Chapter 53: Desperate Times

Aang woke up in a cold sweat, sitting up in his cot with a chill going down his spine.

He looked down at his mechanical hand, which seemed to be functioning properly, but he couldn't help but remember the pain from the night his real hand was chopped off. That night was one of his greatest failures, and while it wasn't as bad as disappearing for a hundred years, it was the failure that had led to him getting stuck on an alien planet. Now, despite the year that had passed since then, the memory was as fresh in his mind as the moment it happened. It appeared in his nightmares every night, but tonight it was especially vivid, like the nightmare had been trying to warn him.

Everyone else was sound asleep, save for the lookouts standing watch at the tunnels that connected to this underground cavern. Even the droids had been shut down to conserve power, and they had been stored in a small hut just outside of the little shack that Aang and his friends slept in. Taking care not to wake Toph or Azula, which was very difficult for the former but not impossible, Aang made his way over that small hut. He wanted to believe that he was just being paranoid, but he needed to be certain one way or another.

He turned on the astromech, and after some unintelligible beeps Aang realized he'd better turn on the other droid. "Sorry to wake you guys up early, but I need a favor."

Once C-3PO was operational he translated for R2-D2. "It must be important for you to do this with no one else around. What do you need?"

"I have a feeling something is going down right now," Aang admitted. "Can you check the imperial broadcasts for me? You still have access, right?"

A little panel on R2-D2's head slid open and a little antenna stuck out, with a tiny dish that rotated.

"It should only be a moment," C-3PO said.

There was a slight tremor that shook the cavern, and dust fell from the ceiling. It was enough to alert the lookouts, who constantly suspected intrusion from above. It also woke up Toph, being sensitive to such things, and she was already on her feet when the second tremor hit. That one had plenty of people waking up and assuming they were under attack, but then a third tremor struck with less force, like it had come down further away. There weren't any cracks forming in the ceiling, which had people more confused than anything else.

It only took a moment for Toph to reach Aang and the droids. "Ah, good, you're already checking."

"Um, yeah sure, that's what I was doing," Aang said. He turned back toward the droids. "Anything?"

R2-D2 beeped something and C-3PO translated. "It seems there is a lot of activity on the network. R2 is sifting through it to determine the cause."

More tremors shook the cavern, to varying degrees of intensity, none doing any real damage. Toph put one hand on the ground, focusing her vibration sight as far as possible. "It doesn't seem like they are attacking us. Or they could be trying to lull us into a false sense of security."

That was when Azula came inside, having overheard the last part of the conversation. "That's what I was thinking. We know they are bound to find this place eventually."

"Should we begin evacuating?" Aang asked.

Azula looked at the smaller droid. "Let's see what he finds out first."

The droid beeped at her, and C-3PO seemed surprised. "Oh dear, apparently Coruscant is under attack."

"What?" Toph blurted out.

"By who?" Aang asked.

"It can't be the Rebellion," Azula said. "It's too soon since we sent the message."

"It's not them," C-3PO confirmed. He heard R2-D2 say something urgent. "Well play it for everyone."

R2-D2 turned his head, aiming the little projector toward the group, and generated a hologram into the middle of the group. A life-sized figure appeared, wearing a robe with a hood that left only a face exposed. It was the wrinkly face of an old man, scarred long ago and withered with age. It was a face that Aang had seen in person once before, during one of the most desperate moments of his life, when he and Toph had been left stranded on this planet. This was Emperor Palpatine, currently delivering a speech to the citizens of Coruscant.

"-blatant attack on our world will not go unpunished. Darth Vader has betrayed the Empire and seeks to rule in my place. We must not allow him to succeed. His new rebellion will be put down and order will be restored to the galaxy!"

Although they had missed much of the speech, what they heard was enough for Aang. "We need to leave. We need to leave right now!"

An emergency meeting of the Rebellion's leadership was now in session.

