Into the Trap
Thanks to Ryuki555 for favouriting and following this story
A new day was dawning on Endor. Han, Leia, Chewbacca, Artoo and Threepio were being led by two Ewoks: Wicket, who was the Ewok that Leia had befriended, and Paploo. The two Ewoks showed the Rebels a landing platform where they saw shuttle Revan taking off and leaving the moon. Beyond the platform was a huge satellite dish, denoting the location of the shield generator. "The main entrance to the control bunker is on the far side of that landing platform." Leia said, having being in touch with the rest of the strike team on her comlink, "This isn't gonna be easy."
"Hey, don't worry. Chewie and me got into a lot of places more heavily guarded than this." Han replied
Wicket and Paploo suddenly began chatting to each other in Ewokese.
"What's he saying?" Leia asked Threepio
"He says there's a secret entrance on the other side of the ridge." Threepio replied.
~8~
The Rebel fleet was ready to begin the attack. The Millennium Falcon led an armada of X-wings, Y-wings, B-wings and RZ-1 A-wing interceptors past the cruisers. "Admiral, we're in position." Lando said into the radio, "All fighters accounted for."
"Proceed with the countdown." Admiral Ackbar ordered from the bridge of Home One, "All groups assume attack co-ordinates."
"Co-ordinates for Endor set." Lando's co-pilot, Nien Nunb, reported.
Lando noted the anxiety in the Sullustan's voice. "Don't worry, my friend's down there. He'll have that shield down on time." he reassured him
"Yes, General, of course." Nunb acknowledged
"Or this'll be the shortest offence of all time." Lando muttered to himself.
"All craft prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark." Ackbar ordered
"All right. Stand by." Lando said, engaging the Falcon's hyperdrive, and the entire fleet made the jump to lightspeed. Next stop: Endor.
~8~
Paploo peered out from some bushes and whistled to Wicket that the coast was clear. Wicket led the Rebel strike team to join Paploo and they saw another entrance to the shield generator bunker, with four Scout Troopers on guard. "Back door, huh? Good idea." Han praised, then he and Leia crept closer for a better look, while Wicket and Paploo chatted amongst themselves. "There's only a few guards. This shouldn't be too much trouble." Han told the rest of the team.
Wicket meanwhile approached Threepio and said something to the droid in Ewokese.
"It only takes one to sound the alarm." Leia said grimly
"Then we'll do it real quite like." Han replied flippantly
Threepio meanwhile had finished his conversation with Wicket. "Oh, my!" he exclaimed, "Princess Le..." Leia swiftly silenced him by putting her hand over his speech vocoder. "I'm afraid our furry companion has gone and done something rather rash." Threepio said much quieter.
The Rebels all looked to see Paploo sneaking up towards the Imperials on guard. "Oh, no." Leia groaned
"There goes our surprise attack." Han grumbled
Paploo snuck onto one of the Scouts' speeder bikes and began messing with the controls until he was able to get it started. The Scouts soon saw him. "Look! Over there! Stop him!" one of them hollered, and he and the others all rushed forward. Paploo meanwhile rode off on his bike. Three of the Scouts jumped onto the remaining bikes and set off in pursuit of the Ewok. This left just one Scout on guard.
"Not bad for a little furball. There's only one left." an impressed Han remarked, "You stay here. We'll take care of this." he told the droids, then he, Leia, Chewbacca and the rest of the strike team headed off towards the bunker.
"I have decided that we shall stay here." Threepio declared to Wicket.
~8~
Paploo raced through the foilage on his stolen speeder bike, the three Scouts in close pursuit. Once he was a good enough distance from the bunker, he grabbed hold of a vine and jumped off the bike, which sped off by itself, the three Scouts still chasing it.
~8~
Han crept up behind the remaining Scout on guard and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey!" the Scout shouted, chasing after Han.
Han promptly led the Scout right to where the rest of the Rebels were waiting. The strike team soon overpowered the lone Scout and Han led a contingent of Rebels into the bunker. So far, so good.
