CHAPTER 10
Tycho didn't allow himself to relax until the Millennium Falcon came out of hyperspace and he finally laid eyes on the fluid lines of the MC80 Star Cruiser that served as home base for the Rebel Alliance fleet.
He had made it. He had finally escaped the Empire.
Running a hand through his blond hair, he collapsed back into his chair in the cockpit. Solo had allowed him to come up front before they reverted to realspace. Tycho had wanted to see the Rebel ship with his own eyes. He had wanted to see that his promise to leave the Empire had finally become reality.
"This is for you, Nyiestra," he whispered.
Beside him, Princess Leia gave him a sympathetic look and reached out to squeeze his hand. She didn't need to say a word. The orphans of Alderaan would forever share the same pain.
When the Millennium Falcon had escaped to hyperspace, Tycho shied away from the Princess, embarrassed that it had taken something as shocking as Alderaan to finally show him the true colors of the Empire. He had worried that she would think him a coward or weak. But she did not look at him with contempt, only respect. They had spoken several times throughout the journey and Tycho grew embarrassed that he had ever thought so poorly of Princess Leia Organa's character. After all, she herself had been an Imperial senator before actively serving the Rebel Alliance.
"Home One," she said, gesturing at the graceful starship. "Probably not as impressive as the command ships you're used to, but she serves us well."
Tycho shook his head. "She's much more preferable to my last home, that's for sure."
"What, Star Destroyers aren't cozy anymore?" Solo drawled from the captain's chair. "Do they not put mints on your pillow?"
Leia ignored him, but as they flew closer to the ship, she began speaking softly again. "Alliance Command operates from a ground base right now, but we prefer to bring new recruits directly to Home One." She didn't need to offer any explanation. It was much safer to bring former Imperials to a command ship that could quickly jump to hyperspace than to possibly endanger an entire ground base. And after the events on Dantooine, Tycho couldn't blame the Alliance one bit for its caution.
He'd thought about the ambush many times on the journey. Had the Empire been tipped off to their defection? It was a possibility, of course. No matter how trusting Tycho was, he had learned the hard way that others in the galaxy were not as moral and scrupulous as he aimed to be. As he was taught to be. Someone in the Rebellion could have found out their plans and notified the Empire. They were offering large amounts of credits for captured and killed Rebels, and credits had a sneaky way of removing one's moral quandaries. Someone in the Empire could have notified their superiors, of course. He'd been very careful not to be found out by anyone on the Accuser, but there was always the possibility of someone overhearing their plans.
And, of course, someone in his group could be a mole.
He didn't want to consider that possibility, but he knew it was necessary.
The question was, who could it have been? He had known Rade for several years and the man had been questioning the Empire even longer than Tycho. Zurel was too young, too idealistic to have betrayed them. And Mara…she had been anxious and jittery for weeks and Tycho had often questioned whether or not she'd actually show up on Commenor when it was time to take their leave. He could see in her eyes that she questioned the Empire, and knew that it was hurting her greatly to do so.
But honestly, if she had been an informant, he didn't think that he'd still be alive. Mara was not the type of person to do things half measures. If she had intended to betray them, they'd all be dead.
So that left him back at square one.
Thankfully, he didn't have to solve the mystery by himself. Once on Home One the four defectors would certainly undergo a thorough debriefing—or, as they called it in the Empire, interrogation. Tycho didn't mind. He'd expected scrutiny from the Alliance when he made the decision to defect, and he'd gladly endure any amount of scrutiny in order to prove his intentions and be free from any future suspicions regarding his allegiance.
"We'll be landing in a few moments," Leia announced. "Why don't you tell the others to get ready?"
Tycho nodded and was on his feet before she could finish speaking. Despite all his negative feelings about the Empire, he knew that his academy training would be ingrained in his mind for as long as he lived. He hoped that he could put that training to much better use in the Alliance.
He found Mara, Rade, and Zurel strapped into the acceleration couch in the main hold. "You all ready to leave?" he asked.
Mara held up her backpack. "More than ready." She flashed him a genuine smile, and he smiled back. He was glad to see his friend acting cheerful. She'd been moody since Dantooine and he hoped that the change of scenery and immersion in the Alliance would bring her back to her usual, snarky self. Surely she'd have a fun time teaching the Rebels important lessons such as "things not to say to Mara Jade on an off-day" and "things never to say to Mara Jade if you want to keep breathing." Tycho still wondered how she'd made it off the Accuser without clocking any of the lecherous ingrates whose sexists comments had made his own blood boil.
