A/N: what's this? A regular update? wowee! here's a little more exposition for you, just to keep the suspense going. How is Juno dealing with her secret? what the hell has Galen been up to? Read on, my friends :)
(As always, comments and criticism are always valued! I own nothing except the plot.)
3 – Transmissions
Somewhere near Echo Base, Hoth
"You'd better hurry up, boy, or we're going to freeze to death out here!"
Galen gritted his teeth and activated his lightsaber, illuminating the ice cave in its brilliant blue light. He drove it into to the wall, using all his strength to try and carve out a hole into the solid ice.
"I'm trying, General! Perhaps if the Rebels had picked a better place for their secret base we wouldn't be having this problem!" he growled, in no mood for Kota's complaints. It was, after all, Kota's complaining about having nothing to do that had found them here, in the middle of an ice cave on Hoth, trying to fix a faulty transmitter. The transmitter had now been fixed, but in the time taken to repair the transmitter, the opening of the cave had been blocked by the build-up of snow, and then solidified in the freezing temperatures. Now their problem lay with actually getting out, which was becoming increasingly difficult as the temperature dropped. The snow-wall had become at least three metres thick, which even a lightsaber found hard to cut through.
"You're a Jedi, boy! Size means nothing to you!"
Galen whipped round to look at Kota, even though he knew the voice was from the past. Strange. That still happened to him occasionally. Those voices. He wasn't as troubled as he once was; the voices only seemed to appear to him in moments of intense concentration or danger. Still, past-Kota was right. Why was he wasting his time trying to cut through the ice, when he had the Force to guide him? Extinguishing his lightsaber, he clipped it to his belt and focused very hard on the wall, hands outstretched. He felt through the Force its pressure points and areas of weakness and gently pushed, ignoring the howling gales that whistled through the cracks of the weakening ice wall. Finally, he felt it start to crumble, so gathered all his energy and gave a massive push through the Force. The ice gave an almighty groan, collapsing and falling into a million pieces and was swept away by the raging blizzard. Galen pulled his hood up and turned to the general, who was looking smug.
"Come on, Kota. We should get going before we're ripped apart by this storm."
Together they ventured out into the wilderness, the cold pressing in on them from all sides. They had taken the Rogue Shadow out for the expedition, but Galen was starting to worry what the constant battering of the wind and snow would do to its systems. It certainly wasn't designed for this kind of weather, unlike the snowspeeders that were currently sitting dormant, back at the base. Pressing some buttons on his comlink, he waited for a few moments before hearing the familiar whine of the Rogue Shadow's landing repulsors.
"Thank the Force," murmured Kota behind him. Galen looked at him with some bemusement.
"You can blame yourself for this one, General," he called back, making his way with some relief up the boarding ramp.
Settling himself in the pilot's chair, he carefully manoeuvred the Rogue Shadow so that they were heading back to the base, at a considerable speed.
"Unngh. Never again." Kota was slumped in the co-pilot's chair, muttering to himself. Galen almost smiled.
"You're getting on, old man. Sure this isn't getting too much for you?"
Kota glared at him with his blind eyes. "Of course not. I haven't kept going this long to let something as trivial as snow to defeat me."
"Well, I'll remind you of that the next time we get sent to fix another transmitter out here," said Galen, smirking at Kota's expression. He could see Echo Base coming into view on his scopes – the blizzard was still too thick to see through with the naked eye – and slowed the engines, noticing that they were being hailed by the base.
"Rogue Shadow," crackled the comm, "please transmit landing codes immediately."
Kota leaned forward, shaking snow out of his shaggy hair, and jabbed the comlink. "This is General Rahm Kota and Starkiller, requesting permission to land at Echo Base with the Rogue Shadow. Authorisation code Wampa-Foxtrot-Fourteen-Nine."
There was a pause, and then a click at the other end of the line. "Code checks out. You're all clear to approach the base, the hangar doors will be opening now."
Through the torrents of snow, Galen could faintly see an outcrop of building through the viewport. He used the ship's sensors to guide them into the hangar, and set down with a soft thump. He may not be as good a pilot as Juno, perhaps, but he could still fly the Shadow with some skill.
