Han slowly stood with his hands over his head. Ben, still on the ground, hid behind the lip in the entranceway. The walker stopped and pointed its guns down at them. Han was afraid that he was going to lose his life and he closed his eyes, waiting for the final shot.
The sound of a hatch opening came to his ears and Han opened his eyes. "Chewie!" he exclaimed with joy. "Get down here! This guy's wounded." He stopped. "No wait! I have an idea."
c d
Lando watched the Death Star fire the second time, aiming right for the Life Quest. There was nothing he could have done to save all the people aboard the Super Star Destroyer without endangering his own life and the lives of his crewmembers. And at that moment, he was too busy trying to save those same people aboard the Falcon.
But what he did see from the fire mechanism startled both him and the crew in the cockpit of the Falcon. It stopped in the middle of nowhere and exploded. Lando frowned. What does that mean? He didn't know but he had never seen anything so strange over the past year than what had just occurred.
"Admiral Piett!" Lando questioned. "What was that?"
c d
Piett blinked several times as the explosion subsided. He had been so close to losing his life but hadn't. Something had prevented the Life Quest from being destroyed, and he was totally baffled at what had prevented the destruction. The comm beeped and Lando's voice came over slightly distorted.
Piett's answer Lando's question was one of uncertainty and bewilderment. "I don't know. I—" he trailed. All on the bridge knew Piett's state of confusion. They were in similar shock.
"Are you alright, Admiral?" Lando asked.
"Yeah, other that the fact that the ship I'm standing on should have been destroyed, but it—" He was cut off by a voice screaming at him over the comm. The voice was one he knew and recognised. And he knew of only one person who would dare to call him by anything without his military title.
"Firmus Piett!"
The voice was of a woman he had thought had died and to hear it again made his heart jump in his throat. "General Piett," he addressed her formally, "You get yourself and your ship onto the Life Quest, now! And that is an order!"
"I would, Admiral, if I had a ship able to bear me," she shot back tiredly. "The Flyer's been destroyed and I can't do much when I'm EV."
Piett ran his hands over his face and eventually turned to Madine. "Go find her."
c d
Han crouched in the under-bush. His plan to have the back door opened had worked. He and his team had planted the bombs. He smiled as the control centre blew.
c d
Luke was withering with pain, reeling from Palpatine's onslaught.
"You will not kill my brother without killing me first," Leia growled, stepping in view of Palpatine. She had finally found her courage and had decided to challenge the Emperor. Before Palpatine could turn his attack on her, Anakin had ignited his lightsaber and had stepped in between his former master and his daughter.
Palpatine had no time to react before Anakin sliced him in two.
As Palpatine drew his last breath, Anakin and Leia pulled up their Force shields to protect themselves and Luke from the dark energies released from the Emperor's body upon his death.
c d
"The shield is out! Red leader, this is Gold leader. All fighters follow me!" Lando's voice called out over the comm.
At Lando's words, Piett spoke to his crew. "Move the Life Quest among the Star Destroyers farthest from the Death Star on my mark. One, two, three, mark!" Piett sighed with relief. He had not yet thought this far ahead in time. Vader had not stopped the operation aboard the Life Quest.
Now, all he wanted was Beth.
c d
Anakin supported Luke all the way back to the docking bays. Leia helped as much as she could to support her brother until Anakin told her to start up one of the shuttles. She ran into the nearest shuttle and into the cockpit as her father painstakingly helped Luke along and into the shuttle.
c d
"Split up and head back to the surface," Lando told the fighters with him. "And try and get some of those TIEs to follow you."
"On it, boss."
Lando took the Falcon down into the centre of the Death Star, following after Wedge Antilles. He brought the Falcon too close to one of the sides of the tunnel, taking off the sensory dish.
"That was too close," Lando muttered to himself. Over the comm, he said, "Lock onto the strongest power source. It should be the power generator."
"I've got a lock on it," Wedge's reply came.
Soon they came out into the centre of the Battle Station. "Destroy the tower on the north side and then head to the exit."
"I'm on my way out now."
Lando armed two of his torpedoes and fired them at the power source and he, too, headed for the exit. This was going to be a close call.
c d
Madine was about to land the shuttle he was in back on the Life Quest. His mission to pick up Beth was complete. Beth was resting in the back of the shuttle. He was cleared for landing and he did. Moving back to Beth, he helped her to her feet.
"Thanks, Madine," Beth smiled tiredly and made her way off the shuttle without help.
Piett and Mara were waiting for her.
Beth's smile grew as she saw Piett and made her way slowly to him. "Admiral," she greeted.
