Chapter 7 – Return To The Present
The trio found themselves surrounded by a dense green fog. Still holding hands, they looked about themselves as the scenery changed dramatically. First they were in the clearing on Dagobah, watching themselves for the briefest moment as Biggs twisted the object. Suddenly, they found themselves transported backwards in time and far across the galaxy, appearing on the Hope Remains. Through the green distortion effect of the 'fog', or whatever it was, they could make out the ship's interior. George – or the George of that time - was seated in his docking cradle, and Biggs and Charii - of that time – were seated in the cockpit. They watched on silently as they realised that they were the ghostly apparitions they had seen each time they used the object. No wonder they had looked oddly familiar.
Charii watched on in fascination as the other her turned back from the cockpit, a half smile coming and going across her face. Her actions looked odd, until Charii realised she was watching herself in reverse! Unable to speak as they travelled, she silently watched through the cabin window as Bolraan suddenly reappeared outside the ship. The Death Star Omega's brilliant green discharge hurtled back into the station from the planet, leaving it intact and thriving with life once more.
She felt Biggs' grip on her hand tighten slightly, and she looked up into his eyes. Was that a tear she saw? It was hard to tell through the distortion effect. But she could feel her own tears flowing down her cheeks as she watched this weird process of reverse creation before them. She even noticed George – the one holding her hand – looking back and forth at all they could see. I wonder what he thinks of all this?, she thought to herself.
Within moments they had left Bolraan behind. They were still inside the Hope - or more correctly, they were in it again – but this time, the other George was no longer there. The interior of the vessel was a mess, with panels strewn across the deck, and cables and parts in places they had no right to be: the result of Biggs and Charii's attempt to repair the hyperdrive system. Stars streaked by outside - backwards. This time, though, they could almost feel the travel through time, such was the pace. Charii slumped a little against Biggs as the feeling of movement overwhelmed her. He held her up and mouthed something she couldn't hear. The words were probably something reassuring, and she wished she could hear him.
Finally, they found themselves on the surface of Dantooine. The sky was bright above them and then dimmed to darkness in seconds, repeating several times, all of it backwards. They saw themselves standing together for a brief moment, then the two figures vanished. The world stopped spinning in reverse and the green fog lifted from around them.
Biggs and Charii fell to the ground where they had stood twenty years earlier... or was it several months ago? No, it was really just moments ago. It was all very confusing. The two lay beside each other as they breathed in the air. Only now did they realize they hadn't actually breathed since they left Dagobah! The air tasted divine and they sucked it in with abandon.
As they recovered, Biggs looked about him. He was in the exact same spot he'd been when they first activated the device. The charred remains of Charii's old ship, the Lady Diver, surrounded them. He noticed Charii was in her flight suit beside him. Looking at himself, he saw he was in his own as well. That was odd. Charii was now looking up at him, staring at his chin. He put a hand to his face and noticed his beard was gone. Only his old moustache remained.
Had it all been a dream? Or was it some weird sort of delusion? He was about to ask Charii about it, when he noticed George standing not far away, the large farming droid looking solemnly at him and Charii.
"I guess it wasn't a dream after all," he said more to himself than to the others.
"I'm afraid so," replied Charii as she reached up a hand to him so he could help her stand. "My heirloom. It's gone," she stated matter-of-factly. Both looked about them, but it was nowhere to be seen.
George approached them as they stood a moment together, silent; wondering. He asked, "Where are we, Sir, Madam? It looks like a nice planet to cultivate."
Biggs smiled at him, "Yes, George, it does. It's called Dantooine, but we won't be staying here for very long." He turned to Charii and said, "We better run before - "
She interrupted him as she realized what might happen if they didn't do something quickly. "Oh, my stars! Yes, let's go!"
Biggs signalled George to follow, adding "I know you can't keep up, but we can't wait for you. Come as quickly as you can!" And with that, he and Charii ran full speed away from him.
