Chapter 37: Homeward Bound

To say there was disbelief would be an understatement.

Everyone in the meeting was staring at the message, revealed through use of the Force, just as fantastical as the nearly forgotten religion. The enforcer of the Emperor's will, Darth Vader himself, was offering the rebellion a truce. And it was all to arrange a meeting with Luke Skywalker, a rather low level member of the rebellion, albeit with the trust of one of its leaders. For a moment Mon Mothma wondered if they were being pranked, but the seriousness of such a message quickly dismissed such notions.

Mon Mothma turned toward Luke, eyes narrowing as her gaze met his. "Okay, what did you do to impress the second most evil person in the galaxy?"

"He knows," Luke answered. He took out his lightsaber, turned it on for a moment, and then shut it off again. "I've been training in the Force under Yoda for a while now. He must have sensed the improvements I've been making."

"And it's got him worried," Leia surmised. She turned to look at Luke in the eye. "Are you powerful enough to face him yet?"

"No," Luke answered. He saw the disappointed look, but he had to admit his limits. "I haven't finished my training. I still have a lot to learn from Yoda."

"Then he wants to take a potential threat and nip it in the bud," Mon Mothma figured.

"But why go through the trouble of using our spy network and offering a truce to set up a meeting?" Luke wondered. He was thinking about all sorts of motives, but could not be certain of any. "There's more going on to this."

"It must have something to do with Earth," Admiral Ackbar said. "He could ask for a meeting anywhere in the galaxy, but he picked that planet."

"Yeah," Luke agreed. He thought about his short experience on Earth, and one of his failures immediately came to mind. "We need to know what he wants to do there."

"You can't be serious," Mon Mothma said. "This is Darth Vader we're talking about. Whatever he's got in mind, it's going to be a disaster for us."

"We're not exactly in a position to refuse," Ackbar pointed out. All eyes were drawn to him. "We're still recovering from the loss of Hoth. We need more time to build our forces back up and establish a new base. Even a short truce would be an immense help to our war effort."

"Assuming he honors his word," Leia said. "He wouldn't be the first to renege on a deal. Tarkin did the same thing when he claimed he would spare Alderaan."

"Another reason not to buy into this farce," Mon Mothma said.

"I have to do this," Luke said. Once again, all eyes were on him. "I know it's a gamble, but I can't ignore it. I'm going to Earth, with or without anyone else."

If that was going to be the case, Leia properly faced Luke and nodded. "Then we better make sure you can still get out when you're done."

Preparations took nearly a week to complete.

Leia wasn't going to let Luke just blindly walk into this meeting, not if she could help it anyway. She made sure he would have support every step of the way, from an escort all the way to Earth, and a quick exit should the need almost certainly arise. A show of strength was also required for any dealings with the Empire, and Home One was chosen to represent the Rebellion, being the most impressive ship available. Everything the Rebellion could not afford to lose was moved to other capital ships, just in case the worst happened while Home One was away from the fleet.

Everyone that did not wish to participate was allowed to leave, and plenty of the crew requested transfers to other ships. Leia couldn't blame them for it, knowing full well that this little operation was going to be a gamble. But there was one group of people eager to stay aboard, the ones that wanted to return home on this mission. It was the only chance they've had to go to Earth in a long time, and they weren't going to pass it up for anything. Leia couldn't blame them for the sentiment, every day wishing she could go back to Alderaan.

In one of the break rooms aboard the ship, Aang and his close friends were gathered around a table, sharing a meal and passing the time with each other for company. They had plenty to catch up on, sharing their experiences since leaving Earth, each with their own story to tell the others. It seemed like forever since the four of them had been together, having been separated even before the Empire invaded their home. It took well over an hour for them to catch up on everything, and they were enjoying their meal the entire time.

After finishing the meal Sokka leaned back in his chair. "Seems like forever since we've done this. It's great to have the gang back together."

"I honestly thought it wasn't going to happen again," Toph admitted. She finished the last piece of meat on her plate, swallowing it in one big gulp. "For a while there, the rescue seemed like I might have been dreaming. Still think I might wake up and be back on that hellhole."

"I just wish we could wake up back home," Aang said. "Everything seemed so simple back there. Find the Fire Lord, defeat the Fire Lord, end the war. Seems easy next to what we're doing now."