"You're thinking about her again," said Kota conversationally, as they exited the cockpit and made their way down the landing ramp. Galen bristled.
"Stay out of my mind, Kota," he muttered, although the general was, of course, correct. He had been thinking about Juno. It had been over three months since he had last seen her, and he was missing her. The week of shore leave that they'd had off together had been some of the happiest that he could remember. Thanks to some wrangling by both Juno and Kota – much to Galen's and probably Juno's surprise – she had managed to convince her superiors that she had 'business' to attend to whilst The Salvation II was docked on Talus. Business which had involved them getting very lost in one of Talus's many dense forests, which may or may not have been intended.
Galen smiled to himself, remembering the trip as if it were yesterday. It had been good to catch up and spend some quality time with each other that didn't involve shouting orders or being shot at. And then it was back to business, flown out across opposite ends of the galaxy for another goodness-knows-how-many months. He couldn't even contact her this time around, as he was meant to be 'undercover' with Kota, something which he had greatly opposed. Now, of course, he didn't know where she was, so they were both as clueless.
"Humph. I don't need the Force to tell what you're thinking, boy. You're just easy to read," Kota retorted. Galen shrugged uncomfortably.
"I'm no Jedi. I can think what I want." He strode through the hangar in the direction of the nearest turbolift with Kota following him closely.
"What I'm trying to say is that your feelings – however obvious – are your own, and you're perfectly at leisure to think what you like. But they make you easy prey for Vader. Juno is your one weakness and that fact is plain as day to everyone – Vader could exploit that, don't you see?"
"He's already done that once, Kota, and I swear on my life that it will never happen again," Galen growled, angry with Kota's lecture. They had had this conversation several times before, always with the same outcome.
"Fine. But if Juno is harmed by Vader trying to get to you, then you'll only have yourself to blame."
Galen bit back an angry retort, knowing that Kota was probably right. It wasn't as if he himself hadn't had exactly the same thoughts, over and over again. Couldn't Kota see the source of his nightmares, if he was apparently 'easy to read'? He knew that both his and Juno's chosen professions meant that their chances of survival were not very high anyway, so he tried not to let it bother him. It was easier during the day, when his mind was occupied; fighting and chasing and sparring certainly chased any other thoughts away. It was the nights that bothered him, however – the dreams came, then, and he wasn't sure how to get rid of them. They weren't all necessarily bad, although there was the occasional nightmare that led him to wake suddenly, shivering in a cold sweat. The dreams – all of them – disconcerted him because he didn't understand them, and he couldn't control them. They twisted, out of reach, leaving him helpless. Talking to Juno about them helped, but she wasn't here, and he didn't like to shoulder her with that burden, anyway. Sighing, he jabbed the button for the turbolift and stepped in, Kota following him closely. Time for a mission report.
"Well, that's everything packed." Juno was kneeling on the floor of her cabin, next to a small holdall that contained her belongings. Which didn't consist of much, it seemed. Apart from some civilian clothes, two blasters and some gadgets including her chrono and a spare comlink, she really didn't own anything of value. Her entire life appeared to be compacted into an old holdall, the only thing remnant of her days as an Imperial cadet.
"Shall I take it down to the shuttle, Captain?" PROXY was hovering nervously nearby. He seemed as unsure of the transfer as Juno was, although she was careful to keep her feelings in check.
"Thank you, PROXY. I have a meeting with the commodore scheduled and then we're all clear to set off. In fact, you could get the shuttle ready whilst you're down there. My meeting shouldn't take too long."
"Certainly, Captain." PROXY nodded an affirmative and left the cabin, leaving Juno sitting on the floor, alone with her thoughts. Again. With some difficulty – she had been having dizzy spells lately, another thing to add to her list of growing concerns – she hoisted herself off the ground and examined her cabin for one last time. It was fairly roomy, as a captain's would be, with a bunk on one wall and a small desk facing the opposite. Otherwise, it was the same as all of the other sleeping quarters on the ship – clean, grey and functional. Certainly, Juno had no personal effects that decorated her quarters; she had no family back home, after all, to display in a holograph.