The news coming out of the Empire was that important, once their spies had confirmed that it was actually happening and not some bizarre form of propaganda. Coruscant was under attack, and from a breakaway faction of the Empire, much to the shock of the rebel leaders gathered aboard Home One. The details were vague and often contradictory, lacking a reliable source of firsthand information about the attack, having to rely on rumors and hearsay. The only thing every source agreed upon was that the aggressive faction was inflicting significant damage, more so than it had any right to do upon the capital.

Leia was staring at the holographic display projected above the meeting table, watching the reports as they were coming in. Mon Mothma was doing the same, though she was searching for any possible way to exploit the situation. Admiral Ackbar was attending via hologram, having been elsewhere at the time and currently wondering if this was all some elaborate deception. General Dodonna was also present as a hologram, and the surprise of this news made it seem like the old man might have a heart attack and finally pass on.

"Well I never thought I would see this day," Dodonna admitted. One could see glimpses of medical droids in his hologram, tending to his health problems due to his age. "The idea of revolt from within the imperial navy, it was just unthinkable."

"It always seemed like the Emperor's control over the military was absolute," Ackbar said. "The internal politics must be far worse than we were led to believe."

"Or this is Vader continuing his personal vendetta," Leia said. "He's the only one that's ever directly opposed the Emperor from within the Empire."

"No one has seen or heard anything about him since that truce debacle," Mon Mothma said. "Regardless of who is behind this attack, it is an opportunity for us to strike."

"We were going to do that soon anyway," Ackbar pointed out. "We still haven't agreed on a target."

"Coruscant is definitely off the table now," Leia said. "Even with all the chaos this attack has caused, the moment our forces arrive will have both sides shooting at us. Not to mention the Emperor has surely ordered the patrol fleets to return to Coruscant as reinforcements."

"The other targets are likely to be less defended now," Dodonna speculated.

"Too bad we won't be able to confirm it for at least a week," Mon Mothma said. "By then this attack will be over and we will have lost the opportunity."

"Did anyone ever corroborate the bothan reports about Endor?" Leia asked.

"No, and that's why we can't strike there," Ackbar said. "Fey'lya has repeatedly assured that the leaks have been plugged, but I remain skeptical that his claim is true."

"Even if the reports are genuine, the new Death Star shouldn't be operational for another year," Mon Mothma said. "We still have time to gather more information on it. Best to strike at a world that we have at least some reliable data on."

Leia brought up a list of targets for everyone to see, all viable but each with its own problems. "We could hit multiple targets at once. We don't have to commit everything we have to just one location."

"That risks stretching our forces too thin," Dodonna said.

"No, she's right," Mon Mothma said. "Hitting multiple places will make our forces appear more numerous than they actually are. It will also amplify the impact we will have on enemy morale, and divide the Empire's attention even further. It may even help out the other faction's invasion."

"If we're lucky," Ackbar said.

"I suggest we each take a portion of the fleet and pick our own target," Leia said.

"Agreed," Mon Mothma said.

Ackbar nodded. "Very well. But if any of us encounter too much resistance to handle alone, we must not be afraid to retreat."

"My second in command will need to oversee my forces," Dodonna said. "I'm afraid that I am not fit to lead during a battle. Doctor says I can't handle the stress anymore."

"We understand," Ackbar said. He turned his attention back to the others. "I suggest we make out decisions within the hour and move out immediately."

"My thoughts exactly," Mon Mothma said. On that note the meeting was adjourned, and the two holograms disappeared. "Leia, how certain are you that it's Vader attacking Coruscant?"

The true answer was absolutely, but Leia didn't want to tell her that it was because of a gut feeling. "Eighty… eighty-five percent sure. I mean, after we crippled the Executor, it could have taken this long for Vader to overcome that setback."

"Well I hope your right," Mon Mothma said. "If he really is there, then he can't be somewhere else."

"And I wouldn't want to be there if he is," Leia said.

Meanwhile, every pilot brave enough to disobey the Empire was trying to leave Coruscant.

