Chapter 3 – Welcome to Coruscant
Two Imperial star destroyers dropped out of hyperspace over Coruscant. Within a minute, the planet's air controllers contacted them. The transmission was relayed over the speakers on the bridges of each ship. "We have you on our scanners now. Please identify yourselves."
On the first ship, the captain stated, "This is the star destroyer Emancipator, preparing to send down shuttles delivering troops and supplies to various parts of the planet." On the Liberator, the captain gave a similar message.
The controllers then said, "Please transmit your clearance code." Upon request, the captains of the two star destroyers transmitted a security code that would allow them passage. After a moment, the controller answered, "You have been granted permission to stay in Coruscant's orbit. You may begin landing your shuttles when you're ready."
On the intercoms of the star destroyers, the captains announced, "We have been granted access. Stage One is complete. Proceed to your shuttles." Upon hearing this announcement, several rebels cheered. Even though the hard part of the operation was still to come, they were glad that they had succeeded so far. In the ships' hangers, the rebels returned to their shuttles and prepared to take off.
Aboard their shuttle, Lando Calrissian asked Luke Skywalker, "So, you've never been to Coruscant before?"
Luke shook his head. "No. This will be my first time."
Lando said, "I've been here a few times. On those occasions, it wasn't the friendliest place. But, the city has always been impressive. Prepare to be blown away." Once all of the rebels were on board, Lando said to the shuttle pilot, "We're ready to go, captain. Begin takeoff procedures."
After a moment, the shuttle's systems were fully prepped and the pilot guided the ship out of the hanger. It joined the procession of shuttles exiting the star destroyers, heading to their individual drop points. To the people on the passenger cruisers and orbital stations, it would've appeared to be a parade to celebrate the arrival of some person of great importance, such as a monarch or high-ranking government official. They would never have suspected that it was a landing party to precede the decisive battle of the Galactic Civil War.
"I never thought I'd be coming here again," commented Han Solo. "At least, not by my own will."
Leia Organa smiled and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Han replied, "The last time I was here was after I deserted the Imperial Navy. Darth Vader had sent out search parties to capture Chewie and me." Chewbacca roared, remembering the occasion. Han continued, "They chased us pretty much all over the planet before we stowed away aboard a cargo ship. I considered us lucky to escape alive."
Leia said, "I remember the first time I came to Coruscant. I was about ten years old, and my father brought me to one of his conferences. I loved seeing the city at night. There were lights everywhere, of all different colors. People were flocking to opera houses and theaters, and sometimes you could hear the music. When I became a senator, a practically lived on Coruscant because I loved it so much."
Han laughed. "Well, that's how the upper half live. But for the rest of us, the city is crowded and dirty and full of pickpockets and drunks. Trust me, if you're not upper-class, you don't want to live here."
At that point, C-3PO put in, "Actually, it is the lower class who tend to struggle on Coruscant, especially in the lower levels aptly nicknamed 'the Underworld.' The middle class have no difficulty in finding proper residence and employment. There have been several attempts in the past to–"
"No one cares, Threepio!" interrupted Leia. "We don't need a history lesson. We just need to gather recruits and supplies once we land on the planet."
C-3PO said to himself, "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother."
As the shuttles left the star destroyer hangers, the passengers were soon treated to the magnificent sight of Coruscant. The planet was over 12,000 kilometers in diameter and completely covered in metal, giving the planet a dull grey color. The night side of the planet was black with rings of lights in varying sizes representing the most populated areas. Over the past hundred thousand years, more and more was added to the city, leaving the natural surface buried over five thousand levels below the artificial surface. Over three trillion permanent and temporary residents, tourists, and transients lived on Coruscant. Thus, the planet was equipped with hundreds of completely automated systems to not only support life, but make it comfortable as well.
The planet's atmosphere was maintained by orbital mirrors that directed sunlight toward certain points, setting a comfortable temperature and cloudless skies where needed. When the rebels entered the atmosphere, they saw millions of skyscrapers designed in organic shapes and, in some cases, towering above the cloud line. Airspeeders, taxis, and other transports flew in traffic patterns through the sky, crisscrossing around the buildings. Everything was clean and shining.