Which wasn't strictly true, as it turned out. As she checked the storage drawers one last time, she found a faded piece of flimsi wedged neatly in the join at the back of the unit. Pulling it out and wiping away the dust, Juno frowned as she realised who was in the picture. A six-or-seven-year-old Juno was grinning toothily at the camera while her mother, her hair and features almost identical to Juno's, looked on, smiling. It looked to be one of those photos that had been taken accidentally, the angle slightly off and the edges blurry. That would explain why it had been discarded at the bottom of a bag, and then presumably fallen out without Juno noticing. She gazed at the picture sadly for a moment, knowing that her mother was killed probably not too long after the picture was taken. However, she thought, shaking herself mentally, brooding around is not going to make this any easier. Her mother was dead, and had been for a long time.
Juno's comlink chimed, bringing her out of her unhappy thoughts. That meant that the Commodore had arrived on board her ship. Good. Now she could stop pacing and move on with things. Stuffing the flimsi in her back pocket, she took a final glance at the cabin that had served her for the past three years before striding out of the door and leaving it behind.
She met Commodore Viedas as he arrived from his shuttle. Together they walked to one of the conference rooms, to discuss some final matters before she departed the Salvation II.
"Ah, Captain Eclipse. A sad day for the Salvation, I believe. Your crew – and indeed myself – will be sorry to see you go."
Juno nodded modestly, acknowledging the commodore's compliment, "I will, too, Commodore. It's a fine ship, and I couldn't have asked for a better crew. I have left the bridge in the capable hands of my second-in-command, Lieutenant Takllon. You'll consider him for Captain, as I recommended?"
Viedas nodded. "Of course. There is no one suited better to the ship than someone who has served next to its former captain for three years."
Juno breathed a barely-audible sigh of relief, relaxing slightly. "That's good. I just wanted to tie up all the loose ends before I leave."
"I understand, Captain. It's natural to feel a little anxious when leaving a ship. Now, there's just one last thing…"
Uh-oh. She hadn't spoken to Viedas personally on the matter, but she was sure that news travelled quickly amongst the higher-ups.
"…I have not been made aware of the, ah, full circumstances of your reassignment, but I can make an educated guess." The Rodian coughed politely. "I am also close friends with Dr. Rillon. He told me a little, and instructed me to watch out for you. Not that I make a habit of gossiping, I might add."
Juno bowed her head. "Of course, sir. I – I wasn't planning on telling many people, myself."
The commodore looked at Juno with sympathy, placing a four-fingered hand on her shoulder. "I was going to suggest that you don't. For your sake, and the Alliance's. Although I'll warn you – Mon Mothma doesn't know yet. I can't promise what her reaction will be."
Juno smiled tightly, and nodded. "Well, we'll see that when it comes. Thank you, sir, for your support over the last few years. You've given me a lot of chances that I might not have otherwise deserved."
"You are too harsh on yourself, Captain. Remember that this is not the Empire. We may be strict, but we are not opposed to forgiveness, either. Now, I'd better be going. The fleet are moving on soon, as I'm sure you are aware."
Juno saluted, and the commodore left, an escort of troopers forming around him as he made his way back down to the hangar. Viedas' remark about the Empire stung slightly, although she was sure it was not intended as such. She remembered the distrust, resentment even, that had greeted her when she first joined the ranks of the rebellion. Having kept her title of captain, she presumed that some thought she was 'cheating the system', so to speak. After all, she used to be the enemy. Why should she be trusted with the rank of captain? The fact that Bail Organa and his daughter had found her trustworthy helped, as had her speech at the inauguration of the original Salvation. Eventually, the voices had backed down, and most conceded that she was actually quite good at her job, and was not, contrary to common belief, an Imperial spy. She had earned the trust of the Rebel Leaders, and of her crew, and that was all that mattered to her. Well, that and other things.
Earlier that day, she had sent a message ahead to Echo Base on Hoth, where she was to be temporarily stationed. The station commanders had already confirmed that they had received it, and had granted her security clearance through an encrypted message. She had also sent a message to Galen, now that she knew where he was, explaining her arrival. She hadn't mentioned exactly why she was coming; Juno had considered it, but it was hard to find the words to put in a simple recorded message.