Between the battle in orbit and the invasion on the ground, this looked like the only chance anyone had to slip through all the chaos. It didn't matter which side was victorious in the end, when the fighting was over the winner would restore tight control around the planet. It was now or never to get off Coruscant, and every smuggler was trying to take whatever contraband they had with them. It didn't matter if the goods were illicit drugs or stolen droids or people wanting a new life elsewhere, smugglers were willing to take anything for a price, though there was a discount for people that had the money now.

Although smuggling wasn't his trade, Boba Fett was willing to try it today. "My ship is right up ahead."

The bounty hunter had brought Aang and the other people from Earth to an imperial ship depot, where his ship had been impounded for the last few months. Boba had the codes to unlock access, which Azula was now glad to have taken the time to help him steal, since it would make this easier. There were desperate people already here, having overwhelmed the guards at the entrances, but unable to release any ships from their berths without the codes. Naturally, instead of welcoming help from a bunch of new people, the ones already here opened fire.

Toph had raised a wall of rock for cover, shielding the group from blaster bolts. "Why do we always have to do things the hard way?"

Aang was just glad they'd come prepared, having brought enough rock with them to this metal facility to work with. "I'm sure they're scared and desperate, just like us."

Azula was hurling blue flames into the depot, not caring who was hit as long as it helped clear a path. "Well they are in our way, so they have to go."

It did not take long to clear a path to Boba's ship, given that they weren't fighting trained soldiers. Azula did most of the work, burning as many people as needed before the rest started to run. Aang and Toph had focused on defense, reshaping their rock wall as necessary when people were shooting from new angles. Mai and Ty Lee had some stolen blasters, and along with Boba they shot down the people that Azula missed. Meanwhile the droids were staying back, not wanting to get damaged by any shots that might get through the defense.

When the blaster bolts stopped flying toward them, Mai stopped shooting. "I think we got them all."

Their side stopped shooting, and after a moment of silence Boba fired one more shot. "Follow me."

The ship they wanted resembled a backwards radar dish, with its engines placed on the broad side of the round section currently facing the floor. The cylindrical body was facing the sky, with a pair of short wings on the sides. Boba walked up to the bottom of the main body and pressed a button on the hull, opening the ship's cargo hold and extending a boarding ramp from within. Upon entering the cargo hold it became apparent that this ship was meant to fly vertically, for everything inside was sideways and thus immediately disorienting to the unprepared.

The only exception was the cockpit, which appeared to be on a swivel and could adjust as needed. Boba got into a comfy chair and accessed the ship's computer. "Son of a… they took my cargo!"

"Is now really the time to complain about that?" Ty Lee asked.

"It is when that includes my provisions," Boba said. He checked a hidden compartment in the cockpit, and he let out a low growl. "All I have left is my emergency rations. At best it's enough for two people for three days, and that's if we both half-starve."

"We don't have time to go grocery shopping," Azula said.

"So what do you expect us to do?" Toph asked. "Draw straws to see who gets to eat?"

"That's not entirely out of the option," Boba said. He got out of his seat and walked back into the cargo hold. "Decide which one of you gets to be my copilot while I get the equipment ready."

"Equipment?" Aang questioned, not liking the sound of that.

Mai was still standing outside, having heard the conversation before seeing Boba step outside. "What are you up to?"

"Just hold down the fort," Boba requested. "I'll be right over there."

Everyone else came back out of the ship, and they watched the bounty hunter heading to some strange equipment elsewhere in the depot. It appeared to be a pit with a bunch of tubes and pipes connected to the rim, linked to some large storage tanks nearby. Boba was tinkering with a console next to it, resulting in plumes of cold gray mist rising out of the pit. The mist matched the color of some nearby crates, which had Aang wondering if they were coated in the stuff. He did not like the implications of that, hoping that he was coming to the wrong conclusion.

"Ah, this should work," Boba said, once he was finished with the console. "I think it's been done before, back in the Clone Wars."

"What's been done before?" Azula asked.