George shrugged his huge metal shoulders and started after them, sure he would never understand humans.
(-O-)
Biggs and Charii ran along at a good pace towards the old base where they had left Jobe and the others. Before long they had reached their destination and a fleeting wave of relief washed over the two as they saw the transport ship was still there, unlike the last time they had been here and the ship was gone.
But of course it was still there. All the events of the past few months - years – had not actually taken place - yet.
As they slowed down and approached the abandoned base, a figure leapt into view brandishing a blaster and a huge grin. Jobe! He announced to them in an authoritative voice, "Who goes there?!" and strode towards them.
Charii pounced on him, grappling him in a fierce hug, "Oh Jobe! It's so good to see you! Don't ever change!" she exclaimed. Biggs stood beside them, and gripped the former Imperial accountant's shoulder affectionately.
"Um, okay. That's nice to know, Charii, and I'll try not to. But, um, we don't want to get Mr Biggs jealous..." and he trailed off embarrassedly.
Biggs laughed out loud beside them before continuing on. "Come with us, Jobe. We have to get Kel and, um," but he'd forgotten the Bothan's name.
"Gyrath," Charii informed him, shaking her head.
"Sorry, it's been a while."
Jobe looked from Biggs to Charii and back again. "What do you mean it's been a while? You've only been gone a few minutes!"
Biggs clapped him on the shoulder, "I haven't time to explain just yet. Come on, we have to hurry, just in case."
"In case what?" Jobe asked, dumfounded. But Biggs had walked on briskly towards the hangar, Charii in tow.
(-O-)
Kel Whestler and Gyrath Hla'lyn seemed annoyed when Biggs ordered them to step away from the fighter craft they were working on. But his insistent voice, backed up by Charii's pleading convinced them it was worthwhile obeying the strange command.
It wasn't long after Biggs started looking intently at the craft that he discovered the Imperial booby traps located surreptitiously near the secondary fuel cells of each craft. He quickly removed one and showed it to the other pilots.
"How did you know that was there, Darklighter?" asked Kel incredulously. "Are there any others?"
"I'll tell you how I knew when we get back to Yavin – it's a long story. But I don't know if there are any other traps or not. We'll have to scan the ships more thoroughly before we fly out of here." Biggs signalled them to start the work.
When they had finished their scans, they found just one other device attached to each craft: homing beacons. They weren't currently active, fortunately, but looked like they'd begin transmission upon the craft's warming up and take off.
"Do you think there are Imperials waiting for us?" asked the Bothan pilot.
"I hope not, Gyrath," answered Biggs. "The ones that left these traps and beacons are dead." He thought of the fight with the Fierce not far above in this very system, and the later battle near Bestine. "Come on, let's get going. We're late."
As he said that, the Bothan let out a startled cry. Biggs turned on his foot, and looked at the entranceway to the hangar. A huge shape blocked most of the light from outside.
"Sir? Madam?" came George's voice. "Are you here?"
Biggs suppressed a chuckle as the Bothan stepped back a little from the large droid. "Yes, George. Please wait by the ship out there, we'll come load you up shortly."
Without a word, the immense droid turned about and walked slowly to the transport ship.
"'George?'" said Jobe questioningly to Biggs and Charii.
"Yes," replied Charii. "He's a very good friend of ours." She turned her attention to Biggs and asked, "What of the Hope Remains, Biggs? Is she worth saving... again?"
Biggs scratched his head, thinking. "No, I'm afraid she'll have to stay – her hyperdrive's shot. I wouldn't want us to get stranded in space again."
Charii nodded in agreement, and stepped over and gave Biggs a kiss - a long kiss. He returned it willingly.
The others watched on, wondering what had happened in the short time the two had been gone.
"We'll explain, I promise," said Biggs. "Now let's get these crates flying!"