Everyone fell silent, awestruck by the sight. Most of them had never seen Coruscant before, and of those people, few of them had even seen holographic representations of the planet. They had been thrust into a whole new world unlike any they had ever known before. They all knew that if their mission succeeded, this planet would become the center of the New Republic.
As Luke took in the planet before him, he said, "I can see why the Emperor chose this planet to be the center of the Empire. The size, the life, the lights; they all contribute to a sense of empowerment. And power attracts the most power-hungry. The Emperor used this planet as a tool through which he expanded his empire."
Don Dain added, "And once we control the planet, we will use it to expand our Republic."
Luke continued as though Dain hadn't spoken at all. "I look forward to exploring this planet. I can sense that there is much that I must see."
"Well, the first sight we'll be seeing is the Imperial Palace," said Lando. "Wish it wasn't at the top of my list."
"We all do," said Dain, "but if we're going to see the Empire destroyed, that is where it will happen."
"Agreed," affirmed Luke.
Lando addressed the shuttle pilot. "Captain, take us directly to the Imperial Palace. Land at the coordinates we were given earlier."
The pilot nodded his head. "Yes, sir." He turned the shuttle away from the main group and proceeded towards their target.
About half an hour later, Luke, Lando, and Dain's shuttle arrived at the Imperial Palace. Over ten thousand years prior, the palace had been constructed to be the residence of the Supreme Chancellor and working office for members of the Galactic Senate. When Emperor Palpatine declared the New Order, he used the palace as his formal residence and Imperial headquarters. The building was expanded numerous times until it became the largest in the galaxy.
The rebels stared at the palace. From the distance, it resembled a rough cone. But, as they drew closer, they saw that it was much more detailed than that. The palace was twenty kilometers in diameter and three kilometers tall, and appeared to be a hybrid of a cathedral and a monumental pyramid. There were nearly eighty towers covering the main body, all built from polished gray-green stone and mirrored crystals, which made the palace appear to sparkle in the sun- and moonlight.
Dain scoffed. "Don't let its appearance fool you. The Emperor had it designed to lure people in so that he could trap them."
Luke shook his head. "No, even a Sith Lord can appreciate art and architecture. Nevertheless, it was his aim to create a sense of security to keep his people in check. My feelings tell me that there is some hidden purpose to this palace. We must be cautious."
The shuttle landed about half of a kilometer from one of the palace's service entrances. These entrances were meant only for janitors and work crews to provide easy access to any part of the palace that may need refurbishing. The doors were protected by security locks, but R2-D2 would able to hack through them quickly. After a ten-minute walk, the group arrived at the palace. Sure enough, there was an astromech panel near the door that R2-D2 could plug into.
While he was searching the computer for the access codes, R2-D2 suddenly emitted a series of panicked beeps that caught everyone's attention. Luke asked, "Artoo, what's wrong? Have you found something?" The droid explained that he had found a recorded message codenamed "Skywalker." Everyone gave Luke a quizzical look, hoping he would know what the file was about. But Luke didn't know either, so he instructed to R2-D2, "Play the message."
The message was displayed on a monitor above the keypad. The message showed Moff Arndt in a dark room. He said, "Greetings Skywalker. I see you and your rebel friends have finally come to steal Coruscant from us." In response to this statement, all of the rebels looked at each other in shock. Even Luke appeared surprised. He didn't understand how Arndt knew that they were coming. The recording continued, "We have suspected for a while that you would be coming, and I have something you may want to see."
The camera rotated to the right to show a person being held in an energy field. Upon recognizing the prisoner, Luke gasped, "Ahsoka!" Sure enough, the person trapped in the field was a female Togruta. Dirt was smeared on her orange skin and white montrals and lekku head-tails with blue stripes. Her brown tank top and skirt were faded and unravelling, and her gray tights were torn. The more Luke examined her, the more he realized that it was indeed Ahsoka Tano. She was so weak that she could barely lift her head to look at the camera. She opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was wheezing followed by coughing.