"At least we're going back pretty soon," Katara said. "Sure, it won't be the same as we left it, but at least home is still there."

"Don't get your hopes up yet," Toph said. "Who knows what the Empire's been doing to the place? For all we know they destroyed everything and rebuilt it in their image."

"Try not to think that way," Sokka insisted. "It's no use stressing out over the mystery. Better to focus on the here and now instead of dwelling on something we simply don't know."

Then there was a voice speaking over the ship's intercom. "All hands, prepare for hyperspace jump."

"Finally," Katara said. "It's about time we got moving."

Everyone felt a slight rumble through their seats, and what little bending any of them had was stripped away. Aang felt the worst of it, losing meager fire and waterbending. "Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, we'll be back to having normal bending. I'm tired of this back and forth between being super awesome and sick to my stomach."

"I guess bending was never meant to be taken off world," Sokka mused. "Who would have thought?"

Toph leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "I certainly didn't."

"Yup," Katara said. She stretched her arms and stood up. "Now we just have to wait until this ship takes us back home. Maybe then things will start making sense again."

On the next day, Home One emerged from hyperspace.

Doing so at the edge of a solar system, as seemed to be the norm for this particular place, the ship hoped to avoid alerting any imperial vessels lying in wait. From there the ship flew into the system at sublight speed, opting for a stealthy entrance for as long such a thing was possible. The ship flew past a pair of ice giant planets, one of which spun on its side oddly enough, and made its way deeper into the system. Along the way Home One took passive scans of the inner solar system, acquiring a picture of the forces the Empire had around Earth.

If the scans were accurate, it seemed that Darth Vader had carried through on the proposal for a truce. Only a single ship was in Earth's orbit, all others seemingly sent elsewhere in the galaxy. However, the single ship here was a Super Star Destroyer, and an infamous one at that. For it was the Executor, the flagship of the imperial fleet, Darth Vader's personal favorite ship for conquering worlds. Superior to Home One in just about every tactical sense, the Executor was a formidable force to reckon with all by its lonesome.

Standing on the bridge of Home One, Leia had her eyes on the sensor readouts, waiting for a reaction to their presence. "Take us in, slow and steady. If that ship does anything, be ready to respond."

It did not take long for the Executor to make the first move. It left Earth orbit and flew into a heliocentric position, just barely beyond the reach of the planet's gravity. There it reoriented itself to match Home One's orientation, putting its starboard side toward the other ship. Shields were brought online, but weapons remained inactive, and the compliment of TIE Fighters remained in the hangar. It demonstrated a willingness to defend itself, but would not be the one to strike first. As long as no one got scared and fired anyway, it wasn't going to be the Executor that broke the truce.

A signal came through, and an officer aboard Home One reported it. "They're hailing us."

This was the moment of truth, and Leia took in a deep breath. "Put it through."

For meetings between capital ships, holograms were used in communications. As such a true-scale hologram of an imperial officer appeared before Leia, and a hologram of her would appear in the other ship. This officer was none other than Admiral Ozzel, the usual commanding officer of the Executor, whenever Vader happened to be elsewhere. Although it seemed that Ozzel did not approve of this meeting, he would carry it out to the best of his ability, like any respectable officer would. Leia certainly understood that sentiment, and wanted to get it over with quickly for both their sakes.

"Greetings Admiral," Leia said, putting on a professional tone for such an important communication. "I trust you are ready to receive our envoy."

"Yes ma'am," Admiral Ozzel said, albeit reluctantly. He nodded to someone outside of the hologram's image. "We're transmitting the identify friend-foe codes now."

An officer signaled the reception of those codes, and Leia nodded back to the admiral. "Acknowledged. We will be sending our delegation shortly."

Said delegation would be traveling aboard the Millennium Falcon, personally chosen by Leia for this mission. It was already well known by the Empire, so it would not give away any information the imperials didn't already possess. It also had that rare blend of expendable and invulnerable that made for the perfect transport, no big loss if it was destroyed yet somehow always managing to survive. The Falcon was still in Home One's hangar, the selected passengers still boarding, Han and Chewbacca still making some last minute repairs.