She had also checked the station's schematics, not wanting to arrive unprepared, and was surprised to see how unfinished it was. Princess Leia certainly hadn't been exaggerating when she said it was cold – the final block of the base was still in the foundation stage, naturally causing the interior temperature to be lower than average. The surface temperature of Hoth fluctuated between minus ten and minus sixty-five standard degrees, and it was constantly experiencing severe storms and blizzards, meaning that the wearing of approved winter gear was enforced at all times. Hoth was out of the way, sure, but it was also going to be a lot of work to maintain.
Still, Juno was no engineer. She was just there to found out what plans Leia had in store for her. And, of course, she would see Galen. Sighing, she nodded to the sentry outside the door of the conference room as she left, heading towards the hangar. There was no point in prolonging her time here, not now that she had officially handed the reins over to her second-in-command for the time being and was ready to leave. She had said all her goodbyes, and didn't want to make this anymore painful than it had to be. By the time she had reached the shuttle, PROXY had already started it up and was waiting for Juno to make the necessary calculations and finalise the coordinates. He looked up as she entered the cockpit, moving out of the pilot's seat to let her in.
"I have checked all systems, Captain Eclipse, and everything is functioning at full capacity. Judging by our coordinates, I estimate that we will be in hyperspace for approximately fifteen-point-two hours."
Juno smiled gratefully at the droid. "Thanks, PROXY. You didn't need to do all that."
"Well, it is in my primary programming, Captain. My Master made it explicitly clear in my orders that I am to help you in any way possible." PROXY looked at her unflinchingly, almost if he was wondering why she should say such a thing. It made Juno smile, the first real thing in days. She hadn't been overly fond of the droid when she'd first met him impersonating her in the hangar of the Executor, but after five years, a change of primary programming and numerous times saving her skin, she'd grown quite fond of the bumbling droid.
"Alright then. Let's get this shuttle in the air. The sooner we arrive at Echo Base, the better." With one hand on the throttle, she carefully pushed it forwards, feeling the thrust of the engines as the shuttle lifted off the ground and through the force field that protected the hangar from space debris. Checking the coordinates for the final time, she pressed various buttons and levers, taking the ship smoothly into hyperspace. She sat back in her chair, feeling a little more relaxed. PROXY, however, was looking at her curiously.
"Are you in any particular hurry, Captain? I suspect Master Galen is missing you."
Juno almost laughed, but bit her lip to stop herself.
"Really? What gives you that impression?"
"Only that you appear to be missing him, and I presume his feelings are mutual. Whenever you are together, he is very different to his usual self. I have seen him change a great deal since he met you, Captain."
Juno smiled privately to herself, thinking of the last time they were together. Yes, he had changed since they had met. He could still be his grumpy, stubborn, moody self at times, but in him she could also see compassion, sympathy and – with her, anyway – love; traits she had never seen him to show whilst he was in the service of Darth Vader. She would be the first to admit that he could be difficult sometimes – she had lost count of the times they had argued about something, usually trivial – but she knew him better than anyone else – he vice versa – and she wouldn't give him up for the world. She just hoped their relationship would be strong enough to survive the coming months, and she wasn't just referring to her upcoming assignment. Placing a hand on her abdomen, she closed her eyes for a moment and leant back in her seat. She felt exhausted, all of a sudden.
"Are you well, Captain? You look a little tired, if I may say so."
"Thank you, but I'm fine, PROXY. It's just been a tiring few days, what with preparing the Salvation II for the changeover and making final arrangements for my transfer." That was a part-truth; in reality, she knew that the tiredness certainly did not have anything to do with her transfer. She had been experiencing this for several weeks now, although the medic had assured her that the fatigue and the nausea would fade. Which was a relief, as not only was it uncomfortable, she found it slightly humiliating. It made her feel incompetent, which in turn brought feelings of guilt for even daring to think that when she had so many other important things to worry about.
No, she would be an adult about this and face it head-on. Right now, she had more important things to be concerned with. She held a tiny life within her, now, and she had to be responsible.
"Well, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to get some rest, Captain. We are not due out of hyperspace for another fifteen hours."