~8~
Aboard the Death Star, the lift arrived at the top of Emperor's Tower and Luke and Vader disembarked to find themselves in the throne room. At the top of the stairs was Palpatine's throne, where the Emperor was sitting with his back to the newcomers. As Luke and Vader reached the top of the stairs, Palpatine turned round to face them. "Welcome, young Skywalker. I have been expecting you." he smirked, "You no longer need those." He waved his hand and Luke's wrist binders came undone all by themselves. "Guards, leave us." Palpatine ordered two royal guards standing near the lift, who both bowed and left the room.
This meant that Luke, Vader and Palpatine were by themselves. Luke looked at the Emperor carefully. If Luke was to describe Palpatine in one word then the word he would use was 'hideous'. Although most of Palpatine's face was obscured by his hood, what was visible was horribly scarred and wrinkled by decades of abusing Dark Side energies, while his eyes blazed bright yellow, a sign of a pure Sith.
"I'm looking forward to completing your training." Palpatine smirked, "In time, you will call me... 'Master.'"
Luke wasn't ready to give up easily. "You're gravely mistaken." he said confidently, "You won't convert me as you did my father."
"Oh, no, my young Jedi." Palpatine retorted, getting up and walking over to Luke, "You find that is you who are mistaken... about a great many things."
"His lightsabre." Vader said, handing Palpatine Luke's confiscated lightsabre
"Ah, yes. A Jedi's weapon." Palpatine said knowingly, "Much like your father's." he said to Luke, "By now you must know your father can never be turned from the Dark Side. So will it be with you."
Luke still wasn't intimidated. "You're wrong." he smirked, "Soon I'll be dead... and you with me."
Palpatine laughed evilly. "Perhaps you refer to the imminent attack of your Rebel fleet." he smirked, wiping the smile off Luke's face, "Yes. I assure you... we are quite safe from your friends here." Palpatine finished nastily
Luke recovered. "Your overconfidence is your weakness." he sniped
"Your faith in your friends is yours." Palpatine shot back, turning around and walking back to his throne.
"It is pointless to resist, my son." Vader told Luke
"Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design." Palpatine said as he sat back down, "Your friends up there on the sentry moon are walking into a trap, as is your Rebel fleet."
Luke felt his blood run cold as he sensed the truth in the Emperor's words.
"It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator." Palpatine continued, "It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops await them. Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive." he finished in a mocking voice.
~8~
Han, Leia, Chewbacca and the Rebel strike team stormed into the control room of the Imperial shield generator on Endor. "Alright, up!" Han demanded, aiming his blaster pistol at the officers on duty, "Move! Come on! Quickly, quickly! He ushered the officers away from their stations and into a corner out of the way. "Chewie." he called, and the Wookie came forward to keep the prisoners under guard.
"Han, hurry. The fleet will here any moment." Leia urged
"Charges." Han called to a Rebel solider, who tossed him a satchel of explosive charges.
~8~
Outside the bunker, Threepio, Wicket and Artoo could only watch in horror as a group of Imperial officers came out of hiding and ran into the bunker. "Oh, my! They'll be captured!" Threepio hollered
Wicket said something in Ewokese and ran off into the woods.
"Wait! Wait, come back!" Threepio hollered, but it was too late, "Artoo, you stay with me!"
~8~
"Freeze!" an Imperial officer demanded as he ran into the control room and pointed a blaster at the Rebels. Han promptly threw a storage container at the officer and knocked him out cold.
Suddenly, a platoon of Stormtroopers charged into the room from all sides and surrounded the Rebels. "You Rebel scum!" the officer commanding the platoon snarled
"Scum?!" Han glowered, putting his hands on his hips.
Chewbacca howled in fury as several Stormtroopers wrestled his bowcaster away from him.