When the codes came in it was time to get going, and Han finished his work on the cockpit's consoles. "Okay, we're about as ready to go as we're ever going to be. Everyone strap in and we'll be underway."

Although a large complement of rebel soldiers had boarded the Falcon, they were superfluous and they knew it. Only Luke was required to make the trip, but Leia insisted that he not do this alone. Aang and his friends also insisted on coming along, and they were certainly welcome on this mission. They took the more comfortable seats inside the Falcon, waiting for the ship to take off and get them closer to home. No one was in the mood to talk as the ship took off, as this was not the time for idle conversation.

The Falcon flew out of the hangar, flying across the gap between Home One and the Executor. Han kept the pace slow and steady, expecting and searching for any sign of attack, yet it didn't seem to be there. Instead there was a pair of imperial shuttles coming out of the Executor's hangar, flying over to meet the Falcon halfway across the gap, escorting the old freighter to its destination. Han didn't like the sight of those shuttles beside his ship, even if he knew they were unarmed. He kept one hand on the hyperdrive control the entire time, right up until the Falcon was flying to the Executor's hangar for a landing.

By then they were fully committed, unable to make the jump to hyperspace while the entire view was filled by the Executor. Inside the hangar there was a space reserved for the Falcon and the escorts, and Han had his ship land as gracefully as possible. When the Falcon touched down he could see a legion of stormtroopers standing at attention, two halves facing the middle and leaving a clear path in between. It was worrying to see them in front of his ship, as well as all the TIE Fighters and bombers behind the stormtroopers, taking up the space the Falcon would need to turn around for a quick getaway.

Once the Falcon had come to a complete stop, Luke stood up and walked toward the exit. "Here we are, the moment of truth."

Aang and his friends were right behind him. "Let's see what Vader wants with you."

The rebel soldiers were first to exit the Falcon, marching out in twin rows to match the stormtroopers, creating an aisle in between for everyone else. Luke came out next, holding his head up high and keeping his gaze forward, putting on a show of confidence. Aang was right behind him, with Katara on his right and Sokka on his left, Toph pulling up the rear. They were following Luke's example and trying to look like they were in complete control of the situation, even if that couldn't be further from the truth.

Standing at the far end of the rows of stormtroopers was Darth Vader, his sights solely on Luke and ignoring everyone else. He stood with his arms crossed, the automatic breathing being the only sound he made. The imperial officers behind him were purely superfluous, a formality for the sake of appearances. Vader did notice the others walking behind Luke, not invited but not unwelcome either, something for the help to take care of while he tended to more important matters. He waited until Luke was standing right in front of him, and in times like this Vader wished he could still smile.

"Welcome aboard," Vader said. He held his hands apart in an inviting gesture. "We have much to discuss."

Meanwhile, a small sleek ship coasted into the system.

It had spent the better part of a week flying at sublight speed, having exited hyperspace beyond the range of the Executor's scanners to avoid detection. The lone woman aboard had spent the time in deep meditation, using a state of bliss to allow time to pass by without her notice. When the ship reached the third planet's orbit she returned to full consciousness, well rested and ready to take manual control of the ship. She sat in the pilot's chair and looked through the windshield, seeing the blue world filling up most of the view.

Passive sensors reported the Executor's location, away from the orbit it was supposed to maintain around the planet. There should have been a couple of Star Destroyers here, but they were conspicuously absent as well. Then the rebel ship appeared on sensors, and the reason for her deployment here became crystal clear. Defection was at work here, someone high in the ranks willing to work with those rebel scum, perhaps even at the very top of the military. That could not be tolerated, and correcting this sort of thing was a task for the Emperor's Hand.

Mara Jade changed course, setting her ship's path toward the Executor. "Vader will not be happy with you Ozzel, using his ship for insurrection."

Of course, it wasn't going to be as simple as cutting off the admiral's head. That would simply sow chaos and dissent in the ranks, which would only create more traitors sympathetic to the rebellion. No, instead she would have to discredit everyone involved in this conspiracy, and then execute them as an example to everyone else. That meant getting aboard the Executor and uncovering its secrets, all the while without giving away her investigation. No one would notice one extra person amidst the thousands aboard the ship, posing as just another member of the crew.

Just so long as she didn't let anyone see her lightsaber.

