Chapter 52 - Succession
The Unknown Regions
Incom/FreiTek E7 Starhawk Fighter Phoenix One
From the outset, the plan had called for Luke, easily the most powerful among the Jedi sent to the Forge, to deal with the Dreadnought that had likewise been sent to the battle. As such, Luke had mentally prepared himself for the telekinetic strain on the flight in.
Regardless, he hadn't felt this tired since Yoda's ceaseless drills on Dagobah that made him want to pass out.
"Luke!" Mara's voice came over the line, making him realize a minute had passed, "Luke, are you alright?"
He saw her zoom past overhead, circling his craft as he panted, "I'm okay, Mara. All things considered."
Truth be told, he hadn't expected that to have worked so well. Half of the First Order Fleet had been positioned on squeezing Wedge into submission, and much of that was now free-floating in a torrent of debris. He had to give their designers credit: none of them had been destroyed and would likely be combat ready within a few weeks. If these had been Imperial era warships, that would've been a different story.
However, despite the critical damage the ramming had done to the prow of the dreadnought, The Sword of Coruscant still had strength left to start shooting at him. An enrush of plasma roared out, aimed where both Luke and Mara lay. He was glad he'd taken Horn's advice about enlisting the support of their Corellian Jedi Pilots; their telepathic abilities were the only reason the bolts were off by half a kilometer.
He gunned his engines, zooming past the retaliatory fire with his wife close behind him. No sooner than he did, than another voice soon came on the line, "Well, I guess you just broke the score, kid. Last time I owed you like this was when we were fighting the Duskhan League!"
Luke chuckled at that, "Don't worry about it, Wedge. It's what friends are for."
"Right, I'll just make you my best man again at my next wedding. Well, with you here, we might actually be able to win this battle."
Luke's response was immediate, "No, we came here to extract you and your men. We're not staying here to fight over the Forge."
"Luke, we can't just let them keep it. Do you know what it will do-"
"Wedge, that thing has picked a side, and I sensed what it did when it did decide to get involved. We're lucky it's been staying out of this fight since."
"But with you here-"
"Wedge," Mara cut in, "even with us here, we can't win this. Sooner or later, Corran and the other Corellian's tricks are going to wear off, and we were lucky Luke was even able to surprise them like that. We stay here, none of us are getting out."
"Well put, Mara," Luke nodded, "Wedge, we've already got teams extracting the personnel from the Forge and everyone else stranded in vacuum. They'll need an escort detail before the rest of the enemy regroup."
There was a long pause before Wedge answered, "Understood, Master Skywalker. I'll have whatever ships that can fight start repositioning. The rest though need to evac immediately. I'll need you and your pilots to keep their picket lines off me, though."
"That we can do, Commodore Antilles," Luke smiled as he stretched his mind forth, "everyone, rally on me. We need to buy the evacuation as much time as we can give them."
In literal moments, the Jedi moved back into formation, and headed straight for the colossal melee at the center of the battle.
Han could only shake his head at what happened outside. He remembered a time when the kid couldn't even manage a training droid, and the thought truly made him feel old. So much time had passed since then, when he'd been outwitting bounty hunters and trying to keep his and Chewie's necks from being mounted on Jabba's wall.
"That's rather peculiar," he heard Juno say beside him, and he realized he'd turned off his headset. The reports now started to come in about the Stormtroopers and even droids retreating away from the rescue teams, and even letting the trapped personnel and prisoners they'd taken escape back to their lines.
"Why are they just letting us go?" she asked, "I expected them to at least put up a fight."
"They know they've won, Juno," Han replied, "and they know why you're here. Whoever's running the show's got a lot of brains to him."
Another voice came on the line, this one making his heart jump, "Juno, this is Katarn. We've recovered Merrick and his troopers from the reactor room. We're pulling back to the ships now. How are things looking on your end?"
Han turned off his comm, "Does he know?"
Juno shook her head, "We didn't know at the time."
"Say again? I didn't hear you correctly."
"I said we're almost finished here," Juno replied, "maybe another ten minutes, but we have a lot of wounded here, including…" she stopped, and instead answered, "Chewbacca and General Solo."