~8~
The Rebel fleet dropped out of lightspeed and entered the Endor system. The forest moon loomed ahead, with the Death Star in orbit. "All wings report in." Lando ordered the fighter squadrons
"Blue Leader standing by." Malia responded first
"Red Leader standing by." Wedge added
"Grey Leader standing by." Horton Salm chimed in
"Green Leader standing by." Arvel Crynyd finished the roll call
"Lock S-foils in attack positions." Wedge and Malia both ordered their respective squadrons, and all X-wings and B-wings complied.
"May the Force be with us." Ackbar murmured, knowing that the moment of truth had arrived.
"General, I can't get any reading on the deflector shield." Nien Nunb told Lando
"We've gotta be able to get some kinda reading on that shield, up or down." Lando reasoned
"I'm sorry, General, but our scanners are being jammed." Nunb said
Lando frowned. "Well, how can they be jamming us if they don't know..." He then had a sudden realisation. "If we're coming." A sinking feeling grew in his stomach. "Break off the attack." he ordered the fighters, "The shield is still up!"
"I get no reading. You sure?" Wedge asked
"Pull up! All craft pull up!" Lando hollered, and so all fighters broke formation and scattered to avoid crashing into the shield.
"Take evasive action." Ackbar ordered, "Green group, stick to holding sector MV-7."
As the cruisers followed the fighters, a Mon Calamari officer had more bad news, "Admiral, we have enemy ships in sector 37!"
"It's a trap!" Ackbar realised. And it was!
As several of the fighters attempted to regroup, they suddenly saw a fleet of Star Destroyers looming ahead. "We've got company!" Malia warned, seeing that the Destroyers weren't all they had to worry about.
"Fighters coming in!" Lando hollered, and absolutely millions of TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors charged at the Rebel ship and swarmed them.
"There's too many of them!" Grey Two cried as he tried his best to avoid the onslaught.
"Accelerate to attack speed. Draw their fire away from the cruisers." Lando ordered
"Copy, Gold Leader." Wedge acknowledged
"Will do, Lando." Malia added, "Blue group, remember what I said. They may outnumber us, but we can still do this. We've gotta hold out as long as we can."
"We'll try, boss." Blue Seven acknowledged
"For the Rebellion!" Blue Six yelled determinedly as he charged into the fray.
And so, the Battle of Endor had begun.
~8~
The unfolding battle was visible outside the windows in the Emperor's throne room. "Come. boy, see for yourself." Palpatine told Luke smugly, "From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance... and the end of your insignificant rebellion."
Luke felt so powerless to help his friends and cousin, but he was determined not to let Palpatine get to him. "You haven't won yet." he said, "Malia's out there. You won't stop her easily."
"Ah, yes, your farm girl cousin." Palpatine smirked, "Your faith in her is misplaced. That stupid girl is useless, just like her mother and father. She will be blasted out of the stars and her remains will be displayed in the streets of Coruscant as a warning to others of the futility of resistance."
Luke glared at the Emperor and his eyes fell on his lightsabre, which was resting on the throne's armrest.
"You want this, don't you?" Palpatine grinned, tapping the lightsabre hilt, "The hate is swelling in you now. Take your Jedi weapon. Use it. I am unarmed. Strike me down with it. Give in to your anger. With each passing moment, you make yourself more my servant."
Luke looked out of the window with his fists balled. He wanted so much to grab his lightsabre and silence this evil old fossil, but then he remembered Yoda's teachings. He knew that if he gave into his anger, he would start on the path to the Dark Side. He took a calming breath and turned round to face Palpatine. "No." he said defiantly
Palpatine was unconcerned. "It is unavoidable. It is your destiny." he crowed, "You, like your father, are now mine."
Author's notes: And so we kick off the Battle of Endor. Writing Palpatine's scenes in this chapter was enjoyable. Ian McDiarmid totally owned every scene he was in! As I'm sure you all know, Wicket the Ewok was played by Warwick Davis, but it's worth noting that Paploo was played by Kenny Baker, thus giving him the distinction of playing two different characters in the same scene, as he also played R2. I haven't got much to say about this chapter really, but I hope you like it and hope to see ya next time!