Chapter 3 – Death Star
The dark lady had returned to one of her personal vessels, a massive Star Destroyer she used mainly as a means of transportation. As a weapon it was hardly necessary anymore, not with the other devices she had at her disposal. Or more accurately, her Master's disposal. She smirked at that thought. He was getting older and more frail every day and most of the power of the Empire was now under her control.
She walked slowly down the darkened, empty corridors. She allowed only a skeleton crew onboard, just enough to keep things running and comfortable. With all that annoying overcrowding taking place on the worlds under her dominion, it was a pleasure to escape to her own private sanctuary.
Not far ahead of her a servant woman stood quietly to one side, head bowed and distinctly nervous. She could feel that. It was one of her gifts. Feeling unusually generous that day with the thought of a new power to control, she decided not to punish the servant for her breach of rules. She could live for now.
As the dark lady approached the servant's position, she inclined her head, indicating the woman should follow. "What is it, Kaylaa? I'm in no mood for your games." Always good to keep them on their toes.
"My Lady Viaan, I'm so sorry to disturb you, but your son has been asking for you. Very insistently." Kaylaa brushed her hair back from her forehead where a fresh bruise was revealed.
Lady Viaan rolled her eyes, "Is that all? I should have you flogged for that. Very well, I'll go see him shortly." And she walked off down an adjoining corridor, leaving the servant behind, who was thankful she'd been spared yet another beating. However, without turning back, Viaan said, "Oh Kaylaa, one more thing. Go have yourself beaten." And she walked off, confident the servant would do as she was told.
The pallid Dark Lady Viaan soon entered her son's quarters. Typically they were messy with many toys scattered about the floor, most of which were broken. He certainly had a temper, she thought. Much like his father had.
Her son sat on the floor, leaning against a wall, in the process of destroying yet another toy. It looked like a Wookiee doll. Hairy, smelly creatures, she thought. And yet their was something about that them that made her slightly wistful. Odd. But her son obviously did not feel the same and ripped the head off the doll and then its arms and legs, tossing them aside carelessly.
She stood a moment watching her unnamed son. He was a handsome enough child; dark hair; tall for his six years and showing signs that he'd be broad shouldered, too. A fine offspring. I can hardly wait for your naming, she thought, and your awakening. He threw the remaining torso against the opposite wall, leaving a small dent in its hardened surface. And strong, too.
He finally saw his mother standing staring at him, and leapt to his feet, whooping for joy and ran to her and grabbed hold of her legs. "Ma'ma! I missed you!"
That was a problem, Viaan thought. I must break him of that nasty neediness of his. She'd never suffered from it, and neither should her son. She pushed him off her, using a little Force to help release his grip, and he fell backwards onto the ground. "Yes, my son. Kaylaa said you wanted me. What is it?"
Her son looked on the verge of tears after his rough tumble onto the floor, but held it in check. "Kaylaa's mean... she wouldn't tell me where we are going. Why we are here," meaning the Star Destroyer Compliance. Not his normal home.
Lady Viaan looked sternly at him, "That's because she doesn't know, child. Think. That's why you have a brain." She watched him looking back at her a moment, clearly not understanding her meaning. Good looking; strong... but not very bright. Can't have everything, I suppose. Maybe the awakening will help that, she pondered. "Mother is taking you on a trip. She doesn't even know where it is, so no-one else would, now would they?"
The boy leapt to his feet, "Is it a surprise?" he asked expectantly.
She rolled her eyes, "Yes it is. And not just for us."
(-O-)
Biggs and Charii had been left to their own devices once they had entered Rebel Headquarters. The little yellow creature had stayed long enough to introduce himself as Welba C'lay, ushered them into a small holding room, gotten their names and gone off to report to his commander. The door to the room was locked, they noticed. But he'd not taken their blasters. I guess he trusts us that much, thought Biggs.
The 'Headquarters' were not very impressive. From what they had seen, it looked more like a soup kitchen, supplying food and clothing to those that couldn't afford their own. Many of the rooms they'd passed by were occupied by many families just trying to survive. He'd seen precious few weapons and even less organization. Is this what the rebellion had become? Not a source of hope and salvation, but rather a source of food and shelter?
Making use of the time they had to themselves, they prepared a small meal from the provisions they had bought in the market. Consisting mainly of raw fruit and vegetables, the two ate in silence, each with their own thoughts. The food was remarkably good, even though it was twenty years since their last meal. Biggs laughed as he remembered that joke again, spraying a small amount of juice from his mouth.
"You're thinking of that joke again, aren't you?" Charii accused him.
Biggs nodded in reply and kept eating.
"You know, I just realized that most of our friends are probably dead. And that thing that Welba said about there being fewer and fewer worlds. What does it mean?" Charii asked.
Biggs swallowed his mouthful of blue fruit and put the remaining half of the peach-like morsel down, suddenly losing his appetite. "I don't know, Charii. But whatever it is, it's not good. You saw the looks on the people's faces here. They're terrified of the Empire. A lot worse than back in our day. It's sickening to think things could get worse."