"Carbon freezing," Boba answered. "This can put you guys on ice."

Aang blinked twice. "Wouldn't be the first time."

That remark got Boba to pause, but quickly went back to inspecting the machinery. "I'm sure there's a story behind that, but we don't have time for it."

"I'll tell you after we unfreeze," Aang promised.

Having returned to her quarters to make her decision, Leia struggled between the practical and the personal reasons for the choice.

She wanted to take her portion of the rebel fleet to Earth and rescue Luke and Han and Chewbacca, and perhaps increase the Rebellion's limited number of benders fighting for the cause. There was the possibility that the imperial presence around Earth had been reduced to reinforce Coruscant, but Leia had no way of knowing soon enough to make her decision. If she decided to take her fleet there it could be leading them into a deathtrap, if the imperial forces there remained at their last known strength and were on high alert.

Sitting at the desk in her quarters, Leia turned toward the other person in here. "I don't suppose the Force can tell you what an imperial fleet is doing half a galaxy away?

"Afraid not," Yoda said. He was sitting on the bed, legs folded and hands held apart in a meditation pose. "But there is a great panic on a scale that I have not felt since the Clone Wars ended. But that is to be expected, since that was the last time Coruscant was attacked."

"Do you think the Emperor would withdraw all of the fleets to protect himself?" Leia asked.

"Against anyone else, absolutely," Yoda answered. "But against Vader? He may believe that no amount of ships would be enough and he would have to face Vader himself."

Leia looked at the reports on her private terminal, imagining the space battle that had to be occurring over Coruscant right now. "Perhaps if we're lucky, they will destroy each other and save us the trouble."

"Not even a Jedi is that lucky," Yoda said. "Someone will have to confront either Sidious or Vader, after one has destroyed the other and the victor turns his attention to the Rebellion."

"I wish Luke were here," Leia said. "Luke should be here, he shouldn't be stuck on some backwater planet unable to help."

"Are you going to do something about that?" Yoda asked.

And that brought Leia back to her indecision, wanting to go to Earth but uncertain if that would be a mistake. The practical choice of target was Kashyyyk, as it was a navigational hub and a main source of food for the Empire. Any disruption there could significantly hamper the imperial war effort, which was sure to be under severe strain already from the attack on Coruscant. Leia was certain that Chewbacca would insist on abandoning himself for the sake of that planet, being the home of his species and his family and thus worth his own life.

"It's either Earth or Kashyyyk," Leia said. "I'm sure the others are going to pick other planets. They're going to expect me to go help the wookies."

"If you think that is best, then you should trust your instincts," Yoda advised. "If you are certain."

Leia sighed, and checked her terminal for any new reports that may have come in. "I'll give it another day for any new information on Earth. Until then, I'm telling the fleet to prepare for Kashyyyk."

With the idea of being frozen unappealing for several obvious reasons, Aang and the others had searched the ship depot for any alternative. None of the other ships kept here had anything for supplies, having been stripped just like Boba's ship. The nearest place to procure food was miles away, and almost certainly being ransacked by looters during all the chaos. All the while Boba was making sure that the machine was in proper working order, and was nearly finished when the group returned empty handed.

"So who's going to stay awake through all of this?" Aang asked. "Because I for one am not okay with leaving just the droids with him."

"We're right here," C-3PO said, standing nearby with R2-D2. "Though yes, I think it would be wise to have some company besides the bounty hunter."

R2-D2 beeped something that was obviously an agreement.

"Not much of a choice when it's obvious," Toph said. She pointed to the tallest girl here. "Tall, dark, and boresome over there should be the one to watch everyone."

Mai raised one eyebrow. "And here I thought you were going to suggest yourself."

"Yeah well my bending doesn't work in space," Toph said. Then she pointed to Aang and Azula. "And last time I checked, neither of their bending work in hyperspace either. It has to be someone that doesn't have bending in the first place."

"Then why aren't I a choice?" Ty Lee asked.