"I'm not a general, Juno," Han reminded her, and he heard Kyle on the other end laugh.
"I'd just take the promotion and run with it, smuggler!"
"I put that behind me a long time ago, Merc. Unless you're back to taking hits and stealing Death Star plans?"
"You kiddin'? I'm too old for that!" there was a pause and he said, "No Yun, I am old. I used to chew up Stormtroopers and redblades a heck of a lot faster even ten years ago, and I didn't even need a lightsaber for that. Alright, we're on our way back, Juno. ETA, ten minutes. Over and out."
"Roger, out," she turned off her comm and answered Han's unspoken question, "we need him focused on the mission, not worrying about his daughter."
"That's cold."
"Better than him dead. He'll thank me later, and I'm sure Rey will, too," she then grimaced, her hand on her temple, "Damnit, Galen! I told you not to mind-drop me! Alright, fine, just let me turn on my headset."
"Heh, you too?" Han chuckled, "Day I regretted letting Luke train Leia when she figured out how to do that."
"Oh woe to us married to Jedi," she smirked, "this is Juno."
"Juno, this is Marek. I request you keep the channel open at all times until the mission is complete. We've also recovered the survivors on this end, and we're on our way out. Have the ships prepped for takeoff. ETA, five minutes. Over."
"Roger, out," Juno then smiled, "Mara owes me a 1,000 credits. My husband does not disappoint."
"Damn you! Why did you have to get involved!?"
When he'd awoke inside the bacta chamber, he'd desperately hoped that his mind had been addled by the drugs working his metabolism into overdrive. The sight of the battle taking place on the screen, however, disabused him of that notion. Part of him was happy to see them alive, but the other part of him screamed and started ripping out everything that wasn't bolted down in a furious torrent.
"KYLO!" Mechos bellowed, his vocabulator straining as everyone took over, "Calm yourself! This battle is won!"
"Damn them!" he hissed, "They were supposed to stay out of this!"
Mechos parted the torrent, his own defenses shielding him, as he put a hand on his bacta tank, "Did you really expect them to?"
He glared at the golden masked man and his burning emerald eyes… and then softened with a sigh. Everything dropped around them, and he slumped into his tank, "No. It's not in their nature. Not even now."
"Then do not concern yourself with them. You have won us our victory here, my friend. Now, rest. You have earned it."
"Archon!" one of the Magi said, "We are receiving transmission from Admiral Sloane!"
"Put her on," he replied, and soon the battered, bleeding image of the Dreadnought's commanding officer came into view. Behind her, the bridge personnel were doing their best to put out a series of deck fires, recover their wounded and man their stations, all without gravity.
"What is the situation, Admiral?" Mechos asked.
"I think that's obvious-" her transmission became weak, the Magi struggling to maintain it, "-walker crippled my ship, and all other ships are reporting complete systems off- require immediate assistance."
"Admiral," Kylo said weakly, Sloane surprised to see him without his ropes or mask, "what is Hux's status?"
"Alive, as much as I can guess. They've done some visual signalling but we're still- Mechos, what about the- stop them from escaping."
Both of them could guess by her tone what she meant and Mechos shook his head, "No, Admiral. We will not block their attempt to escape. Our mission was to recover this station unmolested, and that has been done. Theirs is to recover their comrades, nothing more. Permit them to do so, and I shall arrange for your assistance."
To Kylo, it almost sounded like a trade, but it didn't matter. Sloane, just like the enemy, lacked the strength to do anything else but do as Mechos suggested. Reluctantly she nodded, "I will signal my forces to retr- signal the enemy to depart."
"I thank you, Admiral. You have made a wise choice."
The screen went black, and Kylo closed his eyes as Mechos went about convincing the Forge to move back into position. He just hoped that what was done here was enough. That in this moment, for a time generations to come, he had saved the galaxy. He let that one hope take him back into the depths, and he closed his eyes.
As Mechos said, he had earned his rest.