With that, the group yelled in support, whooping like a group of happy cadets fresh out of the Academy. Minutes later, the transport ship, piloted by Biggs with Charii and Jobe aboard and George in a makeshift harness in the rear, took off from Dantooine. Kel and Gyrath followed quickly behind them in the two Y-wings.
They headed swiftly to the jump co-ordinates and were gone from the system in a blink of an eye.
(-O-)
"You are all cleared for immediate landing, Darklighter Expedition. Proceed with all haste to your designated docking positions and then report immediately for debriefing. Welcome back to Rebel HQ."
"Acknowledged," replied Biggs. He guided the transport craft through the clouds of Yavin 4 with the two Y-wings following closely behind. As they approached the rebel base, the smaller fighters peeled off and headed for the fighter bays while Biggs took his ship into the main dock. It wasn't long before the craft had settled on the ground and several technicians were attaching cables and doing routine inspections. One looked like he was scanning for tracking devices. That's good, thought Biggs, even though he knew they wouldn't find any.
He got up from the pilot's chair, and headed into the back to help Jobe unfasten George. But beside him, Charii moaned as she stood up with him.
"Hey, are you all right?" he asked her. "I guess Yoda didn't heal you entirely." He looked more than a little concerned at her.
Charii smiled and waved him off. "No, I'm good, thanks. But I promise to get a scan done immediately after the debriefing. Okay?"
Biggs helped her up. "You do that. I want to make sure Viaan's attack didn't do more damage."
She patted his hand, "Yes, Mr. Darklighter. I'm fine. Now go help Jobe before George topples onto him." She pointed to Jobe and George. Sure enough, George was now standing stooped over in the low ceilinged cabin looking for all the world as if he were about to fall down and crush Jobe.
"Oh, stars. Jobe, get away from there!" shouted Biggs, rushing back to help. But the droid just ambled out the hatch with Jobe and Biggs looking on silently.
Charii took the break to hold her side again, massaging a small lump she felt there. I hope everything is okay, she thought to herself.
Gathering outside the ship, Biggs, Charii and Jobe soon headed off to the debriefing room they were directed to by one of the hovering technicians who was doubling as an errand runner and messenger. The base was in a turmoil and they had to be careful when crossing the landing area as ships were being moved from place to place, while others were arriving from stars unknown. In another time and place, Biggs would have found this fascinating, with all the variety of craft on display. Some of them were brand new and others older than the rusted hulks he'd ogled at on Tatooine as a kid. But now he just wanted get through them and sit for a while; preferably with Charii - alone. He smiled at the thought and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it in return.
They eventually found the room designated to them for debriefing: just an ordinary office with one large table and several chairs of various heritages. It was a mismatch of designs - very makeshift. They seated themselves in the empty room, awaiting the arrival of Kel and Gyrath and whoever was going to actually do the debriefing.
Jobe took the seat at the head of the table, leaned back and put his feet up on it. "I could get used to being the boss," he said with a grin. "I imagine you are all wondering why I have gathered you here today." He said in a mock, authoritative voice.
Biggs and Charii looked at one another, both remembering the 'Commander Q' version of Jobe on Bolraan. Biggs spoke up, "Jobe, you have to promise me something."
The grin vanished from Jobe's face and he took his feet off the table. "What?" he asked. "Don't look so serious, I was just kidding."
"You're a good kid, but we've seen - " But Biggs was interrupted by the sight of the Bothan, Gyrath, running into the room, her fur standing on end.
"The Death Star's on its way!" she yelled with nervous excitement. "We just heard from our commander that some ship just arrived with Princess Leia onboard, and they were being followed by it!"
"What!?" said everyone in the room at once.
She continued, "Yes! They found a tracking device on the ship, a smuggler vessel called Millennium Falcon, and the pilot said they'd just escaped from there! No-one believed him at first, but the Princess confirmed it. She said he and this kid named Skywalker had rescued her and they'd managed to blast off and escape!"
"Skywalker!?" cried Biggs.