"You're too nice for your own good," Toph answered. "And we need someone that won't hesitate to put a knife to that guy's throat if he even thinks about screwing us over."

"She's not wrong…" Boba chimed in.

"Quiet you," Toph said, then turned back to the group. "So yeah, Mai's the best one to leave awake through all of this."

"I don't like it, but I'll go with it," Azula said. She stood close to her friend and looked her in the eyes. "I trust you won't let me down."

"Of course I won't," Mai said. She pulled out one of her knives and held it between two fingers. "I'll make sure he doesn't try to sell you all as decorations or anything."

"It's ready," Boba announced. He was at the control console again, and a small circular platform was rising out of the pit. "You're going to have to do this one at a time."

"I'll go first," Aang said, already walking toward the machine. "If anything goes wrong I'll just reincarnate back on Earth."

"You'll be a different person, and it will take over a decade to get the new you ready," Toph complained.

Aang shrugged. "Either way I get back home."

Boba decided to ask about that later. "Please walk onto the platform there and we'll get started."

"Okay," Aang said. He did as instructed and stood on the platform. "Do it."

The machine was activated and the platform descended back into the pit, taking Aang along and enveloping him in the gray mists. Pipes hissed as plumes of mist shot out from the pit, which were the excess amount from the carbon freezing process. When it was finished the platform rose back up, carrying a six by two foot block of frozen carbonite half a foot thick. Half of Aang could be seen in the block, sitting in his meditation pose, and for a brief moment one could see a dim blue glow in his eyes before it faded away.

Boba inspected a control panel on the side of the carbonite block, which was displaying the status of the preserved body. "Okay, the stasis appears to be stable. Protocol droid, get the hover-lift and haul him into the ship while I reset for the next one."

There was much relief at the confirmation that this technology worked, and the droid didn't complain before getting to work. By the time C-3PO got Aang's block into the ship Boba had the machine ready to go again, and Azula wasn't going to show fear at being frozen and insisted on going next. She went through carbon freezing and came out in a formal pose, one hand on her hip and the other at her chin, looking like a figure of royalty. Toph went through it next, coming out with fists raised and her index and pinky fingers extended. Ty Lee was last, and to no one's surprise she came out in a handstand.

"That's all of them," Mai said. She helped C-3PO finish loading them into the ship and secured them in the cargo hold. "Alright, let's get out of here."

Already in the cockpit of his ship, Boba was preparing for takeoff. "All of you better get in here. It is very disorienting to be elsewhere in this ship during flight."

"I'll take your word for it," Mai said, climbing in the cockpit with the droids. "Now let's go already."

The ship ignited its engines, the mag-clamps were released by the stolen access codes, and the ship lifted off from its berth. During takeoff the cockpit turned on its swivel, aligning with the vertical orientation for flight, with the windshield looking out the front of the ship. Artificial gravity took over inside the cockpit, adding to the illusion that it was everything but the cockpit moving around instead. The engines flared and the ship soared away from the depot, heading straight into the madness that was the skies above Coruscant.

Debris from the orbital battle was falling everywhere, burning up as the giant hunks of metal plummeted through atmosphere. Thousands of other ships were trying to flee, and they had to avoid the burning debris as well as each other. TIE Fighters from above were shooting down at targets on the ground, while anti-orbital defenses were shooting up at the invading forces, with the ships trying to flee being caught in the crossfire. Stray blaster bolts clipped some ships, others were hit by falling debris, and their destruction added to the obstacles facing all the others trying to escape this planet.

Boba flew with an expert's skill through all the obstacles in his way, weaving back and forth as needed, dodging blaster bolts one moment and then debris the next. He had the shields at maximum power, and they were whittled away by the small scraps of falling metal that were unavoidable. Boba had to open fire on several ships that were in the way, needing to destroy them and clear a path forward. He didn't care that it denied someone else the escape he sought, certain that anyone behind him would be trying to do the same.