"Perhaps you're right, PROXY." Juno suddenly wanted to be alone. She just needed some time to get to grips with what was happening. It was all getting to be a bit too much. She headed aft, leaving PROXY at the controls, and collapsed tiredly onto one of the small bunks in the crew sleeping quarters.
Knowing she wouldn't be disturbed, she gingerly lifted up her uniform jacket to expose her stomach, looking down at it ruefully. There was a slight bump; noticeable to Juno, although her uniform was certainly still bulky enough to cover it. Later, it would be more difficult to hide, and then the questions would begin, Juno supposed.
She wondered, not for the first time, what she would be like as a mother. The thought scared her; the idea of being completely responsible for someone else's life like that was terrifying. Once the initial shock off finding out about her pregnancy had worn off, she had thought at great length about what was going to happen. She had suspected for a while, of course; she had put off getting her medical appointment out of sheer cowardice. She wanted to do well, and not fail her child like her father failed Juno as a child.
It wasn't as if she had never wanted a family; the thought had just never really crossed her mind since she entered the military. She certainly did not want to bring up a child in a war zone like this: with Darth Vader, the Emperor and the Empire in general still at large, the dangers for the child of a Rebel captain and former Sith apprentice would be unimaginable. Juno didn't how she could protect one small being from the horrors of the universe.
"You've got me into a hell of a lot of trouble," she murmured, feeling more than a little foolish that she was talking to what was– technically – a very tiny bundle of cells who probably couldn't hear her just yet. Still, it was strangely reassuring to know that she wasn't alone, especially in times like this. She knew that, although her future was becoming increasingly uncertain, she would try to care for her child to the best of her abilities, no matter the cost.
If Juno had never been sure of anything in her life, she was sure of that. Even if it meant leaving the Rebels, she would do it. However much it pained her to think that. She just hoped Galen would feel the same, too. That was the main cause of her worries, now – would he come to accept it the same way as she had? He had little to no experience with this side of human nature, having been socially isolated for the majority of his young life. What did he know of parental instincts?
Juno yawned and closed her eyes, chastising herself for thinking the worst of the man she loved. It will be fine. Fine. She leaned back on the bunk, feeling sleep starting to creep up on her. Too much had happened in the past week for her to be able to think straight. She needed to have a good long sleep, and then maybe everything will seem clearer.
"You hear that?" Juno whispered, more to herself than anyone else as she gently rubbed her stomach, "We're going to be alright, you and me. Just you wait."
Even so, she still worried. When she finally fell asleep, her thoughts were of Galen and her unborn child, a dizzying torrent of memories and dreams.
"So what you're really saying is, you think you're too, I quote, 'important to the Rebellion' to be posted on maintenance missions?" Captain Wakthl, the Bith commander in charge of maintenance, looked at Kota sternly. The older Jedi merely folded his arms and glowered. Galen said nothing. He knew when to stand his ground, and when to not make a fuss. Well, usually. Both Kota and Galen found the Alliance infuriating at times, with the leaders' endless disagreements and bureaucracy, and their inability to act when it was truly needed. The Death Star was different, of course; Galen had been impressed with how they had carried out the attack, and with the friendly (if a little over-enthusiastic) Skywalker boy.
There was just a part of him that thought that the entire catastrophe could have been prevented by the Rebels acting just a little sooner, but he kept that to himself. He was as sorry for Alderaan's loss as everyone else, and he suspected that saying anything to do with it might cause the Alliance leaders to look upon him even more unfavourably than they already did. Returning to the argument at hand, he wondered if Kota was going to get his way. The older Jedi was notorious for his constant badgering, trying to get the Alliance to approve him and Galen's missions. Most of the time they did. If they didn't – well, they went on them anyway.
All the assignments been so far successful, apart from their most recent voyage to the Outer Rim to try and deal with some Hutts that had been slicing Alliance databanks and feeding information to the Empire, which had ended in disaster – Galen had managed to root out the source of the leak, but in the process of eliminating it, one of the lower Hutts had recognised the two from Imperial 'wanted' holos and had called the local Moff to come down on them. Galen and Kota had barely escaped with their lives and their ship, and had lost precious Rebel information in the process.
