A/N: Rogue Squadron will now come face-to-face with Vader himself, or… at least that's what Vader is planning on them doing. But never count the Rogues out, they've got plenty of tricks up their sleeves. In any case, let's get right back on into it.
Central Droid Control, Accuser
Luke quietly waved the door open to the main droid management facility aboard whatever Destroyer it was they had been brought to, and he smiled when he saw the familiar blue-and-white paneling of R2-D2. A few ID checks later and the ever-ready astromech was already set activating the other disabled droids, and he soon beeped an affirmative.
"Alright Artoo, get to the main hangar, and bring the others with you. If you can, see what systems you can access." Luke explained, and soon Artoo and his fellow droids rolled out of the facility, leaving Luke and his squad alone for now. "OK, so from here I'd say we should follow them, but honestly I think we should just make our own way to the hangar…" Suddenly an announcement:
"Attention all personnel, we will be exiting hyperspace in 15 minutes."
Luke and the Rogues froze. "Sithspit," he muttered.
"When'd they even enter hyperspace?" wondered Tycho aloud. "I figured we'd have felt that…"
"Must've been during that skirmish in the cell block," Wedge said. "In any case, that doesn't change the plan, does it?"
Luke shook his head. "It shouldn't… but it does move up our timetable. Come on!" With that, they made a break for it, forming into a standard box formation and power walking with purpose… Until, that is, Luke realized something important.
"Kriff, my lightsaber!" he nearly shouted.
"You think one of the others may have found it?" asked Janson.
"I doubt it… but dammit, I can't just leave here without it," Luke sighed. "I'll see if I can locate it." Pausing for a moment and remembering Obi-Wan's words about trusting in the Force, the nascent Jedi reached out in the Force and probed for his father's weapon. Soon enough, he knew where they'd secured it, (the primary bridge officers' lounge, interestingly enough) and made a quick call to the other teams.
"Hobbie, Cinda, you read me? You'll have to delay a bit longer; I'm going to find my lightsaber."
"Copy that, Boss," came the reply.
Turning back to his squad, he nodded, and they moved out, this time in about the opposite direction.
Armory B42
Hobbie's team had found one of the armories almost by accident, and in no time at all they were tearing it apart and grabbing all sorts of useful weapons they could holster and carry around if they needed a bit more of a distraction; this included several detonators, an ion grenade or two, a couple extra blasters, and, amazingly, a collapsible machine gun. Dak had gleefully latched that on his back, when the ship-wide announcement alerted them they were to soon be exiting hyperspace.
After the call from Luke, Hobbie realized that now was probably a good time to start setting up their distraction. "Alright, so once the boss gets his lightsaber back the guys are gonna need all the hallways from the bridge lift to the hangar clear. Now, luckily there's one really long one, so Dak, find a good spot and set up along there. Samoc, how many grenades have you got?"
"Uh… four or five?" replied Farr, checking her pouches.
"OK, stick with Dak and toss them out when troopers start showing up," said Hobbie. "Nala, you've got our ion grenades, right?"
"Right here, Hobbie," Hetsime replied, raising the explosives in question. "What should I do with these?"
"Map shows we're pretty close to central climate control, toss a couple in there and let's see about trying to roast these Imps," Hobbie grinned. "If that doesn't work there's probably an O2 regulator somewhere nearby; these guys gotta breathe."
"Wouldn't we have trouble too?" asked Hetsime.
"Trooper helmets are totally airtight," Hobbie explained. "Keep your bucket on and sealed and you're good. If we drop it quick enough we could knock out a whole company."
Hetsime nodded. "Alright, so what about you, Hobbie?"
"Always wanted to try my hand at dual-wielding," Hobbie grinned. "Figure today's a good day as any."
The others laughed, and made their way out, but not before Farr took out her pistol and fired off a shot at a camera, then shouted into the Imperial comms, "Shots have been fired at Armory B42, repeat shots fired at Armory B42! Requesting back-up!"
Moments later, the hallways were awash with the red warning lights of an attack, and her comm buzzed again. "TK-3626, what's your status!?"
"Currently uninjured but in pursuit of unknown attacker, sir," said Farr, "Requesting reinforcements."
"Acknowledged, trooper, necessary forces will be deployed," came the reply.
Farr grinned beneath her helmet. "That got their attention… now let's make some noise!"
With that, she settled behind the crate as Hobbie and Hetsime ran for the nearby atmosphere control room; they were about to turn the whole damn destroyer into a living hell.
