on the viewport, searching. In her heart she felt her dearest friend was still alive, but as each day went by without a trace of him her hopes were waning. At this point she would be happy if they found a body, that they might give him a proper burial and receive some closure. It was almost beyond reason to think they might find him alive.

"Planet three," Han announced, bringing the Falcon around for a look at the gleaming blue globe. "Atmospheric readings excellent for sustaining life. I'm getting plenty of technology readings too. If the kid's here, we'll have a hard time finding his distress call with all the activity."

Leia smiled sadly. Han was still holding out hope. He and Luke had always been close, even when they had been sparring over her. A smuggler and a Jedi -- who would have thought those two would be friends? Then again, who would have thought a smuggler and a senator-turned-rebel-leader would be romantically involved?

Chewie growled.

"Yeah, I see it." Han hurriedly threw a switch to heighten the shields. "Stardestroyer in orbit around the planet. Keep a low profile."

Leia strained, but she couldn't see a Stardestroyer anywhere. "Han, I think you should let me have a turn at the controls so you can get some sleep."

"I don't think so," Han replied. "No one flies the Falcon but me and Chewie."

"You weren't so hesitant to let Lando fly her."

"That was different. He needed a fast ship to attack the Death Star, and she was the fastest ship available."

Chewie barked.

"And that was different too. There was money involved."

"All the same," Leia countered, "you're exhausted. You're seeing things."

"Am not!"

"Han, there is no Stardestroyer..."

"That's because it's cloaked," Han defended. "But it shows up on the sensors." He tapped a screen, where a scarlet triangle indicated the presence of another ship in the area. "And from the size of it, I think it's Vader's hulk."

She arched an eyebrow. "This flying crate has that high-tech of a scope?"

"For your information, Princess, it's a low-tech scope from GalactiComp."

"GalactiComp? They went out of business seven years ago."

"Yeah, and that works to our advantage right now. The Empire's cloaking devices are meant to fool the eyes and newer technology. But GalactiComp equipment picks up cloaked Imperial ships just fine."

She smiled. "For once it pays to fly a piece of junk."

"Ha ha ha. Funny, your Highness."

The Falcon dipped closer to the planet, Han being careful to avoid the larger pieces of the plentiful space garbage that surrounded it. This was the kind of flotsam and jetsam that marked a world just beginning to develop a reliable method of space travel. All the detritus made it all the easier for the Falcon to avoid detection.

Over the comm they could hear the myriad conversations of the Imperials as they, too, combed the system.

"Unidentified instrument on my scopes, sir. Permission to investigate."

"Permission denied. It's an orbiting telescope. Probably belongs to this world."

"There's an awful lot of wreckage in my quadrant, sir. It appears to be a starship. Permission to check out."

"Permission granted."

"Copy, sir." A moment's pause. "Alderaanian light space yacht, sir, about twenty or thirty years old. Looks to have gotten a satellite jammed in its engines."

"Sir, shouldn't we search the planet? It's possible Lord Vader and the Rebel..."

"Piett's orders were to stay away from the planet. Carry on, pilot."

"Nothing in this quadrant but junk, sir."

Han listened to the banter thoughtfully. Then a wide grin spread across his face. "I know where the kid is," he announced.

Leia glanced up, startled at the certainty in his voice.

"They haven't searched the planet. So that's where he'll be. Most people are scared to go near the planet, but he's gutsy enough to try it. I'll bet if we land..."

"Han!" Leia protested. "They're scared for good reason. Ships have gone into this system and disappeared."

"Just like Luke." Han pushed the Falcon into a dive, selecting a point on the planet's surface more or less at random. "That looks like a nice landing site."

His choice of landing areas couldn't have been anything short of miraculous. For as the Falcon began to settle in a large meadow in a thick forest, she thought she saw a glint of light off durasteel plating.

"Han!" she cried. "Over in the meadow! Fifty meters east!"

"Yeah, I saw it. Chewie, hit the ramp!"

It was night on this part of the planet, and the songs of insects and night creatures filled the woods. The scenery was so much like the forests of Endor, Leia thought. But there was no time to admire the landscape. She, Han, and Chewie bolted through the trees, Threepio lagging behind and fussing the whole way.

Luke's X-wing sat in the next clearing over, and Han and Leia embraced each other with ecstatic cheers.