The Falcon touched down in the hangar with surprising grace and the four defectors followed Captain Solo, his Wookiee co-pilot, the protocol droid, and Princess Leia down the boarding ramp. Tycho imagined they looked like a motley crew emerging from the old YT-1300 and was grateful he'd at least had the foresight to keep one of his uniforms clean for his arrival at the Alliance.
A middle-aged man was waiting for them in the hangar. He had a military air about him and Tycho immediately straightened.
They came to a stop and the man surveyed them impassively. "Gentlemen." He paused to look at Mara. "Ma'am. Welcome to the Rebel Alliance. I am General Airen Cracken, director of Alliance Intelligence. For the next several days you will be reporting directly to us while we debrief you regarding the Dantooine mission. We will ask that you surrender your weapons until further notice. Is that disagreeable to anyone?"
They all shook their heads.
"Good, then this process should be relatively painless. Right now, however, we'd like you to go to your temporary quarters and get freshened up. Have a meal in the mess. We'll call for you when we are ready to begin your debriefing."
Rade raised a hand. "How will we contact you, sir?"
The general gestured to a young woman who was entering the hangar. "Agent Retrac will be your escort while you are undergoing the debriefing process. She can answer all your questions and you are not to go anywhere on the ship without her accompaniment. Is that understood?"
Tycho and the others nodded. General Cracken seemed warier than he might normally be following a routine pick-up, but Tycho supposed the man had a good reason for to be suspicious. After all, their mission had not been routine at all.
"Then you are dismissed," Cracken said.
Tycho and the others saluted as the general left the hangar. The young woman with shimmering hair stepped forward and nodded regally. She wore a simple jumpsuit but had a very dignified air about her, similar to Princess Leia. "Hello," she said. Her voice was soft but commanding. "You may call me Winter. This way, please."
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Luke stared in disappointed silence as Winter escorted Mara Jade and the other defectors from the hangar. He'd hoped that he would have the chance to speak with her upon their arrival at Home One, before she got swept up into the inevitable debriefings, but apparently their talk would have to wait.
Against his better judgment, he'd been thinking about her non-stop since escaping Dantooine. Her expression when she'd locked eyes with him in his X-wing, when he'd secretly been yelling at her to run, had been burned into his mind. She had heard him through the Force, the way he had heard Ben since his mentor had died on the Death Star. And that had brought on a thousand questions: did Mara know that she was Force sensitive? Had she been trained? If so, by whom? Were her parents Jedi? If she knew she could use the Force, why had she joined the Empire? He couldn't stop thinking of questions. He had to speak with her.
And, unfortunately, Luke couldn't deny that he'd felt a spark of attraction when he'd grasped Mara's hand. He'd dismissed it at the time, thinking it was just adrenaline from the battle or lingering shock that she was Force sensitive, but during the long hyperspace flight back to Home One, he could no longer deny his feelings. He'd barely spoken to the woman and he was already smitten.
Luke rolled his eyes at himself as he pulled off his helmet. This was all great. Just wonderful. He'd finally gotten over Leia after months of mooning over her. He really didn't need to start pining over another woman who wouldn't give him the time of day, especially when he had lots of other more important things to worry about.
Such as expanding Rogue Flight to Rogue Squadron. And, not to mention, talking to Mara Jade about the Force.
Yeah, that would be really easy to do when he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was. If she was trained in the Force, she'd smack him before he could even say a word.
Luke was just about ready to start banging his head against his flight console when a thick mop of brown hair suddenly appeared next to his cockpit. It belonged to none other than Wes Janson, who, as usual, was sporting a mischievous smile. "Well hello there, Commander Skywalker. We were wondering, were you planning on conducting our mission debriefing from your cockpit? If so, I can rally up the others and get them to stand at attention around your X-wing."
"Oh shut up," Luke retorted, pushing Wes off the ladder.
The Taanab native was too fast, however, and managed to hold on to the ladder with both hands. He leaned in conspiratorially. "Don't worry, boss. I won't tell the others that you were staring at Jade all googly-eyed since you landed."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Luke protested, putting on his best "commander" voice. Yeah, it didn't sound convincing at all.
Another head, this one with lighter brown hair, appeared behind Wes. "I told you Luke, I want first dibs on this one!" Dack admonished playfully. He wagged his finger. "Come on, you're the 'Destroyer of the Death Star.' If you come on to her, none of us will even stand a chance!"