Walking through the ship proved quite illuminating, for Toph at least.

It seemed the imperials still hadn't developed countermeasures for her method of perceiving the world around her, or at least hadn't applied them to this particular ship. Still, the sheer scale of it was a limiting factor, and the farthest she could see was a dozen decks down. Even she had limits, though she would never admit it, and the secrets aboard this ship could easily be beyond the limits of her sight. But what she did see was worth the walk, and certainly shed light on the mood shared amongst the ship's crew.

They were certainly not happy about this mission they had been pressed into, judging by the passive-aggressive vibe she got from their gestures. They wanted nothing to do with deals involving the rebellion, but had no other choice but to follow orders. There were the distinct signs of fear in nearly everyone aboard the ship, kept under the surface but there nevertheless, forced to comply under the threat of reporting directly to Darth Vader. It certainly explained why the corridors ahead were empty of people, no one wanted to be directly in his path.

And then there was what Toph saw within Darth Vader, hidden from everyone else under that fearsome exterior. That complicated mesh of man and machine, entire limbs replaced with metal and wires, mechanisms embedded in the torso in place of organs, their functions complex but their purpose simple. They were there to keep Vader alive, for what little organic bits remained were incapable of sustaining life. If only the machines weren't refined to unfathomable purities, if only they had some bits of earth inside, it would have been so simple to metalbend him to pieces.

Such thoughts were interrupted when the group arrived in a large meeting room, which had a lovely view of the hangar through a long window. Vader led the group inside, Luke was right behind him, while Aang and his friends were last inside. The stormtrooper escort stayed outside, and took posts standing guard by the door. A long table with chairs was at the center of the room, but Vader ignored them and walked toward another door at the far end. Right before reaching it Vader turned around, facing Luke in particular and everyone else in general.

"If your friends would remain here, we can speak in private, Luke," Vader said. With merely a hand gesture the door opened, a casual use of the Force for demonstration. "Please, come."

Luke saw the concerned looks everyone else had, and he could certainly understand them. "It will be alright. We're just going to talk, that's all."

"Yeah, sure," Aang said. "We'll be fine out here until you're done."

Sokka watched and waited until Vader and Luke had gone through the door and closed it behind them, then turned around to face everyone else. "Okay Toph, what can you see from here?"

"A whole lot of people scurrying about," Toph answered. She leaned back against the table, putting her hands on the edge. "We need to be careful. It's obvious they do not agree with whatever metal-head wants to do here."

"No stepping out of line, got it," Katara said. "What else do you see?"

Toph crouched and punched the floor, creating stronger vibrations to extend her sight and increase the clarity of the picture in her mind. "Okay, it's at the very edge, twenty or so decks down, but I think I see waterbenders down there."

"Could be prisoners," Sokka guessed. Then he looked at Aang and Katara. "Or are they collaborators? Like the ones you two saw on that ice planet?"

"Not sure," Toph admitted. She punched the floor again to get the better picture again. "Could be either, could be both, I can barely see them from here. The finer details aren't getting through."

"Then we need a closer look," Aang said. He sat down on the floor, legs crossed, and put his fists together. "If anyone asks, tell them I'm meditating."

"It wouldn't be untrue, technically," Katara said. She sat in a chair close to Aang, looking down at that bald head of his. "I mean, you do have to meditate to do what you're about to do."

Aang nodded, and then closed his eyes. "I don't know when I'll be back. This ship is huge. I might get a little lost."

"Take your time," Sokka said. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the door. "It looks like we'll be waiting for them a while anyway."

The next room was smaller than Luke expected, and barely furnished as well. The only thing of note was a desk with a chair and a computer terminal, likely hooked up to the ship's most secure databases and only accessible by a few select individuals for private use. Lights came on when Darth Vader entered, the door closed by itself after Luke went inside. It was just the two of them now, and Vader turned around to look at Luke properly. For a moment they stood and looked at each other in silence, judging each other in both appearances and presence in the Force.

"You have become more powerful than I imagined," Vader said, finally breaking the silence. "The Force is strong with you. Obi Wan has taught you well."

Luke wasn't about to correct him. "Yes, I learned a lot from him before he died. It has been a challenge to continue learning about the Force without him."