The madness only intensified when they reached space, for the orbital battle was still ongoing with no sign of ending soon. Many Star Destroyers were heavily damaged and left adrift in orbit, alongside a few Super Star Destroyers that were missing their command towers and effectively disabled. Thousands of TIE Fighters had been reduced to millions of metal fragments, each capable of punching a hole into the hull of a speeding ship without its shields. The debris field had already destroyed many of Coruscant's communications satellites, which in turn added to the debris to threaten more damage.

"How are you going to get us through that!" Mai demanded.

"We'll be torn to ribbons if we go through that debris field!" C-3PO warned. "And that's if we don't get shot down in the crossfire!"

"Which is why we're not taking the direct route," Boba said. "Hold on to something!"

The ship made a sharp swerve away from the orbital battle, bringing the planet's horizon into view. From this angle they could see the burning debris and impact scars, which made the planet look like it was on fire. The engines flared to maximum burn, diving back toward the planet at an angle, flying with gravity's pull instead of against it. Accelerating with the makeshift slingshot maneuver, the ship grazed along the atmosphere as it went around this world. It whipped past imperial ships coming around from the far side, unnoticed while their attention was on providing reinforcements for the battle.

After flying a third of the way around Coruscant, Boba found a good enough escape vector. "There!"

He hit the switch for the hyperdrive, and the familiar effect of stars streaking greeted them as the ship shot forward into hyperspace. There was a collective sigh of relief inside the cockpit, even from the droids despite the fact that they didn't breathe. The nav-computer was beeping, apparently an alarm for the lack of proper coordinates before making the jump, but Boba didn't care and hit the computer to make the alarm stop. He could plot a course properly later, once they had gotten far enough away from Coruscant to emerge from hyperspace undetected.

"Well that could have gone better," Mai stated.

"We were fortunate the battle was still going," Boba said. "If either side had won already we would have been shot out of the sky."

"At least you got us out of there in one piece," C-3PO said.

"Yeah, well it's not quite over yet," Boba said. He turned his seat around to face R2-D2. "Astromech, you're from the Rebellion. Did they give coordinates for rendezvous after your mission?"

R2-D2 beeped a confirmation and a remark.

"And transmission codes to tell them we're ready for pick up," C-3PO translated. "R2 will need to access your navigation computer to upload them."

"The port is right over here," Boba said, pointing to a round socket on the left wall. "Just don't try anything foolish. I've got all sorts of defense programs in there to keep out unwanted eyes."

"Let's just get this over with," Mai said. "I'd rather not be stuck in this tin can any longer than I have to."

"Ma'am, we are receiving a signal on a high priority frequency."

"Put it through in here," Leia said, answering the call from her quarters.

The signal was carrying a report, and once she saw who it was from it had her undivided attention. The astromech droid R2-D2 was relaying it through the ship of some bounty hunter, who had been recruited to assist in Mai and Ty Lee's mission. It seemed like a long time ago, when she had sent them to make an alliance with the so-called Queen of Tatooine and then smuggle themselves onto Coruscant. Their latest report had been received not even a week ago, which had informed her of the resistance cell led by none other than Aang and Toph.

Reading through the details in this new report, Leia knew it required immediate action. "Helm, change course and take us to these coordinates."

The helmsman's voice came through the comm. "Yes Ma'am."

Still mediating on the bed, Yoda overheard the brief conversation. "I see you have changed your mind."

"At the last second, but yes," Leia said. She felt the slight shift in the floor as the ship went into hyperspace. "Is the Force telling you that this is a sign?"

"Would it matter if I say it did?" Yoda asked.

"I suppose not," Leia said.

As long as she would have to wait during this trip, Leia checked the status of the Rebellion fleets. Mon Mothma had already left Home One to board another of the command ships, and she had taken her portion of the fleet to strike at Corellia, a major economic base of the Empire. Admiral Ackbar had yet to take his fleet anywhere, still making his final preparations before going to Mon Cala, wanting to free his people. The rest of the fleet was set to attack Naboo, more for a political statement than anything else, being the original home world of the Emperor.