Ventral Hangar Bay
Cinda's team had managed to arrive at the hangar without incident, a few minutes after the announcement that they'd be exiting hyperspace, and Cinda herself scanned the sprawling space to find a suitable ship to escape in. Figuring that a Sentinel shuttle would probably do the trick, she motioned to her squad to make their way over and see about getting it prepped for liftoff. Trouble started, however, when she realized the shuttle was completely locked up.
"Anyone here know how we could slice our way in?" she asked.
"If we were inside I could hotwire the thing but those doors are very well-sealed," Zev groaned. "Wonder if the Commander got our droids back?"
As if on cue, the droids in question rolled their way in, and the Rogues grinned. Zev motioned for the door and told one of them to open it up, and Artoo, being Artoo, did so nearly immediately.
"Kind of a shame we've got to leave our ships behind," said Datch. "Boss won't like that…"
"At least we'll be outta here in…" Lenso was about to finish that sentence when suddenly the blue whorls of hyperspace gave way to the stark blackness of space… and beneath them. "Nine hells, is that Executor!? Who's captaining this ship?"
"Wasn't it Piett?" Zev said. "Thought the captain who came up to us said that was his name."
"I believe so," Cinda nodded. "Anyway tell the guys they need to be down here, now," she said. "Zev, start warming up the shuttle, Datch, you're with Zev, see what you can do with the cannons; Lenso, you're with me, we'll cover the squad."
"Got it, Cinda," said the others, and with that Zev and Datch bolted for the lowered ramp, the droids rolling aboard as well
"Commander Skywalker, Hobbie, you and your teams need to get down here, stat! We've got Executor underneath us; we need to leave!"
Hobbie's reply was a bit broken up, but he said, "Give us like two seconds, 'cause some major chaos is about to start!"
"Cinda, is our exit strategy online?" asked Luke.
"It will be by the time you come down," she replied.
"Roger that, we'll be there in 5!" replied Luke.
"Yes, sir!" With that, she shut off the comm and readied her blaster; they needed to be out of there, and fast, if they wanted any chance of making it past Vader's flagship.
Officer's Lounge
Luke and his squad swept through the lounge, scanning every possible hiding place for as valuable of an item as a lightsaber, until he eventually found it locked inside a safe. The safe, however, was not Force-proofed, so a bit of finagling later and it popped open, letting the unofficial Padawan clasp it to his belt. With the frantic announcement that Vader was close by, he made absolutely certain everyone realized exactly what was going on, and to keep quiet.
Unfortunately, such efforts would soon prove in vain, seeing that just as they left, a lieutenant entered the lounge for a short break, only to realize the safe had been cracked open somehow. The young officer immediately bolted out of the lounge to the bridge proper, at which point another announcement swept through the entire ship:
"Attention all personnel, an unidentified suspect has acquired a lightsaber through unknown means; if you see such a person, report them immediately but do not engage without assistance. Repeat, an unidentified suspect is in possession of a lightsaber. Report sightings immediately, but do not engage."
Luke groaned as he felt the weight of the hilt on his hip while he waited in the lift. "You guys better cover me," he sighed.
"Don't worry, boss, we'll be right with you," Wedge grinned. "Besides, it's just one big corridor to the hangars, right? We'll be perfectly fine."
With that the lift beeped that they'd arrived on the relevant floor, and the Rogues began, well, not sprinting, exactly, but jogging with purpose toward the hangar. Didn't want to attract too much suspicion- "Attention all personnel, the recently apprehended Rogue Squadron has escaped from Cell Block A138, reportedly wearing stormtrooper armor. Any trooper which does not respond by their official designation is to be treated as these prisoners and detained accordingly. Do not use lethal force, repeat, do not use lethal force."
"Knew this was too easy," sighed Tycho. "Guess we should start running, huh?"
Luke nodded, then grinned beneath his helmet. "Probably should… race you guys down there!"
"Oh, it's on!" shouted the others as they charged down the corridor.
Aboard the Executor…
"Captain Piett, report on your excursion," Darth Vader intoned.
"It would appear the rebels are attempting to determine suitable locations for their base of operations, my lord," Piett explained. "Probes nearby intercepted communications and determineds such as being the mission of the captured Rogue Squadron."
"And the whereabouts of Rogue Squadron?" Vader stated.
"They appear to have escaped confinement, no doubt due to Skywalker's skills," Piett sighed. "The entire crew is fully dedicated to their recapture."