"Yes, yes. And this really cute Wookiee was with them..." she added. "Chew-"
"Luke Skywalker?" Biggs insisted, cutting her off.
But the Bothan was running out the door, yelling over her shoulder, "There'll be a meeting of all the pilots soon. The debriefing is cancelled!" And she was gone.
"Luke's here?" said Biggs to himself softly. "That means... oh no." He visibly slumped.
"What is it, Biggs?" asked Charii. "That's your friend, isn't it? It's great he finally made it here!"
Biggs forced a smile, masking the dire thoughts in his head of what Ben had told him. "Yes, that's him." He straightened up. "I better find him!" And he trotted out the door.
Charii stood their watching him go. He didn't turn back, and didn't beckon her to follow. It was like he had suddenly forgotten all about her.
(-O-)
Biggs jogged quickly to the pilot's ready room. He wasn't sure where he'd find Luke, but he knew his young friend would eventually enlist to fly, and this was a place he'd eventually show up at. As he weaved his way through the busy corridors, his thoughts kept going back to the conversation he'd had with Old Ben Kenobi. "An old friend of yours needs you," he'd said, and later, "You must make a great sacrifice for him - for Luke."
Ben had been sketchy on the details, only saying he would know when the time comes. "When your mind says go, you must stay." What did it mean, exactly? He didn't know, but perhaps Luke would be able to give him an idea. He had to find him.
He made it to the ready room, only to find it empty. He considered waiting, but a sense of impending urgency, heightened by the imminent arrival of the Death Star, no doubt, forced him to search further. So he made his way to the training rooms where the simulators were located. In fact, it was Biggs' normal duty to attend the rooms and help train the fresh young pilots and assess their skills.
He almost slapped his forehead when he realized that was the most likely place to find Luke. They'd want to test him first, even though he was one of the best pilot's you could hope for. But the rebellion didn't know that. He quickened his pace.
Biggs entered the training rooms. It was almost empty, except for a few pilots in the corner polishing their skills in a Y-wing simulator mock-up. He stood there a moment, wondering where else he could look, when a voice from the doorway said, "Sir? I was told to report here for flight testing..."
Biggs turned around and saw the face of his friend, Luke Skywalker. He smiled at him and said, "Sir? He calls me Sir?" Biggs laughed.
"Biggs? Biggs Darklighter! What are you doing here?" cried Luke, running forward and embracing his taller friend.
"I should be asking you that," replied Biggs. "After all, I was the one going off to join the rebellion, remember? You were supposed to be back on Tatooine!" said Biggs, smiling.
"Oh, Biggs, do I have some stories to tell you!"
"I'll bet you do. The whole base is talking about the new arrivals."
The two friends smiled and laughed at each other. Biggs looked at his friend, at his youthful innocence and exuberance. He knew right away that Luke would have no idea about Ben's cryptic words. Instead of talking about it, Biggs decided not to mention all he'd been through, and lead Luke to one of the unused simulators. Luke was explaining how Commander Willard had sent him down to be tested.
"I'll have to test you here, in this flight simulator."
Luke hopped in, familiarized himself with the simple controls and Biggs activated the simulation. Luke held his own, downing many enemies before finally having his ship shot out from under him, but only after Biggs had sent in almost an entire fleet of ships to combat him. Luke was good.
After it was finished, Luke jumped out, asking, "How'd I do, Biggs?"
Biggs gave him the results, telling him he'd done extremely well, but he'd need to show them to Commander Willard. He started to leave the test room, when in walked Princess Leia.
Biggs looked at her awkwardly. All he could see was a younger Lady Viaan; Mistress Vader. But, no, that wasn't necessarily her destiny. He fought to control his emotions, and ended up sounding like an embarrassed young schoolboy when Luke introduced him to the Princess. Best not say anything, Darklighter, he thought to himself. He excused himself and left the room.
Out in the corridor, out of sight of both Luke and the young Princess, Biggs leant against the wall, breathing heavily. It dawned on him the immensity of what was about to happen; of what he'd have to do; of the sacrifice he'd have to make. He almost cried.