When Home One approached the destination Leia left her quarters, heading down to the hangar to greet the arriving ship. The rendezvous was made by the time she got there, and the bounty hunter's ship was brought into the hangar. Dozens of guards were keeping watch over the ship as its cargo bay door opened, holding their blasters at the ready just in case. First to emerge was the bounty hunter, whom Leia eyed with a suspicious glare, not liking the feeling she got from the guy. Then she saw Mai exit the ship, along with C-3PO and R2-D2, which had Leia worrying about the others on that mission.

"I brought your people back," Boba Fett said. He stopped in front of Leia and handed her a small pad. "My fee. I expect payment promptly."

Leia took one look at the price tag, high but not entirely unreasonable, but there was still one little detail to attend to before payment. "And where is everyone else?"

"Yeah… about that?" Mai said, evidently not comfortable with the subject. "I don't think you're going to be happy with how we got them off Coruscant."

She was not.

"You froze them!" Leia scolded.

The four blocks of frozen carbonite were being hauled out of the ship, much to the shock of everyone watching. The control panels on each block were reporting stable life signs for each person frozen within them, but it still seemed like an incredibly dangerous and desperate means for transport. They were hauled directly to sickbay, with Leia questioning Mai and the bounty hunter every step of the way. They told her all about what they had gone through to get off of Coruscant, all while Leia negotiated the terms of payment for the bounty hunter.

"I'll have the funds placed in your ship momentarily," Leia promised. "You can leave once the fleet is ready to depart."

"After any knowledge of your location becomes worthless," Boba noted. "I will need to procure some supplies beforehand."

"He is fresh out of everything," Mai commented.

"He can pay for it out of his fee," Leia said. She pressed her thumbprint into the pad for a signature to confirm the deal. "And with that, I think we're done here."

Boba accepted the pad back, and he gave a curt nod to Leia. "Much obliged."

The bounty hunter turned and left to attend to his own matters, while Leia and Mai continued to sickbay, arriving shortly after delivery of the carbonite blocks. Medical droids were examining them very carefully, making sure to have very controlled conditions before thawing any of them. Professional doctors were there overseeing the process, making final preparations for what could be a very delicate and potentially dangerous procedure. They were going to do this one at a time, to minimize the risk involved.

Leia took a position in sickbay where she could watch the entire procedure. "Alright, let's start with Aang."

One of the doctors used the control panel to begin the thawing process, while the droids kept emergency equipment at the ready. The portion of the block with Aang's body began to glow red, and heat radiated outward as the carbonite coating peeled away. Color returned to Aang's flesh and clothing, and he took in a deep breath as his body detached from the carbonite block. He would have fallen face first into the floor, if the doctors hadn't caught him first. Aang was gently lifted up and placed into a nearby bed, followed by the droids hooking him up to medical equipment.

"Well… I'm not dead," Aang muttered, resting with his head on a pillow. "That means it worked, right?"

"So it would appear," a doctor said. He had a small flashlight in hand and shone it into Aang's eyes, examining how they responded to the light. "Everything seems normal. Are you experiencing any blurriness or dark spots in your vision?"

"Just the big bright light in my eyes," Aang complained. He waited for the doctor to put the flashlight away, and after waiting a moment for his eyes to adjust he could see perfectly fine. "Yeah, my sight is fine. Were you expecting a problem?"

"Hibernation sickness often manifests as temporary blindness," the doctor answered. He checked the medical equipment monitoring Aang's condition. "Fortunately it seems you were not in hibernation long enough for develop any side effects."

"Just don't go misdiagnosing Toph," Aang advised. "She's already blind."

"Thank you for the heads-up," the doctor said.

