Disclaimer: Star Wars still doesn't belong to me.
Author's note: Sorry about the wait…massive computer problems lately
Ties Ch.12
They landed in a section of Thulomon forest that was about an hour's journey on foot to the Gagne spaceport. At this point it was too dangerous to land in the spaceport itself thanks to the risk of detection. Lando, Wes and Tycho had gone to the spaceport to get the parts they needed but considering they had to walk it would be some time until they got back. Luke and Wedge had been left behind to fix whatever parts of the ship could be fixed while the others were gone and, of course, to keep an eye on their guest. Normally, Luke would hate being left behind in a situation like this but Lando had insisted it would be better for Luke to stay behind. At first Luke had felt confused and wondered if it was some sort of punishment for going off on his own on Killiset but then he had sensed something from Lando…and realized that the older man had clearly heard more of the conversation between Luke and Dr. Theeon than he had let on. That had been less than an hour ago but Luke and Wedge were already almost done all the repairs they could do without the extra parts.
"Hey Luke, could you pass me the hydrospanner?" Wedge called out from the narrow maintenance tunnel, with only his boots sticking out. Luke knelt, looking around at the various tools and scattered parts that littered the floor and started sifting through the mess. He noted there were at least five hydrospanners of various sizes and shapes.
"Which one, Wedge?" Luke, still on his knees, shuffled over to the maintenance tunnel and called into it. "There's at least five out here."
"Uh try the one with the narrow top and the grooved handle."
Luke picked up the one he was relatively sure was right, crawled back to the tunnel and passed the tool to Wedge. Since it was such a tight squeeze Luke wasn't able to see if Wedge could find it so he waited until he felt it pulled from his hand. After a couple minutes of scratching, banging and bumping Luke figured it was safe to assume Wedge had things taken care of and he got up to check on Dr. Theeon when he heard Wedge call again.
"Nope I guess this isn't the right one…maybe try the one with ridges on the handle and the little square thingy on the bottom." Luke moved back toward the pile when Wedge called again. "Wait take this one first, I have too much stuff already in here."
Just as Luke reached into the tunnel to take the hydrospanner back he heard Artoo enter the room twittering furiously. With his head and shoulders already in the tunnel and his hand still waiting for Wedge to find it he couldn't turn to see the droid enter the room but he could at least get it to pick the right tool. He stuck his free hand backward out of the maintenance tunnel, "Hey Artoo can you pass me a hydrospanner…"
Wedge cut him off, "With ridges on the handle and a little square thingy on the bottom!" Wedge finally managed to pass Luke the other tool and for a moment they waited patiently while they heard Artoo's irritated twittering and the shuffling noises of equipment being moved around. Finally, Luke felt something being placed in his hand.
"Thanks!" Luke called back.
"Don't mention it."
The unexpected voice caught Luke off guard and he bumped his head as he tried to get up. A soft curse from in front of him told Luke that Wedge had jumped up at the same time. He quickly scrambled out of the tunnel and turned, still in a crouch, to where he last heard the voice, reaching automatically for his lightsaber as he did. Standing tall above him was Dr. Theeon with his hands raised in surrender and an amused smirk on his face.
"You rebels certainly are a jumpy lot. May I put my arms down now or are you going to draw your lightsaber?" The doctor's voice was calm, with a hint of amusement and Luke knew he didn't really expect them to harm him. He was about to respond when Wedge finally pulled himself out of the tunnel and beat him to it.
"We're members of the New Republic now, so you can stop calling us rebels."
"You can call yourselves Ewoks for all I care; I'd just like to put my hands down without worrying about losing a body part." Dr. Theeon said coolly.
Luke shook his head, "You know I'm not going to pull my lightsaber on you. I'm surprised you left the infirmary though, I didn't think you'd want to socialize…"
Wedge cut him off, "Wait you mean you didn't lock his room? He could've found a blaster, shot us in the back and take off with…"
"There aren't any dangerous weapons or tools lying around in the ship for him to hurt us with and all the rooms and exits are locked except for the infirmary and lounge. Plus, this frigate requires at least two people to fly so it's not like he could've started off without us noticing." Luke got up and offered his hand to help Wedge. When they were both onto their feet, Luke turned his attention back to Dr. Theeon. "How are you feeling now?"
"Much better thank you. Actually, the reason I left the infirmary was because it was so quiet when I woke up. I was wondering where everyone had gone."
"Yeah I'm sure you really missed us." Wedge said rolling his eyes.
"Not really, but I was beginning to get rather hungry and figured if I was left alone it meant I had permission to feed myself."
Luke winced. "Sorry about that. The last time I checked you were sleeping so I didn't bother bringing you breakfast. If you can wait a few minutes when Wedge and I finish cleaning up you can join us for lunch."
"And if you help us clean up we'll all be eating sooner…" Wedge added.
"Very well," Dr. Theeon started picking up parts with the others, "but if you're putting me to work, lunch had better be something better than a ration bar."
Wedge grinned and gestured to the doctor, "See Luke we've got him working for the New Republic already!"
Dr. Theeon gave a disdainful snort, "Don't get your hopes up, rebel."
But despite the doctor's cool tone, Luke was certain he could sense the other's amusement.