At that moment, Welba returned to the room, followed my an old, balding man with a distinct scar running across his face. As Welba approached them, the man stood back at the entrance, stopping short as he looked at the two seated visitors. He had an unreadable expression of his face, but it gave Charii a strange feeling. As if he didn't trust them, or that he was accusing them of something without even saying a word.
Welba introduced them to the man, "This is Commander Q, leader of our cell here on Bolraan and the surrounding worlds in this sector. Commander, these are the two I found in the market. The lady was adept enough to spot me, Sir, and the gentleman even caught me before I noticed. They're good. I think they may be useful to us."
Charii stood and greeted the Commander, pushing aside her reservations. "Commander Q. It's a pleasure to meet you. If you don't mind, I have a number of questions to ask you. We've been away for some time and - "
But the Commander interrupted her, "Where did you go?"
Charii looked at him oddly, then looked to Biggs, "We didn't go anywhere, Commander," she replied, turning back to him. "We've been here since Welba brought us. He even locked the door. And as you can see, we've been eating - "
But he interrupted her again, and the next few words he spoke sent an icy chill up and down Biggs' and Charii's spines. "I mean twenty years ago. Where did you go?"
Biggs stood up as Charii and he looked more intently at the Commander. "It couldn't be," he said. But if he looked hard enough, imagining the hair thicker and a brighter shade of red, dismissed the slightly disfigured face and heavier build, he looked like an older version of...
"JOBE!" cried Charii. And she rushed forward and grabbed him, kissing his cheek. "I don't believe it!"
Biggs came forward and embraced Jobe as well, "It's great to see you again, Jobe!"
But Commander Q - or Jobe - wasn't quite as welcoming as they might have expected, although he did mellow out a little after the greeting. "Yes, it's me. But you didn't answer my question. Just what happened to you two?"
And so Biggs and Charii explained their disappearance all those years ago; how they'd found his message; the ship they'd salvaged and its failure in hyperspace; and their desperate use of the strange artifact from Charii's family that allowed them to reach Bolraan.
"And all this time, I thought you two had run off. But it explains why you look so... young." He paused a moment and continued. "When I got back to the rebel base, I was so mad at you two. I actually hoped you were dead. I couldn't live with the idea you had left me and fled the Alliance. But here you are," and he smiled for the first time, "You didn't run away after all." And he embraced them both again, this time as eagerly as they had earlier embraced him.
"Oh, Mr. Biggs!" he said, becoming that young man from two decades ago, even if only briefly, "so much has happened since you vanished..."
Sitting quietly in a corner of the room, Welba C'lay smiled quietly to himself. In all the years he had know Commander Q ,or 'Jobe' as he just found out, he'd never seen him smile. Not unless he was launching a thermal grenade at some stormtroopers, or slitting an officer's throat. This was a side he'd never witnessed before. A human side. He watched on as the three reacquainted themselves, wondering to himself how this might affect their plans. And that object...
Jobe finally asked, as if on the same wavelength as Welba, "What of this object that saved you? It sounds like something we could use in our efforts."
Looking briefly at Welba, Biggs answered Jobe. "It was destroyed, I'm afraid," he lied. There was something he didn't trust about Welba. He decided he'd tell Jobe in private, later.
"Hmm, a pity," Jobe accepted, disappointed. "So you really don't know what's happened since you left?" he asked. The two shook their heads and so he sat them down and drew a deep breath. "Well, when I returned to the rebel base on Yavin 4, I spent over a day trying to explain what I thought had happened. The leaders were not happy, I can tell you! Losing four good pilots just before the big battle... but you don't know about that, do you? Let me explain. Princess Leia finally made it back. She'd been captured when she was retrieving the plans to the first Death Star. In fact, she was being held on it when it destroyed Alderaan! I know you remember that."
Biggs nodded, a sad look on his face at the memory of Alderaan's destruction, but he said nothing, not wanting to interrupt. Charii held his hand and Jobe continued.
"I won't go into the details, but she escaped with the help of a Corellian smuggler, his Wookiee co-pilot and this guy named Luke Skywanderer, or something. I never met him. He was just a kid, anyway. They managed to bring the plans with them, which was fortunate, as they also brought the Death Star after them!"
Unable to help himself, Biggs asked, "That wouldn't be Luke Skywalker, would it?" Jobe nodded, realizing his mistake. "Is he here? What happened to him?" Biggs asked excitedly.
Jobe looked at Biggs sadly, "I'm sorry, Biggs. That was that friend of yours from Tatooine, wasn't it? I never made the connection before now." He paused before giving Biggs the news, "He's dead, I'm afraid. Along with that smuggler, the Wookiee and everyone else that attacked the first Death Star." When Biggs just looked down at his feet, with Charii holding him for comfort, Jobe felt he should go on regardless. "They had a plan, I'm told. Someone discovered a major flaw in the design of that machine, and even as it approached the base, they attacked. If I'd been more experienced back then, I probably would have been attacking it along with them. But I was assigned maintenance duty instead. Connecting fuel hoses to the fighter craft and cleaning up spillages. That kind of thing. I guess they didn't trust me with a ship after I lost you on Dantooine. It took a long time before I managed to regain that trust."