Once again, Leia found herself in the eye of a storm of journalists, but this time she didn't have Lando to reliably keep her at bay. Instead, as she stepped out of the grav-car and onto the steps of the New Republic Executive Building, she had to rely upon the Senate Guard sent to retrieve her and escort her to the building.
Their fear of her being arrested upon entering Chandrilla's solar orbit had been disproven, but not for the best of reasons as the news broadcasts came. Despite this, she was requested to not bring along her heavily armed entourage of Rangers and Mandalorians for appearance sake. She had allowed it, only accompanied by C-3PO and the Captain of her detail.
"Chancellor Borealis will see you in the War Room, ma'am," the Chief Operating Officer said as he rushed her and the others quickly inside the gilded reception lobby, "but we will have to request you and your bodyguard surrender any weapons and recording devices, and we will need to perform a scan on your droid."
"Oh my!" C-3PO replied, "That is a bit invasive! Not even in the service of Senator Amidala was I subject-"
"It'll be fine, 3PO," Leia interrupted, pulling her silver-hilted lightsaber from her white robes and putting it in the collection box, "we are to resolve a crisis, not make it worse."
"Some might argue differently, ma'am," the Ranger Captain said under his breath as he surrendered his sidearm, grenade belt and his hidden vibro-blade tapped to his leg.
"Hence why we are here," she replied as C-3PO was green-lighted and they made their way to the lift station, "we need to convince them otherwise."
Even at the lift, there was utter chaos, though it hadn't been so different the last few times the New Republic had been invaded. In this, Leia smiled. Though things had certainly gone to hell, she'd left enough of a presence during her time in office that instead of mindless bedlam, it was well oiled bedlam.
"She's here," she heard to her left, eyeing a Senate Guard answering an intercom as the lift doors opened. They stepped inside, Leia taking in the sight of the offices flurrying out messages and reports everywhere as the doors closed and they began their 12 level descent.
The War Room, a term that extended to the entire sublevel buried beneath the Executive Building, had been built ironically during Leia's own administration during a time when xenophobic aliens had seized an entire fleet of warships, including dreadnoughts, and attempted to decapitate the government. Though unsuccessful, analysts had concluded that the present bunker renovated from the old planetary government was not sufficient.
So, a further 6 levels were dug, adding on an extra 4 minutes to the trip down. Leia imagined that everyone below was happy she had invested the taxpayers money into constructing it.
"We're here," the Guard said as the elevator came to a stop. He put an access card into the control slot, then waited for another guard on the other side to do the same. When he did, the light turned green and the doors opened.
If there was chaos and bedlam above, there was havoc and turmoil here. She stepped up to railing, peering down into the great amphitheatre of a room that constituted the central government's literal nerve stem. Rows of computer banks and simulations ran ever length, projection tables extended about as far with swarms of personnel to each. Men and women, human and alien, and more droids than one could count, were in the process of doing something or other.
That all stopped when she entered and someone saw her. A great silence fell upon the hundreds below as they all looked up. It was somewhat ironic. In Borealis' first year, he'd virtually purged much of the staff Leia had left behind, including her surrogate sister and Director of New Republic Intelligence, Winter Celchu, and had replaced much of it with his own.
But not here, not in the war room she'd had a hand in selecting the personnel for. She had to give the man that sort of credit.
"He's in the inner sanctum," another Guard said, taking her and her escort down the stairs and across the room, the stares following until she turned and nodded at them. They immediately flurried back to work and she continued walking.
"Heh, it's like you never left," the Captain said. Leia didn't reply at all.
Finally, they came upon a secure blast-door, its inner holds made from actual Beskar steel. Again, the security procedure went and it slid open. A well decored room in the Alderaanian style of pale silver walls and blue carpeting awaited them, and beyond that lay the brain of the government itself.
The final door opened, and Leia stepped into the War Room. Unlike outside, this was a rather plain room of a single long table, a projectile suite on the wall, and well over two dozen officials seated and arguing with one another to the point she sensed caffa mugs might start getting thrown.
That all ceased when they saw her, the same deafening silence as before occurring here. However, rather than the awe and respect shown, there was a more mingled mixture of blame in their eyes. She'd expected it, turning her eyes from the generals and secretaries to the Chancellor himself, seated at the end with his head in his hands.