Should he try and explain all that had happened to him to the Rebel commanders? Tell them of the calamity that Commander Q had told him of? Of the visit by two deceased Jedi and their belief that only he could stop it all? Would even Luke believe him? Or would he just get himself locked up in a padded cell, sedated and useless to the cause? He couldn't take that risk. So he decided to keep the details to himself.
It took a few minutes for Biggs to regain his composure, but when he finally did, he put on a mask of bold bravado. It was the same mask he used every time he attempted something dangerous. The one that made him look calm and in control, when in fact he was a bundle of nerves.
He straightened himself up, and headed for Commander Willard at the command centre.
(-O-)
Standing silently against a wall in the main hangar, George watched the organized mayhem before him. Just earlier, he'd witnessed the arrival of the Millennium Falcon, where a group of oddly matched humans, aliens and even droids had come running, ambling and rolling out of its hatchway.
The three humans hadn't interested him; neither had the Wookiee - although he was one of the few creatures who matched George in height – but the two mechanicals stirred something inside him. He wasn't sure why, but George felt compelled to approach them.
Now that the humans and Wookiee had gone - humans always seemed in such a rush – he started towards the two droids. But the two mechanicals were being fussed over in a way George had never seen before. What was so important about them?
The droids were now being loaded into a strange vehicle George had never seen before. By the number of small, padded seats around its perimeter, it looked to be a human short distance transportation device. How very unusual for droids to be transported in such a way! In a way he'd never felt before, he knew he had to follow these droids.
The vehicle barely lifted an inch or two off the smooth hangar surface before the driver sped the two droids away. George kept a photoreceptor on them as they rushed across the vast open area, diving and slaloming between the many ships, people and droids. With his height advantage, George was able to track their progress with relative ease. He took as direct a route as he could to follow them, slow though it was.
George saw the craft stop briefly at an exit door, then disappear through it. He kept up his slow, but determined pace, arriving at the door a few minutes later. The makeshift sign above the door read 'Tech Centre and Droid Maintenance.' The door was still open, so George entered.
George strode up the wide serviceway, looking left and right as he went, trying to find where the others had gone. There was as much activity in here as there was out in the landing area and hangar. Many humans and a number of droids went to and fro about him, but he could not make out the golden humanoid robot or his squat companion. He kept on walking, unsure why he was so determined to find them.
Perhaps it was all the recent unfamiliar activities he had gotten involved in? First Master Biggs and Mistress Charii on Bolraan had bought him and soon befriended him, treating him much like a fellow human. Then they had involved him in the underground Rebellion movement, albeit in a small way. He had even witnessed the destruction of Bolraan where he had spent his entire existence. The time they had spent on Dagobah was more like the times of old, where George could perform his maker-given tasks of farming and agriculture. He had actually felt good raising those first crops there. It was a harsh environment to bring cultivation, but he had done it!
Then all that had been ruined by the arrival of the white skinned human called Viaan. George broke his stride a little as he remembered the encounter. He still didn't understand what power had first restrained him. It was nothing his sensors could detect, and yet it held his servo-motors in check, leaving him unable to move or even speak. But it had suddenly disappeared as the odd glowing dead humans had arrived. George had then been free to move again.
That was when he felt the urge. It had come unbidden into his robot mind. Not a program, not a command. Something else again, and he acted on it. George could see the scene clearly in his mechanical mind. Most short-term memories he erased, just keeping facts and such for future reference. But this he kept in detail. Every sensor reading, every sound he'd recorded.
He played it again it now... George watched himself approach the gaunt, pale woman from behind. He didn't know how, but she was hurting his Mistress. He had to stop her! Slowly he walked towards her, as close to stealthy as is huge bulk allowed. Step by step he went, until he stood behind her, towering over her. He raised both his huge arms, curling each robotic finger into a tight grip, making two fists. He brought his fists down onto the woman's head. Smash! His sensors recorded the cracking of bone and tearing of flesh. The human's blood splattered against his metal chest and torso as she fell to the ground at his feet.