He stopped his line of thought, realizing he was indulging in his own story, rather than bringing Biggs and Charii up to date. "The plan failed, unfortunately. Even though that friend of yours almost did it, so the story goes. But he was shot down by Darth Vader himself as he was targeting the vulnerable point of that Death Star. So close, apparently. But it wasn't to be. Vader vaporised him and then took out the Corellian and his ship. The Death Star survived the attack and it was just a matter of time before all the rebel ships were destroyed, even the disabled craft that were limping away from the battle.
"And then the Death Star cleared Yavin and targeted the fourth moon. It was pandemonium in the base, I can tell you. People were rushing to the ships, trying to escape. I was lucky enough to be in the hangar doing my best to clean up after the fighters had departed, when a sea of people came charging down. In the chaos, I was pushed aboard one of the transport ships. Others weren't so fortunate. It was ugly. But I did manage to see Princess Leia one last time. I remember that part clearly. She was beautiful, but oh so sad. She was surrounded by personal guards and ushered into the ship docked next to mine. She was crying and distraught, but I saw her beckoning more and more people into her craft, not letting the guards close the doors until it was totally full.
"Both ships took off simultaneously, along with any other craft that were fit to fly. Not all of them made it. The Death Star didn't hesitate for long and pulverized the base and the entire moon in seconds. The ship I was in barely made it. We took several blows from the moon's debris." He looked at Biggs, "I guess our pilot wasn't as good as you. But he did manage to get us out of their, for which I'm grateful. Some of the other ships weren't so lucky, but enough of us survived." Jobe looked at Charii and Biggs, "I don't think the Princess' ship made it. We've never seen or heard from her since. I know that at least one ship was captured after the escape, but I could never find out any details. It was a dark day for the rebellion."
Jobe continued on, rushing through the next twenty years as best he could. The Empire flourished, becoming more and more oppressive with each year. It built more Death Stars, under the guidance of the Grand Moff Tarkin, with better shielding on the surface, impervious to external assault. Whenever a planet would be suspected of harbouring a rebel base or too many sympathisers, a Death Star was despatched and the planet was summarily destroyed.
Even so, the Rebel Alliance managed to gather together another collection of star fighters and heavy ships, and attempted to destroy the facility that built the Death Stars. It failed, just like the first attack. And the retribution of Tarkin and the Emperor was brutal. So many worlds were destroyed in such a short space of time. People became terrified of even mentioning the Rebel Alliance from that time on, afraid that their world would be next to be annihilated.
"But things got even worse when the Emperor was killed," Jobe stated. "Darth Vader is said to have turned on him, slaying him in a lengthy battle that almost cost him his own life. If only it had... But the rumours are that he had assistance of some sort. An unexpected ally. And this new partner of his was meant to have the same dark powers that Vader and the Emperor possessed. I've heard stories of the 'Force'; that it isn't just an expression we use, that it really exists." Jobe looked at them. "I know it sounds crazy, but it makes sense." The others nodded in agreement.
He continued, "With Vader in power, the yoke the Empire had on us got tighter and tighter. More worlds perished. People took to living in ships, rather than risk being caught on a planet when one of the Death Star Fleet might arrive. It was almost impossible to build any resistance. The rebellion didn't die, but it took a heavy blow and has never been the same since. It had to get smarter, but smaller, keeping its resistance in small pockets, rather than having bases that could be easily attacked like that on Yavin 4."
Jobe took a breath before continuing. "For the most part, the Rebel Alliance is now a loose collection of small cells, like this one. With just enough people to make a difference, but not enough to attract too much attention from the Empire. As you may have seen, we mainly look after the local populace as best we can, because the Empire surely won't do it. We occasionally do small military actions against minor targets, but with the very real threat of the Death Star Fleet, we daren't do much more."
He looked at the two sitting watching him, "But you've come back at an interesting time. Fortuitous, you might say. Right now we are planning our first action in months, right here on this planet. It's part of a larger plan we've been working on for the last two years." He leant forward, staring into their eyes, almost pleading, "Will you help us? The men I have under me are good, but we are few and it's almost impossible to recruit anyone without risking detection. We need you. Please, say yes."
Biggs and Charii didn't have to look at each other to confirm, they both just nodded and stood up as Jobe did, grasping hands and smiling grimly. "Just tell us what you want us so do, Jobe. I mean, Commander Quallick."
Jobe smiled back, "Very well, Charii and Mr. Darklighter. You'll be a welcome addition." He paused and added, "But I prefer Commander Q." Looking over at Welba watching quietly from his corner, he ordered, "Find them some quarters and introduce them to the rest of the men."
Welba stood, saluted briefly and led them from the room, not uttering a word. His thoughts, however, were tumbling over each other.
(-O-)