"General Piett," he returned her greeting, smiling slightly as he called her by his name. His eyes took in her face and noted blood massing on the right of her face, streaking down from a wound in her forehead. He reached with his right hand for a strand of her hair. He realised that her braid had gone. Whispering, he said, "It's gone."
"I know," she whispered back.
"General Piett, I'd like you to meet Mara Jade." Piett turned Beth's attention to the redhead at his side. Beth nodded in greeting.
"General Piett," Mara greeted back.
Beth looked back to Piett. He could see her question in her eyes. He had a similar idea in mind. They needed time alone. He nodded and excused the two of them from the docking bay. Leading her to the chambers that were once his, and would be again, Piett smiled at her once again. He couldn't help but wrap his arms around her. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you, too."
He looked down at her. "I know you did." Swallowing, he said, "Wait here." He disappeared into the refresher and came out with a damp towel. "Allow me," he told her quietly and began to clean away the congealed blood on her face. Once he got to the small opening on her forehead, she winced.
"Ow! That hurts." She moved her hand up to the wound and their fingers touched. She wanted to take the towel off him, but Piett wouldn't let go of it and she relented.
"You should get that looked at," he told her sternly.
"I'm fine," she shot back.
"Then truthfully tell me about the pre-flight med check. Did you or did you not fail it?" His grey eyes looked deep into hers and eventually she looked away.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Bethia, the truth. I know the Rebellion has pre-flight med checks before all their flights. Don't tell me that you didn't partake of one before this mission." Piett put the towel down and placed his hand under her chin to lift it up so he could look in her eyes.
She sighed. "The truth is, I did fail it."
"Why?"
Biting her lip, she then blurted, "Because of our son."
Piett was speechless for a few moments. "You took yourself into the middle of a Space Battle when you knew you were pregnant?! What were you thinking? No, don't answer that! You obviously weren't thinking."
"He's been scolding me too," Beth said, running a hand over her stomach. "So lay off, will you? Besides, I have a headache and I feel like I'm going to be sick."
Piett released her and she quickly made her way to the 'fresher. He ran his hands over his face. The events of the day were getting to him. Where's Mia? he thought to himself as he took a deep breath. He started to pace. No wonder he was so worried about Beth. She came out and joined him, looking a little more refreshed than when she went in. "Are you alright?" he asked, walking to her side.
"I'm fine, other than having an unsettled stomach."
"Why don't you go down to sickbay and see if there's anything they can do for you."
"There's nothing they can do. This only started a few days ago and I know what causes it. It's morning sickness and it won't last too long. You were around me the last time I had it."
Piett had a brief moment of confusion before he remembered that he had indeed been with her at that time. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a little forgetful at the moment," he said as he brushed a lock of hair out of his wife's face. "How far along are you?"
"About five weeks," she replied, smiling, which made his heart race. He cupped his hand around her cheek and slowly leaned into her.
"Sir."
Piett chose to ignore the comm on his belt and fell deeper into Beth's eyes and embrace. Their lips met.
"Admiral Piett," came the comm officer's voice again. Neither husband or wife seemed to hear it, such as their attention was on each other. Their kiss deepened and neither wanted to be disturbed.
"Sir, there's a shuttle asking for permission to land. The pilot says his name is Anakin Skywalker and that we have to allow them to land."
Piett pulled away from Beth when he heard his brother-in-law's name and groaned. Looking at the beautiful woman in his arms, he commented, "I thought that he died aboard the Death Star."
"He's still alive and I don't want you to harm him in any way."
"I won't dream of hurting him, but won't he want to kill me as I'm your husband and you're his little sister?"
"Vader, yes. Anakin? No," Beth smirked. "It would be Vader who would want to hurt you, but seeing as Vader's dead… Anakin's asking for clearance. Are you going to give it to them?"
c d
After receiving clearance to land, Anakin looked towards Leia. "Do you think you will be able to land this thing by yourself?" he asked her.
"I think I can. Why?"
"I need to find something more fitting to wear than this armour," he said. "I want to discard this forever, and I don't want to show the Rebellion who I have been for the past two decades. I don't want to bring this down on you and Luke's shoulders."
Leia nodded. "I understand that, Dad." She smiled into his face. He was no longer wearing his mask and Leia could now see him for who he truly was. He smiled back at her.
The change from having to wear the full life support that had kept him alive a few months earlier to not having to wear it at all was remarkable, and the will of the Force. Anakin did not really understand why he didn't need the life support anymore, and could not thank anybody but his little sister and her faith in him.
Her belief in him being able to return to the Lightside also brought the change to his body and he wanted to rid himself of the painful memories behind the armour. Smiling at his daughter, he left the cockpit to find some clothes that would fit him.