CHAPTER TWO
Yavin 4
"Ben I-,"
"Quiet Luke, we must meditate," the Jedi Master said calmly, not even opening his eyes.
"But-,"
"I understand your desire to talk about Vader's death, but there are many ramifications within the Force," Ben said kindly. This was true, but he also did not wish to discuss how he had killed his friend with Luke, not when the boy didn't know the truth.
Luke scowled but closed his eyes again. With the ship quiet once again, Ben reached out into the Force. Already it felt as if a great fog had been lifted, the oppressive presence of Vader was gone from the Force. But far more omniscient, was the presence of the Sith Master. Thousands of parsecs away on Imperial Center, Ben could still feel the tremors in the Force from the Dark Lord's rage at the demise of his apprentice. There was no doubt he would come for Luke as his new apprentice. And the young man must be trained, so he would not make the same mistakes as his father.
The door of the bunk room slid open, and Leia Organa emerged for the first time since they had evaded the TIE fighters.
"I believe our meditation is done, Luke," Ben said, surprising the young man. "We are approaching the rebel base."
"All this for me, Princess? You shouldn't have," Han said sarcastically, keeping a close eye on the enormous crowd that had formed on the floor of the hangar.
"Not in your wildest dreams, flyboy," Leia shot back.
"Gee Ben, I think they're all here to see you!" Luke exclaimed. He had never seen so many people celebrating at once. Even on-board the ship he could hear their cheers. Ben only grunted in response, and Luke frowned. The old hermit hadn't said much since they had fled the Death Star.
"Lets go Obi-Wan, General Dodonna is very eager to meet you," Leia said, glaring at Han one last time.
"Of course, Princess Leia," Ben said softly, leaving Han and Luke alone in the cockpit.
"Hey kid, you think the Princess and a guy like me-."
"No," Luke interrupted, suddenly defensive.
"I guess you're right," Han mused, his eyes watching the crowd as the went wild at the appearance of Ben and Leia. Dozens rushed forward to clap Ben on the back, several lifting Leia up onto their shoulders, streams Naboo champagne shooting up into the air. An older man slid between the others, and ordered the others to let Leia down. The two exchanged a few words, and Leia grabbed Obi-Wan, pulling him through the crowds.
"That can't be good," Luke murmured, shooting up from his seat.
"When did the transmission come in?" Leia asked, coming to a stop in front of the holodisplay.
"Twenty minutes ago," Dodonna replied.
"Do you think they're sincere?"
"We've confirmed the identities of everyone we've come into contact with, a few of them have Rebel ties. What's more is they claim to have broader support among the stormtroopers," Dodonna reported.
"Hmm, what do you think, Obi-Wan?" Leia asked. The Jedi Master thought back to the reaction of the stormtroopers after he had slain Darth Vader. Some had opened fire, but a few others had simply frozen, out of shock or because they did not want to fight, Obi-Wan couldn't say.
"It isn't unreasonable, the Empire has made enemies of those within their own ranks. But it would be foolish to think that the Emperor would man the battle station with those he did not trust," Obi-Wan said. "There will be stiff resistance if we take over the battle station as General Dodonna suggested."
"Why bother taking it over when we have the plans for the Death Star? We can destroy it," Vaspar said.
"The loss of life would be astronomical, nearly a million souls lost," Mon Mothma said.
"We must destroy it," Capin Harinar, the head material analyst, objected. "There is no use for a planetkiller in the galaxy. Whoever has it will be too tempted to use it."
"I agree. It's too dangerous of a weapon to risk losing," Tyrnna Palmo said.
"Crix, when we take over the Death Star, how quickly do you think we could evacuate it?" Leia asked, her voice rising above all the others. The room fell silent, hoping the next statement would fuel their own argument.
"Estimating roughly one million people on-board and utilizing the full capabilities, it could be done in three days."
"The Imperials would reach us by then!" Vaspar protested.
"We wouldn't try to take over a moon in three days, and a battle station the size of one won't be any different," Leia countered. "I say we evacuate the defectors, and destroy the station."
The room fell silent, trying to pick apart any holes in her plan.
"Well General Madine, it appears we have a battle plan to make," Leia said firmly, locking eyes with the commando unit leader. The two left, Capin Harinar following to advise them on the technical readouts of the station.
"You must be Obi-Wan Kenobi," Mon Mothma said, walking over to the Jedi. "We cannot thank you enough for your actions on the Death Star. You've done more to bring an end to the Empire in one day than the Rebellion has in nineteen years."
"I wouldn't say that. I've been in hiding while you were doing all the fighting," Obi-Wan said humbly.
"You fought against the Empire by staying alive, and keeping the Jedi Order alive," Mon Mothma said. "We would like to offer you a position in the High Command. Your experience fighting in the Clone Wars is invaluable."
Obi-Wan pondered the offer. He had been an excellent strategist in the Clone Wars, even if he allowed most of the praise to go to Anakin. But he had spent so much of his youth fighting, now was the time for Luke to begin his training. That boy was the galaxy's last hope.
"I am humbled by your offer, but I cannot be more than an adviser. It is time for the Jedi Order to return," Obi-Wan said graciously, bowing the leader of the Alliance.
"Of course," Mon Mothma said. "I'll have Rieekan inform you of what we've been planning for the past few years."
"Thank you."
Luke sat next to Wedge Antilles in the briefing room, focused on the technical readouts of the Death Star that General Dodonna was presenting.