At this point, the recording broke up. Some internal programming had overridden his strange urge and tried to take back control. He felt himself returning to normal. No, not normal. He had awakened something. Something human in him. The smaller dead human had said he had not killed the woman. George was pleased he hadn't done that. That was still an important limit he had to maintain. But he was equally pleased that he had hurt her. She was bad, he knew that, in a way far worse than the rodents that chewed his precious crops. The humans had a word for it: Evil.
"Are you malfunctioning?" a voice asked him from afar.
George realized he had stopped still in the middle of the serviceway and a technician was looking up at him. George replied, "No, sir. I'm actually rather good." And he continued his walk. The technician gave him an odd look, shrugged his shoulders and walked off in the opposite direction.
As he continued on, he recalled the strange trip backwards in time. That he didn't understand. But he didn't have the programming to understand complex scientific data, or strange concepts such as alternate universes or divergent timelines. Besides, he had enough to assess with this new awakening he'd achieved.
Finally George found the two droids in a room surrounded by human technicians. The smaller droid was attached to a data socket while his golden friend stood by nervously watching. George had never encountered an R2 unit before, but he could figure out that the little droid was transferring some sort of data; something important. He decided to wait and watch. Hopefully the humans would get what they wanted and he could approach the droids when they were done.
Indeed, the data transfer was complete in seconds and the human technicians rushed off to places unknown. The two droids were momentarily left alone, and so George took the opportunity to meet them. He strode into the room and introduced himself.
"Hello, I am LK-30-GRG-9, agricultural unit," he stated simply.
The golden droid looked startled, but replied pleasantly, "And I am See-Threepio, human cyborg relations. This is Artoo-Detoo, special service astromech droid." He paused to look George up and down, "Oh my, you are very tall! What is an agricultural droid doing here?"
"My Masters brought me here. We just came from another... time."
The little droid whistled something to Threepio, who said, "Now now, Artoo. Don't be so rude!" He looked up at George, "I am sorry LK-30..."
"I prefer George."
"... I'm sorry, George, but my friend here is having trouble understanding what you mean. And frankly, so do I."
So George did his best to explain what had happened. By the time he had finished his tale, Artoo was squeaking and squawking and Threepio had to tap him on the top, "Shush, you pesky bunch of second hand parts, slow down." He turned his attention back to George. "Artoo has many questions, I'm afraid. Personally, I'm more concerned at your assault on that Viaan woman. Only attack droids could do such a thing!"
George shook his head, "I am no attack droid. I just felt this... urge. And it felt right." He looked at both the droids, "This is why I have come to you. Have you ever felt something like that? Is something wrong with me?"
Artoo beeped and whistled, and Threepio threw up his arms, "Oh you do not have the same feelings, Artoo. Don't be so ridiculous. George is obviously way past his service date and needs some urgent maintenance." He looked up at George, clearly twice his size. "I mean no disrespect, of course," he said nervously. Threepio backed away and called to the R2 unit, "Come on Artoo, let's go find Master Luke." And he waddled off out of the room.
Artoo beeped some more, spinning about George's legs, trying to tell him something. "I am afraid I can't understand you, Artoo-Detoo," said George. "But I hope you do feel the same." Artoo whistled in agreement, looked up at George with his primary scanner for a good two seconds and left the room, chasing after Threepio.
George stood there a moment. So he wasn't the only one. Other droids could feel this way too. Something akin to peace settled over him.
His thoughts we interrupted by the human technician he'd encountered earlier. "There you are!" he said, running into the room. "We could do with your help. Some heavy machinery needs to be moved urgently. Can you help us?"
George turned about and started walking out the room, "Certainly, Sir. It would be my pleasure." The human followed, clapping him on the back in thanks.
(-O-)