"You are already on the path to becoming a Jedi," Vader said. "The Emperor is correct to fear you. He is well aware of your potential. He knows that you could become more powerful than him one day."

"Is that why you called me here?" Luke asked. He crossed his arms, one hand subtly reaching for his lightsaber. "Did the Emperor order you to eliminate me first?"

"No," Vader said. He noticed the surprise Luke felt at that statement. "He would have me turn you to the Dark Side of the Force, to bring you into his thrall and serve him. But I believe that would be a waste of your potential, serving a master that is unworthy of such an apprentice."

Luke relaxed a bit, but only just a bit. "I am told you are the Emperor's most trusted servant. Am I to believe that you are disobeying him?"

"Even the Emperor's vision has its limits," Darth Vader said. He turned toward the computer terminal, using the Force to turn it on and access his private files. "There are powers in this galaxy that even he is unaware. This world in particular is beneath his notice, and its secrets can be his downfall."

A hologram appeared in the room, filling much of the space with a display of Earth. The planet slowly rotated, allowing Luke to see all of it in turn, the western hemisphere coming first. Most of the hologram was colored in shades of blue, with green symbols marking imperial bases and troop deployments. White symbols marked local settlements and cities, and black symbols were places that still had resistance. Then there were yellow symbols as well, their purpose not clear at first glance, two in particular situated at the poles.

Luke pointed at both symbols, first the one in the south and then the one in the north. "Are those what I think they are?"

Vader looked at the poles. "I see you are aware of them, these spirits that inhabit the ends of this world. We know very little about them, but they are unlike anything I have ever encountered before."

Remembering his own experience with spirits, and how badly it had gone, Luke nodded to Vader. "And why should I help you in this matter? It goes beyond the terms of our little truce."

"I would hope we could go beyond a mere truce," Vader said. "You and I could bring this war to an end. Surely you have realized this by now. Together, not even the Emperor would be able to stop us."

That sounded a bit like insurrection to Luke. "Do you really expect me to believe that you would openly rebel against the Emperor?"

"He knows it will happen eventually," Vader said. With a hand gesture he used the Force to turn off the hologram. "I'm sure he has already sent an agent here to investigate. It is only a matter of time."

Aang found it strange to separate from his body without going to the spirit world, keeping his own spirit in the physical world. He simply stood up and out of his physical body, turning around to look down at it, getting a chill down his spine at seeing himself there. It was also strange to see no reaction from his friends, since they couldn't see his spirit moving around. Even stranger than that was passing his hand through the table, as if either it or he was just a hologram. Still, it was proof that he could move about freely and unseen, and now he could get to work finding out what was really going on aboard this ship.

"Alright, looks like this is working," Aang said. There was no reaction to his voice, confirmation that he could not be heard as well. "Wish me luck you guys."

Aang turned away from the others and walked to the outer door, cautiously phasing through it to reach the other side. He found half a dozen stormtroopers guarding this side, none of them reacting to his presence. He waved a hand in front of a stormtrooper's helmet, just to be sure, and he was satisfied with the lack of reaction. Aang turned and walked away from the stormtroopers, heading down a corridor and deeper into the ship. He had no idea where he was going of course, only that it would surely have been off limits to him otherwise.

He started sprinting through the corridors, not needing to worry about exhausting himself, wanting to see as much as he could in as little time as possible. He passed by stormtroopers patrolling the corridors, along with a variety of droids scattered around the ship. Aang followed one of the little black box droids for a while, even when it entered a small hatch in a corner, Aang phasing through the wall to follow. It seemed like these little mouse droids could go just about anywhere, perfect for mobile surveillance without being too intrusive on ship operations.

As he wandered the corridors Aang caught pieces of conversations between patrolling stormtroopers, hearing casual gossip that didn't mean much to him. A pair of them went into a turbolift, and Aang followed for a ride. Inside the turbolift, Aang suddenly found himself floating in a shaft, having phased through the ceiling as the lift descended and left him behind. A little embarrassed, Aang willed himself to descend the shaft, going down about twenty decks before stopping. There he phased through a set of doors, emerged into a new corridor on this deck, and resumed his exploration.