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Lando, Wes and Tycho raced through the forest towards the waiting ship, struggling not to drop anything while still moving as fast as they could. Lando had sent a message along to Luke to have the ship ready for take off; they'd have to finish repairs on the run. He felt a cramp begin to form in his side and was quickly forced to stop running and walk for a bit. That had basically been their mode of travel since they left Gagne, or Gag Me as Lando liked to think of it. They would all run until one of them had to slow down and then they'd walk together until they got their wind back and were able to run again. Lando had definitely not been up to running for an hour straight from the city. Unfortunately, they couldn't risk the ship coming too close to the city to pick them up, there would be far too many there wanting to stop them from going. At least in the forest they would have the benefit of everyone having to come to them.
"I wish I was in my X-Wing…This body is meant to fly not run!" Wes panted beside him.
"It's not far now guys, we'll make it!" Tycho wasn't breathing hard at all and was no doubt trying to sound confidant to cheer him and Wes up. But Lando found himself glaring slightly at the younger man and was a little relieved when he noticed Wes glare too. Well, it was at least a little comforting to know that one of the younger guys was having as much trouble as he was. The sound of his comlink beeping was almost a relief as it would give him a bit more time to breathe. He flicked the switch on.
Luke's voice greeted him, "Lando, we've managed to get a lock on your location, you guys are close enough for us come pick up now. Stay there, we'll meet you in a couple minutes."
"Don't worry, Luke, I've got a crazy idea that might help us get out of this…we'll need to hurry but I'm sure we can pull it off. I'll explain when you get here." Lando thumbed the comlink off.
"They're coming to pick us up?" Wes asked, relieved. "Good, cause I don't want to run another step!"
Tycho grinned, "Think on the bright side, you just did more running in the last hour than you've done in your entire life! You're body will thank you."
"If what I'm feeling now is any clue my body is pretty mad at me." Wes groaned.
Lando shook his head, "You think you're in pain now, wait for an hour or two when your muscles really start complaining…believe me it'll hurt worse before it starts to feel better."
Lando and Tycho both started laughing at the exaggerated look of horror on Wes' face. Before Wes could respond they all heard the sound of engines approaching and looked to the sky, catching site of the rebel frigate. It began to lower the ramp even before it touched the ground. Luke was standing at the entrance and waved them on, Lando and the others ran up the ramp and it closed behind them.
Luke turned towards the cockpit but spoke as he moved. "We should probably take off right now and get out before the Imperials can arrive. Some Thulomon citizens might try to block us with their ships but they won't dare try to shoot at us with the doctor on board. The Empire will have a lot more confidence in their ability to cripple our ship."
They arrived in the cockpit and Lando was a little surprised to find the alien sitting in one of the crew chairs, but then he noticed his hands had been tied to the chair arms. Well, if the Imperials needed proof he was alive they could easily bring him to the com. At the moment though, Lando needed to focus on their escape plan.
"Has anyone heard of a 'Suicidal Gambler's Escape'?" Lando asked.
Wedge turned from his spot in the co-pilot's seat. "No, but the name doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."
"Not me either," The alien said calmly. "You do know that had you simply let me free when we first landed on the planet…"
Lando shook his head, "Sorry Junior, but we knew making this emergency landing would give the Imps a chance to catch up. We didn't have a choice, though and since it's guaranteed that they'll at least avoid blowing us out of the sky while you're here we couldn't let you off."
"Perhaps, but if they thought you had abandoned me here…"
"They'd shoot us out of the sky for revenge or split up their forces so some could search for you while the others chased after us. Now can I please explain my plan or do I have to gag you?" Lando was beginning to feel irritated but Dr. Theeon went silent. "Now, I'll admit I've never done a 'Suicidal Gambler's Escape' before but Han has and he told me all about how to pull it off…"
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"Sir, our contacts on Thulomon have just confirmed that a frigate was spotted landing in the forest not far from the city of Gagne. It has the same markings and description as the one the rebels were using." The chief communications officer reported.
Pellaeon gave the man a nod of acknowledgement and turned his attention back to the Grand Admiral in his command chair. Yet again, the man had been three steps ahead of Pellaeon and they would be arriving in the planet's system in mere minutes. "How did you guess they would go to Thulomon for their repairs sir? There were dozens of more logical planets for them to go…"
"As you know the Killisets were able to find enough witnesses who caught sight of the rebels to allow us to identify most if not all of them. We already knew of Skywalker from the lightsaber clues, now we also know of Calrissian, Antilles and two others, whom I am confident are other members of Rogue Squadron. Calrissian is known to have contacts in this region and he's also known for purposely making illogical decisions in order to throw off his opponents." Thrawn stared at the starlines in front of them an unreadable expression on his face. "Fortunately for us, our Killiset friends contacted all of their trade partners and put the word out to stop the frigate or risk losing their trade."
"Isn't there the risk that someone will get overzealous, Sir?" The thought of an overzealous citizen blowing the ship up put a knot in Pellaeon's stomach.
Thrawn shook his head, "The Killisets made it very clear to stop but not harm the ship. At any rate we will reach our location before the rebels have a chance to escape," His eyes seemed to flash a brighter red, "and then they'll have no chance at all."