"Sir!" a Guard reported, "Counselor Organa Solo present to meet you, sir!"
He looked up, his face drained of color and splattered with frantic, dried tears, and nodded.
"Gentlemen, I require you all to depart, if you may. I need to speak to the Counselor alone."
Reluctantly, they all rose from their chairs, walking past her and heading out the door into a reception area. She in turn nodded to 3PO and the Ranger Captain, the two departing with the doors closing shut.
"Thank you for receiving me, Chancellor," Leia said politely.
"Yes," he said slowly, sorting papers and standing, "a crisis we are already in with Mandalore in arms and a better half of our union to follow. Better not inflame them further by detaining you, since they see you should be in my chair."
A shot of anger rose in Leia's throat, but she forced it down. "Chancellor, I am not here for your job."
"Perhaps not, perhaps so," he shook his head, "a flood of inquiries are demanding it regardless. I imagine a vote of no confidence will quite handedly win you a third term. I congratulate you."
Her eyes narrowed at that remark, "You think I planned this, Indrick?"
He smiled, "I may speak strange, I may place my faith poorly, but I am not a fool. I recognize clearly the plan in motion, likely since before you sent that Dameron fellow to Jakku and began this… this calamity!"
He slammed his fist into the table and snapped, "Had you stayed clear of this matter as I asked you over three years past, allowed me to mitigate matters with the First Order-"
"Then they would have the Forge and we would be in a worse position, Chancellor!"
"They have the Forge, Leia! Or did you not see that as the outlets glamorized your brother plowing a dreadnought, hmm?" he jutted a finger at her, "You brought this upon us. You, and your sheer, irresponsable recklessness."
She sighed, letting her anger drain from her, "You're right, in that sense. I tried to act outside the law in order to protect the Republic from those that sought to destroy us," she then looked up at him, "the same ones you allowed to blow up the Senate Building, and who have caused the deaths of countless other politicians because your new Director of Intelligence failed to check their backgrounds correctly."
She had heard the news on the flight in: several dozen politicians had been killed and injured by members of their staff detonating suicide vests or outright gunning them down. She'd imagine if not for the First Order, Borealis would be blaming her, much as he was now.
"Neither has been confirmed by our intelligence community," he replied, his face growing red, "and I will not haste forth to accusing them-"
"Indrick!" she snapped, "The time for appeasement is passed! They are invading our space!"
"After your dispatchment of illegal forces into the Demilitarized Zone, to seize the Forge for the interests of you and not the people of the New Republic!"
"You mean as the First Order did first? When are you going to stop using me as your scapegoat? You've practically built your administration around it."
"Because I…" he deflated, breathing out as he shook his head, "I promised the people a peace in our time. Because I saw this coming, and I sought avoidance of it at any cost. The galaxy does not need yet another Clone War. It doesn't need billions to die pointlessly."
"You're right," she said, surprising him, "of all the things you've gotten wrong, you're right. The galaxy doesn't need yet another war… but we're going to get it. Even if I hadn' done my part in trying to stop things, it was going to happen. They've wanted this since they fled to the Unknown Regions."
"You imagine all Imperials are like Tarkin."
She shook her head "Tarkin died with the Death Star. They've learned from that. I mean, look at us. Inspired a civil war because our friends are too prideful not to fight for us? No, Tarkin was never like that. He'd rather kill you himself than use your own intentions against you."
"My intentions? You dare say I am to blame for this?" he scoffed, "No, for as much as I was used, you have as much guilt for this as I."
"You're right again, Chancellor. We both were used, and I admit my own fault in this disaster, but I'm not the one who invited the Ambassador to the Assembly, or tried to have me arrested."
"I did so for good faith, nothing more!" he snapped, before so strangely then that he turned away shaking so profusely that Leia worried he was about to have a stroke. When he turned back, fresh tears stained his scarred face, "I… I wanted to prevent war, Leia. I wanted peace! Was that not… not so much to ask for?"