"We have made contact with rebel sympathizers on-board the Death Star. There are reports that mutiny has already begun, so we must move quickly. The defectors have taken over the largest hangar, and are well fortified. Our ground forces will be in charge of the evacuation, and should not take more than four hours. Meanwhile, our fighter squadrons will be holding off the loyalists and Imperial reinforcements. On the Death Star plans recovered by Princess Leia, we have found a major weakness, no more than two meters wide...," still listening, Luke looked over to where Ben and Leia were standing off to the side. Leia's eyes were sharp and critical, looking for any possible weaknesses, and Ben's expression was as inscrutable as ever.
"The sympathizers have taken control of the battle stations navigation systems and planet-killer. The defenses will be down, all you have to do is make the shot," Dodonna finished.
"That's impossible, even for a computer," Wedge grumbled next to him.
"It's not impossible. I used to bull's-eye womp rats in my T-16 back home. They're not much bigger than two meters."
"Man your ships! And may the Force be with you!" Dodonna exclaimed, sending the troops scattering.
As he was preparing his ship, Luke allowed his mind to wander. There was an energy in the air he had never felt before, a feeling of hope and excitement. The most feared man in the Empire was dead, because of Ben! Ben had finally gotten his revenge for his father's death and betrayal so many years ago. The rebels morale had never been higher, there was even an open revolt on the Death Star! Then why did Ben seem so glum? Since their escape from the Empire he had barely said more than three words strung together, and it worried Luke. Did Ben feel remorse for killing the man who had killed his father and plunged the galaxy into chaos?
Facing Darth Vader probably brought up a lot of old memories, that's all, Luke thought to himself, remembering the vacant look Ben got whenever he talked about the Clone Wars.
"Speak of the sarlaac," he mumbled as the old man walked towards his ship.
"Are you all ready to go, my friend?" Ben asked kindly.
"Almost. Are you not coming with us?" Luke asked, jumping down from the ladder.
"I'm afraid not, I'm not the pilot I once was," Ben said sadly, his gaze wandering as the distant look appeared in his eye. But it was gone as quickly as it had arrived. "Remember, Luke, I may be on the ground, but the Force is always with you."
"I know."
Leia waited anxiously in the war room, arms crossed, her eyes darting from one display to the next. For the past three hours she had listened to reports on the evacuation, as their line of defense had gradually fallen back. One of the astromechs had taken as much information as it could from the database, everything had gone as planned. Except she wasn't shooting at stormtroopers right now. Leia had wanted nothing more than to storm the Death Star and track down Tarkin. Her family, her people, her planet, had been destroyed all because he had wanted to make a point. Jan, a fellow Alderaanian, knew how angry she was, and recommended she stay back, letting Madine lead the charge. But after standing in the command center, Leia remembered why she had always preferred to be at the front-lines.
This was the worst part. Listening to the radio chatter between the pilots. The rebels had readouts of what was going on in the space battles, but the sudden radio silence from pilots who had been blown away in an inferno drove her mad. Mad because there was nothing she could do except sit and listen. Only this time it was much worse. Luke was in one of the starships, and Imperial reinforcements had been picked up on the scanners. They were twenty minutes out.
Casting a glance at the blast doors, Leia sighed. She was glad Obi-Wan was meditating in the other room. She had listened to Red Squadron getting picked off one by one for the past ten minutes. And all she could do was stand and hope everything turned out alright, that Tarkin and the others got what they deserved.
A beep sounded to her left, and Dodonna frowned.
"His computer's off."
"Use the Force, Luke," Ben said next to him, causing him to jump in his seat.
"You're just hearing things," Luke muttered, shaking his head and looking back into his targeting computer.
"Let go, Luke," the voice said again.
It had to be Ben using the Force, there was no other explanation. Taking a deep breath, Luke began to clear his mind, trying to see what Ben wanted him to do.
"Luke, trust me."
He pressed the second button on the right, retracting the targeting computer.
"Luke, you've turned off your targeting computer, is everything alright?" Dodonna's voice rang out into the cockpit.
"Nothing. I'm alright," Luke said calmly, focusing on the exhaust port that was getting closer every minute. He was nearly there, all he had to do was focus.
The X-Wing shuddered, and R2 squealed in the back.
"I've lost Artoo!" Luke exclaimed. Tuning out the TIE fighters, he allowed the Force to guide his hands, maneuvering from side to side so they couldn't get a clear shot. Two explosions sounded behind him, and he turned around, trying to see what had hit them.
"Yeehaw!" a familiar voice sounded over the radio. The Millennium Falcon buzzed by the remaining TIE fighters, it's tailwind scattering them.
"You're all clear kid," Han said, "now let's blow this thing and go home!"
Luke stared straight ahead, his hands tensed over the controls. A sense of peace washed over him, and he squeezed tight, letting the torpedoes loose. For a moment they seemed to careen off into space, and Luke was afraid he had missed completely. But then they disappeared inside the Death Star. Not wasting anytime, he pulled away, the other ships following suit.
"Great shot kid! That was one in a million!" Han exclaimed.
"Remember Luke, the Force will be with you... always."
Obi-Wan could hear the raucous celebration, the noise infinitely multiplied by the arrival of hundreds, if not thousands, of sympathizers. Enjoying the brief period of solitude while it lasted, the Jedi Master reached deeper into the Force, to a little-known planet in the galaxy.
"Master Yoda, the time has come."