Vader nodded. "I see…" Suddenly an idea struck him. "Captain, prepare for my arrival aboard your vessel," Vader stated.
"My lord?" Piett asked.
"I should like to meet Skywalker face to face," Vader said simply.
"Yes, my lord," Piett said, still confused. "The hangar will be cleared for your arrival."
Vader nodded, and closed the connection. Rising from within his meditation chamber, he marched to the Executor's nearest shuttle bay. It would not be long until his son, and his hapless Rebel friends, were alongside him.
Outside Armory B42…
Dak spotted the quartet of troopers charging down the hallway and nearly opened fire, but luckily Farr stopped him after she recognized the silver hilt of Luke's lightsaber strapped to his hip. The two sighed with relief… but then the hallway filled wall-to-wall with stormtroopers. That… wasn't exactly a problem, however, as it meant that the two could fire away with wild abandon; sure enough, after only a few seconds, a steady mass of fallen bodies began filling the hallway, and the shots fired back at them were sporadic and poorly aimed; a few flashbangs and detonators and the troopers coming down realized it was a terrible idea, and they began to fan out.
"Dak, come on, they're gonna outflank us!" Farr shouted, and with that the young pilot leapt up and followed the veteran, firing off the occasional shot behind him as they ran.
Meanwhile, the various grenades and charges Hobbie and Hetsime had primed were set up in the atmosphere control center, and the moment they saw Luke's squad rush by them, Dak and Farr not far behind, Hobbie slammed the button and everything fizzled out all at once.
Seconds later, the temperature inside began to climb ever higher as the O2 content dropped ever lower, and Hobbie shouted into the Rogue comms that everyone need their helmets sealed tight, pronto. They did so, and as they charged through they could see random troopers and officers and maintenance crews passing out from either the rising heat or the lack of oxygen, but before anyone had time to dwell on it, they burst into the hangar.
Aboard the commandeered Sentinel, Zev was performing final pre-flight with Datch, and as he saw the Rogues charge in, he turned to his co-pilot and the triggered ignition, before shouting at their wingmates to get onboard before everything went completely to hell…
With blasters going off around them and grenades exploding behind them, the Rogues ran, piling into the shuttle, but by then, they were too late.
Just as they were about to take off… Vader's shuttle appeared beneath them, and even though the tinted transparisteel they could tell he was furious. Handing over control to Luke, the other Rogues starting manning the Sentinel's turrets or training blasters at the ramp, though they knew that if Vader wanted them off the shuttle… they were getting off the shuttle.
Luke, of course, did his level best, swinging far around the Dark Lord's own Lambda, and with all of its cannons firing away they knew they were putting some pressure on… but Vader was the best pilot in the galaxy. Only around a minute later, they'd taken a severe hit to the left engine, and Luke realized he'd now lost almost all of his ability to control the stricken craft. Knowing there was only one thing for it, he swung the flaming shuttle around at Vader, and, remembering the stunt he'd pulled over Vrogas Vas, ordered his squadmates to brace themselves as he prepared to ram Vader once again.
However this time, there would be no ram: Somehow, the ship stopped in place, and Luke recoiled in horror as he realized just what this was. "Vader has us," he stated solemnly.
"What, in a tractor beam?" asked Wedge.
"No, he has us," Luke said. "He's locked us in place with the Force."
The others gulped. Luke sighed. "At least we'll do something to that Destroyer," he said with a thin smile. The Rogues started through the viewport and saw Luke was right: Whatever they'd hit on the Accuser (Zev's checking of the shuttle's logs confirmed it) had incapacitated the bridge crew sufficiently, and as a result, Accuser was now dramatically listing… directly toward Executor.
Vader, for his part, had noticed this as well, and immediately boomed across the entirety of Death Squadron: "All ships, fire on Accuser. Accuser, evacuate all personnel immediately." With that, as he piloted his own shuttle towards the stricken Sentinel the Rogues had attempted their escape with, he watched as his Executor, and her dozen escorts, ripped the failing Accuser into star dust. He could sense that Piett had made his way out, and smirked. That captain would serve him much better aboard Executor, and he would make that well known.
But first… it was time to bring in the Rogues, and his son.
A/N: Accuser's own special proton cannon is cool, but Executor is just in a whole other league. But either way, how will Vader choose to detain the Rogues once he successfully brings them in? He's already demonstrated he could quite easily halt their means of escape, so what will they end up doing once they're brought aboard? Executor isn't exactly a small ship, and, well, there's something rather special about it that the Rogues will discover very soon…