"He's here!" Leia exclaimed. "And he landed safely!"

Han laughed heartily -- until something made his grin fade away.

Behind the X-wing sat two other ships -- a crook-winged TIE fighter and the Slave.

Leia shook her head. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Yeah, me too," Han agreed. "At least none of them look like they were shot down. And from the look of it, they've been deserted for awhile now." He spat and kicked the side of the Slave. "Boba Fett! He just keeps coming back to life!"

"Oh dear," moaned Threepio. "Master Luke's been captured, hasn't he?"

"Well, I'm not letting them leave this rock with him in their claws," Han replied, hand on his blaster. "There's a path here. Maybe they went this way..."

Rustling vegetation signaled the approach of another. Han and Leia drew their blasters and Chewie his bowcaster as two figures strode briskly down the path Han had pointed out. One, a skinny young man with stringy white hair and beard, wore baggy tan pants and a short-sleeved blue shirt that read "The Gene Pool Could Use A Little Chlorine." The other, a tall and solidly built woman with close-cropped brown hair, was garbed in mottled blue pants reinforced with metal studs and a pine-colored sweater. Neither carried weapons, and they didn't appear to be daunted by the sight of three armed Rebels.

The man raised a scrawny arm in greeting. "Yo!"

"Uh... yo," Han replied unsurely. "Ah... do you speak Basic?"

"Basic!" the man screeched. "What's Basic?"

"It's English, you dipwad," the woman snapped, popping him in the back of the head.

"I take it the answer's yes," Han said, lowering his pistol slightly.

"Welcome to Earth!" the man exclaimed, opening his arms in welcome. "Third rock from the sun! I'm Zachary Brown. Call me Zack."

"I'm Emily Snow," the woman greeted with a tolerant glance at her manic companion. "And welcome to our planet."

"Thank you, Emily," said Leia, letting diplomacy take over as she holstered her weapon. "I'm Leia Organa, and these are my companions..."

"Han Solo and Chewbacca," Emily finished. "We know."

Leia blinked, startled. "You do?"

"Sure!" Zack replied enthusiastically. "Luke's told us all about you..."

"Luke?" Leia repeated. Could it be?

"Luke!" Han cried. "Where is he? Is he hurt? How long has he..."

Emily cut him off with a gentle laugh. "Don't worry. He's all right. Come, we'll take you to him."

Leia had to force her feet to carry her forward. Luke was alive! She could hardly believe it. And he'd had the incredible luck to land on this system's one inhabited planet! These people had been so gracious to care for Luke. Whatever could they do to repay them?

They arrived at a road of pebbled gray ferrocrete painted with yellow lines. Parked on the shoulder of the road was a rusty yellow wheeled vehicle, its engine growling as it idled. Behind the controls sat a black-haired woman with pants similar to Emily's and a snug-fitting white shirt that read "Don't Piss Me Off -- I'm Running Out Of Places To Hide The Bodies."

"Hop in!" she shouted. "You'll have to squeeze. My name's Amethyst Andrews."

"That's a beautiful name," Leia commented as she entered the ground car.

"Thanks." She blushed. "Sorry it's so cramped."

It was a bit crowded, what with the three Earth humans in the front seat and the four others in the back. But Leia was so excited about seeing Luke again that she hardly noticed her discomfort.

"Oh, it will be so good to see Master Luke again," said Threepio in an enthusiastic voice, something rare for the droid.

"I'll bet Luke's been talking your ears off about his adventures," said Han.

Zack tugged at his earlobe experimentally. "Nope. Still on good and tight."

"He's quite a man," Emily noted.

"And a helluva football player," Amethyst added. "Played against him and whoo-ee! He's good for a first-timer! If he hadn't knocked skulls with Vader and had to quit we'd have never won..."

At that comment, Leia's blood ran cold. In her zeal to see Luke again she had forgotten entirely that Vader, too, was on Earth.

"Vader!" shrieked Threepio.

Chewie bellowed in anger.

"Vader," snarled Han. "You oughta shoot that scum..."

"No way, man!" Zack protested. "He rocks! Besides, he owes me money!"

"Zack," she told him seriously, "Lord Darth Vader is a very dangerous man. You have no idea what sort of crimes he's..."

"Princess," Emily interrupted, raising a hand to silence her. "We're aware of this. But it's not as bad as you think. We'll explain during the drive."