There was tighter security on this deck, stormtroopers standing guard at every door, checking identities of everyone passing through. Most of the people going about their business appeared to be researchers and scientists, along with a few military officers overseeing operations. Aang casually walked past them all, head turning back and forth to look at everything, until his gaze settled on one door up ahead. A group of officers were passing through it, and Aang followed as the door was closed, which would have bisected him if he hadn't been intangible.

Aang got in front of the officers, taking a front row view of what they had come to see. "Oh dear…"

They were looking through a two way mirror that spanned the room, letting them see but also being unseen from the other side. Through it they could see a vast training hall, spanning three decks and well over three hundred feet long, having a view from above to look down on all the people inside. Hundreds of people were there, all in basic black uniforms, but with a colored stripe on the shoulder. They were practicing a variety of forms, most of which were familiar to Aang, knowing exactly what they were for.

"Benders," Aang muttered, surprised and alarmed by their number. "And they're following orders?"

That's what it looked like, given the pleased expressions of the officers behind Aang. They were observing the benders going through the forms, with three main varieties and several minor ones mixed in. They were a match for three of the four elements, fire, water, and earth on display, though with the ship beyond Earth orbit only fire was working. Then Aang noticed the stormtroopers among the benders, working together in the creation of new tactics, combining the bending forms with imperial positioning and battle formations.

It was a gut-wrenching sight for Aang to behold, seeing benders working with imperials seemingly voluntarily. Some part of him realized he should have expected this, for it explained the waterbenders in stormtrooper armor back on Hoth. Resistance to imperial occupation could only go for so long before some people would lose faith in the cause, and eventually some would collaborate with their oppressors out of desperation. Aang had seen it happen back in the Hundred Year War a couple times, and had heard stories of it happening plenty of times prior to his awakening from the iceberg.

The officers had been talking with a training instructor for a few minutes now, but Aang only just started paying attention to the conversation. "…this particular detachment should be ready for deployment by the end of the month. If blue squad is any indication, we should be able to counter the rebellion's benders by year's end."

One officer checked a datapad, glanced at a report on this blue squad, and he put the pad away. "That's a bold claim. The benders blue squad encountered were far more skilled than they were." He glanced through the two-way mirror. "And I still don't see anyone confirmed to use the fourth element."

"Yes, unfortunately we have not been able to find anyone with control of the wind." The training instructor checked his records to be certain. "Well… aside from the one among Lord Vader's guests."

"I'm right here," Aang said. No response of course, which had Aang shaking his head. "Never mind."

Another officer did not like the instructor's remark. "I still don't see what he hopes to gain from this 'truce' of his. We should seize the rebel envoy and destroy their ship while it sits out there."

"I guess Vader thinks he can accomplish more than that," the first officer said. He shrugged and turned look at another part of the training hall. "We'll just have to wait and see what he has in mind."

Silence came over the room, everyone watching the benders below and comparing them to traditional stormtrooper training. Aang figured he wasn't going to get anything else from these people, and so he casually walked through the two-way mirror and into the training hall. He floated for the first few feet, and then he willed himself to descend, getting a closer look at the benders below. Though the people down here were determine to meet the expectations made of them, none of them seemed particularly enthusiastic about it, as if this was the only option left for them to survive.

Aang kept on going down, went past everyone there, phasing through the floor to enter the deck bellow. He ended up in what he assumed to be the bowels of the ship, what with all the plumbing and assorted distribution systems lining the corridors. Very few people were down here, only maintenance workers tending to essential ship systems, too busy doing their jobs to notice anything out of the ordinary. Aang walked across this deck, phasing through walls every so often, wondering what might be hidden down here.

But then he came across something odd, or rather someone odd. There was a woman sneaking around the ship, despite wearing a uniform that suggested she belong here. Her long red hair seemed strange too, though Aang figured that was because he rarely saw anyone with that hair color. She did seem to know where she was going, taking turns without checking for where they may or may not lead, like she had a guide in her mind to give her the correct path. Aang followed her, figuring that if this mystery woman was after something, he might as well see what it was.

After a couple of turns the woman stopped moving, turned around, and stared into the empty space behind her. "Alright, whatever you are, why are you following me?"

Aang stopped in his tracks, his eyes meeting the mysterious woman's gaze. "You can see me?"