Leia considered her next words carefully, but in the end sighed, "Indrick, you cannot reason with a rancor when it's looking to eat you."
"Yes," he chuckled, "but stars, I had to try. Even in my hubris, I had to try. But, we are so prideful before the fall, eh?" he slumped into his chair, "I won on the promise of change. That no longer would we fight your brother's vigilante wars for you. And for so long, I so firmly believed the righteousness of that."
"And you never considered if he was right."
"Not until 2 hours ago, no, and of a proper conclusion not until 30 minutes ago, either."
He reached into a drawer and pulled out a holo-tablet, setting it facedown. "When I first came to office, I did away with much of those you'd left behind. I considered their position a matter of loyalty, not proficiency. I disregard any advice you'd given me, and even that of Fey'lya himself… for I would do better."
He rose from his chair, facing the projector suite with his hands shakily clasped behind his back. "And here we are, for my failure to recognize my own follies. Too afraid to go against my promise of peace."
Leia hadn't expected this entire turnabout, and he grinned when he saw her face, "As I said, I had thirty minutes to consider my answer, Counselor. To consider my role in a war never before seen."
"A war that you will see us through," Leia replied, rising to meet him, "for all your faults, you are a man of the people. That's something even I could never boast. They will listen to you, and they will follow you."
"No, they won't," he smiled, "I watched as you came in. Saw how those about saw you. That awe, respect? That is something I never had, not even from those I appointed. And why not? We are in a war, and why should our republic be led by a man of peace, hmm?"
"My father was a man of peace," she replied, "as was Mon Mothma. That didn't stop them from starting the Rebellion and fighting a war, did it?"
"Perhaps not," he sighed, "but capable of being warriors, I dare say they were. Ready to fight for the principles of peace with the sword, as it was required. I fear I cannot do the same."
"Chancellor," she took him by the shoulder, "I am not here to replace you. I am here to help you lead our republic onto the path of survival, if not victory."
"I disagree," he said, turning the tablet over to reveal a Letter of Resignation. It wasn't signed yet.
"I don't understand."
"There is one piece of advice from you I considered and am now acting on: we, as the elected leaders of the people, must be prepared to take responsibility for our follies, as much as our victories. This is my fault, I admit as much. I had to see if you would admit your own folly in this… and you did."
"This was all a test?"
"Yes. We are not Emperors. We answer to the people of the New Republic, and by that their wish, I must give the right of leadership to someone who can save us," he then called for a Guard to come in, "Sergeant, I require you to be a witness for this."
"Indrick, you don't-"
"I've made my decision," he pulled out a holo-pen, "I, Indrick Borealis, hereby declare that I, of sound mind and not under influence of any kind, do hereby sign this document proclaiming my resignation," he signed the holo-tablet and then an additional document, "and that I am recommending under Article II, Section 1, Clause 6, with the Vice-Chancellor incapable of assuming my position, that Leia Organa-Solo, former Chancellor herself, be elected in my stead. All of this, you have witnessed?"
The sergeant nodded, "I have, sir."
"Then these documents shall be sent to Congress," he handed the tablet to the man, "ensure they are. I shall retain my position until such time that Leia, or a more suitable candidate is elected promptly. Oh, and send forth the staff to return to the room"
He nodded and left the room. He then grinned at Leia, "On that part, I technically lie. Oh, I shall be here, but I have already permitted you to take over as official decisions until that point."
Before she could say anything, the Chief of Staff and the under-secretaries came walking back into the room, and Leia only then truly realized the weight of the responsibility she'd walked into.
She sighed, "Let's get started then."
Author's notes
Yup, we're back, and we wanna thank
Oh, and we want to thank Terminator-57, Kamen Rider Raika, SWEULover2007 (Thanks again for editing the chapter), Transformers g1's-Prime, Darth Bane and Shdowblade for your reviews and for your patience in us getting this chapter out. We've been working on adapting this series into an audio format and by tomorrow, I will have Intermission - The Tusken of Jakku, uploaded onto my YouTube Channel: JSailer. If you're interested, please check the series out and share it will all your friends (Darth Bane has, and his grandmother loves it). Until then, stay safe.