That's probably why they sent us to this barren, Sith-forsaken planet, thought Galen, dryly. He didn't think Kota was going to win this particular argument with their commander, not after their last unauthorised mission. He watched the ongoing dispute with detached amusement, not really caring much. It didn't matter to him where he was posted, so long as he was doing something. If repairing transmitters was what it took to take down Darth Vader and the Emperor, then so be it. For the time being, anyway.
"Uh…s-sorry to interrupt, sir…" A young cadet had timidly appeared, holding his datapad tightly as he eyed up his superiors in the room. Captain Wakthl frowned in annoyance.
"We've almost finished the debriefing session, Ensign. Can it wait?"
The ensign gulped. "Ah, yes, s-sir. Just that a – a message has c-come through for Starkiller from a – a C-captain Eclipse, and will be w-waiting on his c-comms unit back in his cabin. Th-that's all." He backed out of the room, face reddening. Galen's heart raced. Why would Juno be contacting him? He was still technically under-the-radar with Kota, and he was fairly certain that no-one had been authorised to tell her their location. Not that that mattered to him. If either of them had got their way, they would not be stationed at opposite ends of the galaxy, out of contact with each other. There must be something urgent, for someone to have broken protocol and told her his location. He shifted in his seat, arms folded. Waiting out the last few minutes of the meeting was not going to be easy.
After what seemed like eternity, but was in reality only about five minutes, the commander concluded the meeting and moved to talk privately with one of the engineers. Galen exhaled loudly and stood up, striding from the room without another word. He could hear Kota calling after him, but he had no time for the Jedi's preaching. He had gone three months without a word from Juno, and vice versa – that was long enough, in his opinion.
"Coming out of hyperspace in three…two…one…" Juno tapped some keys on the control panel and the streaked starlines of hyperspace slowed, replaced by the stars of realspace. Out of the viewport she could see the great ice-planet of Hoth, covered entirely in white. It made her cold just thinking about it. She wondered what she would be doing at Echo Base; Princess Leia had been suitably vague and secretive in her transmission. Then again, she didn't particularly mind whatever she did, as at least Echo Base was fairly out of the way and remote. That small bump, so far hidden by her uniform, wasn't going to get any smaller.
Juno sighed, setting the shuttle in a slow orbit of the planet, and leant back in her chair. She needed to wait to be hailed by the Rebels, as the security was so tight she hadn't been given exact coordinates for the base. It was annoying, as now she had to sit and wait, when she would rather be shutting down the engines and walking out onto the base. It also gave her more time to think, which was not what she wanted. She needed to see Galen, but she wasn't sure if that would help.
She was still in two minds on whether to tell him or not. Whilst he was better at controlling his emotions than he was as a teenage Sith, she worried about how he would take the news. Even the best of people could react badly to unexpected news.
The idea of children – she was having their child – was all very strange, and Juno wasn't particularly looking forward to the next few months. Having his support would make it easier, though. That was her real worry – she would raise the child herself if she had to, and the thought scared her. She couldn't understand the strange protectiveness that she felt, the knowledge that she would do anything for this child, even though the pregnancy was unplanned and unexpected. It was just – there. She would protect this child, no matter the cost. Even if it meant flying far, far away from the Rebels; from Galen if it came to that. Although Juno hoped, with all of her heart, that it wouldn't come to that.
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts that were circling her head. The same scenarios kept going round and round in her mind, and was starting to wear her down. She had been sleeping terribly for the past few weeks, and it was starting to show. Juno hadn't fully realised how haggard she looked until she had glanced in the mirror before leaving the Salvation II. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin was deathly pale; she felt weak, and it bothered her. Perhaps a quiet station such as Hoth would be good for her; recently, it felt like she'd had far too much stress in her life.
"This is Echo Base. Please identify yourself."
With a barely audible sigh of relief, Juno pressed the open comm. "This is Captain Juno Eclipse, requesting landing; authorisation code Giga Nye Twenty-Five-Seven."
There was a pause, and then a click as the voice came back online. "You're clear to land, Captain. Sending the coordinates now."
Juno tapped in the coordinates and let the nav-computer do the rest of the work. The base appeared to be on the opposite side of the planet, so it would take a few minutes to get there. But, at least she would see Galen when she landed. It was, at least, some consolation to her current state of confusion.