One by one the others were thawed and released from the carbonite blocks, each given a full medical checkup before the next would be woken up. Azula had it the worst coming out, since she couldn't stop shivering for a good ten minutes, which Aang figured had something to do with her missing firebending combined with being frozen. Toph and Ty Lee came out just fine, though Toph complained about not having her earthbending and Ty Lee fell on her face before anyone could catch her. They all needed something to eat, and food was provided as the doctors examined them for any long-term issues.

Leia had been watching the entire time, and once the group was deemed fit for debriefing she got started with her questioning. "Alright, I know you guys just woke up, but I need to ask about what you witnessed on Coruscant."

"Where do we even begin?" Aang asked back.

"Well it was a nightmare getting out of there," Ty Lee said. "We had to fight a lot of desperate people just to get to the ship."

"Just tell me what you saw regarding the battle," Leia specified. "All we've had here is secondhand accounts that contradict one another."

"We weren't exactly paying much attention either," Toph admitted. "Was kind of concerned with getting out alive."

"Looked like imperials fighting each other," Azula said. She turned toward the blind girl. "Some of us were looking up from time to time, you know in case some space junk came crashing down on us."

"Yeah well one of us can't do that," Toph said, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

"We have treatment for cataracts," a doctor interrupted.

"Is that what it's called?" Toph asked. "I guess the docs back home never named it."

"We're getting off topic," Aang said. "Leia, from what I saw, it seemed like the invaders were focusing on the palace. It wasn't a worldwide invasion."

"If it was then we wouldn't have gotten out of there at all," Mai said. "At least, that's what Boba was telling me on the way here."

"Right, you're the only one of us that got the view from space," Ty Lee pointed out. "What did it look like up there?"

"Like a big mess," Mai described. "It was hard to tell who was who, since the big ships all looked the same and were firing on each other. Some of them had those rear towers simply torn off."

"Torn off how?" Leia asked. "Could you tell what kind of weapon did that?"

"No idea," Mai admitted. "But at least one of them seemed like it had been torn apart from the inside."

Aang looked up at that remark. "That sounds like something someone could do with supercharged Force powers."

"You think it was Vader?" Leia asked.

"Had to be him," Aang said. "I had a bad feeling since that invasion began. I can't really explain it, but it felt like that night… well that night this happened."

Aang held up his mechanical hand, which had Leia staring at the crude construction. "Your earlier report never mentioned the lost hand."

"It didn't seem like something to bother you with," Aang said. He covered that hand with his good one. "Not like there was anything you could do about it."

Leia signaled for one of the doctors to come over. "Take Aang's measurements and have the droids build a prosthetic for him. Something that looks like an actual hand."

"You can do that?" Aang asked.

"Of course," Leia said. "I'm sure you're not at your best with that bare bones piece of junk."

"You're not wrong," Aang admitted. He let the doctor start measuring his good hand. "Anyway, I'm certain it was Vader leading that invasion. I mean, who else could possibly pull it off?"

"I'm sure Azula had some ideas in the works," Ty Lee joked.

"I was nowhere near ready," Azula said. She turned toward Leia. "By the way, I fulfilled my part of our little bargain. You got my help to figure out what was going on, so I would like to get back to Tatooine as quickly as possible. I still have a growing enterprise to run."

"That will have to wait," Leia said. "This fleet is about to strike at the Empire, while the bulk of its forces are occupied at Coruscant. Unless you want that bounty hunter to give you a ride, no one is leaving until after the mission is over."

"Where are we hitting?" Toph asked.

"Kashyyyk," Leia answered. "The Empire grows a lot of its food there, so hitting it will inflict severe damage to the imperial supply lines."

"And here I was hoping we could go back to Earth," Mai grumbled.

"I would like to make that happen," Leia said. "But as much as I hate to admit it, the risk is simply too great. The Empire put a lot of ships around Earth after Vader disappeared. Until we can confirm that some of have been redeployed, going there is suicidal."

"We left a lot of good people back there," Aang said. "You're certain there's nothing we can do for them?"

"The best thing we can do is win this war," Leia answered. "Luke would understand that, and I'm sure he's doing everything he can to make that happen, wherever he is."