"That's right, Skywalker," said Arndt, stepping into view. "Your Jedi friend is being held prisoner in our dungeon. I would let her speak to you, but, unfortunately, she is not strong enough. The Emperor agreed to let her live, but he wouldn't allow her to stay here without being punished for her crimes. Had she been killed along with the rest of the Jedi, she would have suffered much less." He gave a malicious smile that unnerved Luke. The rebels noticed that the Jedi was frowning and clenching his fists.
Arndt concluded his message with, "This is what the Empire does to Jedi. If you know what's good for you, you will leave Coruscant and never come back. If you do as I suggest, I will be gracious enough to put an end to her suffering. I assure you, she would welcome death after four years of torture and enslavement." To emphasize his point, Arndt ran his left hand down Ahsoka's back and then spanked her. That was the last straw for Luke. He let out a grunt as he smashed the monitor with his fist. If there was any more to the message, he didn't want to see it.
For a few minutes, the rebels stood outside the palace, talking to each other about what they had just seen. Luke had walked away from the group and was standing with his eyes closed. Dain was pacing and muttering to himself, indicating that he was thinking. Lando and most of the rebels didn't know who Ahsoka was, so the few who did know explained everything.
Ahsoka Tano had been a Jedi Padawan when the Empire destroyed the Jedi. In fact, she had been the apprentice of Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father. She escaped the attack on the Jedi Temple and went underground, working as a bounty hunter under the alias 'Ashla Fett.' One year after the Battle of Yavin, she met Luke, who convinced her to join the Rebellion and train him to be a Jedi. Two weeks later, Luke and Ahsoka led a mission to destroy an Imperial base on Christophsis. But a traitorous rebel alerted Darth Vader to their existence, prompting him to bring his best forces to attack the rebels. While Luke escaped with Han and Leia, Ahsoka was defeated by Vader and thrown from the top of the tower, causing her presumed death.
However, Ahsoka had somehow survived the fall and was captured by Vader. He had her wounds healed and brought her to the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor had planned to imprison her until the time came when she could be used to lure Luke into a trap. Luke had already suspected this much. A few months before the Battle of Endor, he was given reason to believe that Ahsoka was alive. Naturally, he went to look for her, and almost fell into the Emperor's trap. He escaped unharmed, but he never found Ahsoka.
After a moment of thought, Luke said, "Artoo, open the door. We're going in."
One of the rebels asked, "We're going to save Ahsoka?"
Dain answered before Luke could. "No. That is out of the question. Our mission is to capture the Imperial leadership and secure this palace. We will not jeopardize the mission just to save one person."
Luke pointed out. "Ahsoka isn't just any person; she's the last surviving Jedi. If I'm to rebuild the Jedi Order, I need her help. She is a crucial asset in the formation of the New Republic."
"If that's so," suggested Lando, "then we can rescue her after we've secured the palace. She's free either way."
Luke nodded. "You're right. The mission comes first. Let's go."
As the rebels entered the Imperial Palace, Luke held back to walk next to Lando. Lando asked, "Is something wrong, Luke?"
Luke whispered, "Not so loud. I don't want Dain to hear us."
"Why not? What's wrong with him?"
Luke explained, "When Ahsoka joined the Alliance, Dain was immediately outspoken against her. He seemed intent on making sure she never joined us; in fact, he suggested that she be executed on the spot. He was sour about her the whole time she was with us."
Lando frowned, "Really? But I don't see your point."
Luke said, "When Darth Vader came to Christophsis to kill us, he knew too much information about me and Ahsoka. After I escaped to Echo Base, I suspected that Dain may have had something to do with it. And now that Ahsoka's alive, I fear that he may try to do something to prevent us from rescuing her."
Lando nodded in understanding. "Don't you worry about it. I got my eyes on him. He won't do anything while we're watching him."
"I hope so," murmured Luke. The entrance to the palace shut behind Luke as he entered. The rebels were inside the belly of the beast.
If you have any comments or questions, please leave them in your reviews and/or private messages.