Chapter 4
The shuttle Tydirium exited hyperspace and the Rebel crew saw the second Death Star for the first time. An unrecognizable Super Star Destroyer remained near the battle station.
Luke Skywalker dampened his presence in the Force as Yoda once taught him and he could sense the other Jedi in the shuttle were following his lead.
"This is it," Han said.
"Unidentified shuttle, please state your purpose," an Imperial officer from the command ship transmitted.
"This is the shuttle Tydirium requesting deactivation of the shield generator," Han responded.
"Please transmit your codes so the shield can be deactivated," the officer requested.
When Han complied, silence greeted them.
Anakin stepped into the cockpit and knelt next to his son. "It's the Lusankya," he observed. "The sister ship to the Executor. I never knew what happened to it."
What's taking so long? Chewbacca asked.
"They're not buying it, Chewie," Han said.
"Leia's on that ship," Luke realized.
Darth Apostas walked towards the communications console. A corpulent admiral stood behind a communications officer.
"Where is that shuttle going?" she asked.
The communications officer nodded and transmitted, "Shuttle Tydirium, what is your cargo and destination?"
"Parts and technical crew for the forest moon," the pilot said.
Apostas immediately recognized the voice and narrowed her gaze.
"Do they have a code clearance?" she asked the admiral.
"It's an older code, but it checks out," he replied. "I was about to clear them."
Apostas expanded her perception in the Force, probing for the presence of Jedi. She found nothing, but reasoned they could be masking their presence in the Force. If Han Solo was on the shuttle, then her brother had to be with them. She reached across the twin bond and felt him.
"We're endangering the mission," Luke said as he felt Leia's mind touch his. "We shouldn't have come."
Winter asked, "Are you sure it's Leia?"
"I felt her presence as we entered the system," Anakin stated.
"There are a lot of ships out there," Han argued. "She could be on any of them."
But what if she's on the Lusankya? Chewbacca asked.
"Then we'll have to get out of here real quick," Han replied.
"Shall I hold?" the admiral questioned.
Apostas looked to the officer and replied, "No. Leave them to me."
"As you wish," he said. The admiral then nodded to the communications officer.
"Shuttle Tydirium, you are free to proceed," the communications officer transmitted. "Deactivation of the shield generator will commence immediately."
"See, I knew it was gonna work," Han said.
Endor was mostly quiet save for the chirping of avian species. Han and Luke led the Rebel force through the forest on the path towards the shield generator station. Han held up his right hand when he spotted a small Stormtrooper patrol. The Rebels quickly found hiding places.
Han peered out and whispered, "There are two of them."
Anakin had taken up position behind the trunk of a giant tree. His hand fell to the lightsaber on his belt. "I can handle this," he whispered to Han.
Han glared at Anakin before looking to Luke. "We'll sneak up on them," he proposed.
"There might be more of them," Luke warned.
Suddenly, a loud crash sounded in the forest. The Stormtroopers quickly turned in the direction of the noise. "Let's check it out," one said. The two soldiers climbed on their speeder bikes and were preparing to start the machines when Anakin stepped in front of them.
"That won't be necessary, trooper," Anakin said. "Vader Override: Order 23."
"Lord Vader," the troopers said. "We didn't recognize you."
Anakin motioned to the Rebels. "All clear," he said.
Han shrugged. "I guess he is useful," he admitted before emerging from his hiding place.
"How many patrols are out today, Commander?" Anakin asked.
"Four, Lord Vader," the commander replied.
"Four patrols?" Winter said.
"They're on to us," Han told her.
R2-D2 warbled.
"What did the droid say?" the commander asked Threepio.
"Artoo asks if he can access your tracking beacon," Threepio told him.
Anakin grinned. "I know what he's up to," he told the Stormtroopers. "Let him do it."
R2-D2 rolled towards the speeder bike. His input jack extended as the Stormtrooper handed the tracking beacon to him. The droid downloaded all the information he could before beeping and retracting his jack.
A holographic map appeared from Artoo's projector. It displayed the troopers still on patrol.
"Not bad," Kyle commented.
"This will keep them from getting the drop on us," Anakin said.
Artoo beeped and the map disappeared.
"Will that be all, Lord Vader?" the Commander asked.
"That will be all, Commander," Anakin told him. "When you return to base, you will have no memory of this conversation. Vader Override: Order 17."
"As you wish, Lord Vader," the trooper said. The Rebels stepped out of the way, allowing the Imperials to leave on their speeder bikes.
"So you're just going to let them go?" Han asked.
"They weren't shooting at us," Anakin told the former smuggler. "Killing them would be against the Jedi way."
"Well, my way is to shoot them so they won't be a threat to us later," Han said.
"Anakin's right, Han," Winter said. "Besides, I am sure he still has a few tricks."
Anakin grinned. "Trust me," he told them.
"We'll call less attention to ourselves if we split into groups," Kyle suggested. "Even knowing where the patrols are won't matter if we have to try to get out of the way in a hurry."
"Yeah," Han said. He looked to Artoo and ordered, "Get a copy of that to Kyle's beacon." Then, to Kyle, he said, "We'll split in two groups. We'll rendezvous at the shield generator at 0700."
"Got it," Kyle said. He held out his beacon as Artoo uploaded the data.
"Master?" Kyp asked.
Anakin looked to his Padawan and asked, "What is it?"
"She'll find us, won't she?" said Kyp.
Luke and Anakin both sighed. Anakin dreaded the moment he would have to face his daughter, hoping he would not have to cross blades with Leia. But with what he knew of the Sith, it was just wishful thinking. They would most likely have to fight Leia and he did not want to drag his Padawan into it.
"Most likely," Anakin said. "But we should focus on the moment and not concern ourselves with possible futures."
"Yes, master," Kyp acknolwedged.
"That's good advice, father," Luke said.
"I know," Anakin agreed. Then he remembered his old fears of loss and how they nagged at him. "Right now, we should be moving."
"I actually agree with you, Helmet," Han commented. Anakin noticed Winter frowning at Han's remark. Han glanced to Kyle and ordered, "Move out."