"You guys have got it all wrong, okay? I don't like her," Luke said. He didn't even have to pretend to be angry. He really didn't need his pilots annoying him about Mara. He was dwelling on the situation enough on his own, wondering how he could talk to her about the Force and still keep possibilities open for any kind of future relationship. Not that he ever thought something like that would seriously happen. He had never understood where his pilots got the idea that women threw themselves at him. Things like that never happened to him. And certainly Mara Jade was much too beautiful to ever consider going out with a guy like him. Although, it was nice to dream about.
The tag team of Wes and Dack wouldn't let up. Over the past several months, Wes had taken Dack under his wing and taught the young Rogue all about pulling pranks and annoying people. Normally, Luke was amused by their antics, but now he just wished they'd go annoy someone else. He glanced around the hangar for Wedge. As executive officer, it should be his duty to distract the two jokesters.
"The little one is right, boss," Wes said. "You need to give us a chance with the redhead. Although, considering that you rescued her ever so dramatically, we probably don't even stand a chance to begin with."
"Are you going to reenact the rescue for us?" Dack asked eagerly. "Maybe I could learn from you and then I could finally get a girl!"
Luke gave him a plaintive look. "Why are you doing this? Aren't you supposed to be my wingman?"
"Yes! Exactly! And your job as the superior pilot is to look out for my rookie ass. So why don't you help me out on this one, and bow out gracefully?"
Now Luke did start banging his head against the flight console.
"Come on boys, let's leave the commander alone," Luke heard Zev's voice carry up into the cockpit. Luke breathed a sigh of relief as the older Rogue peeled Wes and Dack off the ladder and shoved them to the ground.
"Thanks, Zev. Remind me to reward you for this."
Zev flashed a smile. "Don't worry, I won't forget." He grabbed Wes and Dack by the scruffs of their necks and led them out of the hangar. Hobbie, eager to stay out of trouble, quickly followed.
"Oh, and by the way," Luke called after them. "You all better shower before coming near me again. You stink like wet Wookiees!"
"I'm sure you don't smell any better yourself, boss," Wedge pointed out. He was standing by his own X-wing, which was next to Luke's.
Luke sniffed his armpits and made a face. Perhaps it was a good thing that he hadn't been able to talk to Mara right away… "I know," he said to his friend, "and that's why my first order of business is to get in the shower."
Wedge feigned shock. "Even before eating? You must really stink. Perhaps it's a good thing you didn't get a chance to talk to the redhead."
Luke stared incredulously at his friend, wondering if Wedge had somehow been able to read his mind. Nah, he thought. He's just a Corellian.
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Wedge watched with interest as Wes and Dack teased Luke for his dramatic rescue of Mara Jade. Normally Wedge would consider it his duty to be right there with them, making things as awkward for Luke as possible, but there was a potential disaster brewing and it needed to be cut off at the pass. Because despite all of Luke's protests, there was something different in his bright blue eyes. Wedge was certain that Luke was already smitten with the new Rebel. It was the Princess Leia situation all over again.
In other times, Wedge would encourage Luke to go for it; Luke could certainly use some downtime with a lady friend. But it couldn't be Mara Jade, not if Luke's plans for the TIE pilots came true. Wedge felt absolutely horrible doing this…but he had no other choice. It was his job, as Luke's XO and as his best friend.
He waited by the ladder for Luke to climb down, then draped his arm over his friend's shoulders. "Ugh," Luke groaned, pinching his nose dramatically. "Didn't I just order you guys to get cleaned up before coming near me again?"
"You certainly did."
Luke grinned. "Then clearly I need to write you up for insubordination."
Wedge ignored the smile and turned to face his friend. "Luke, we need to talk about Jade."
The grin faded. "Well, now I'm really going to write you up for insubordination."
"Look, just hear me out—"
Luke shook his head exasperatedly and pushed Wedge away. "It's not like that! How many times do I have to say it? I have no intentions of being anything other than her commanding officer. Okay?"
Wedge nodded, fully aware that Luke was lying through his teeth, but decided to let the young man continue deluding himself. Perhaps it would be better that way. "Okay. That's good."
"Good?" Luke gave him a confused look. "I would have expected you of all people to be encouraging me to ask her out. Or have you finally given up on your quest to get me a girl?"
The Corellian let out a heavy sigh. "Normally, I would encourage you. But you can't ask her out, Luke, even if you really wanted to. Not if she becomes your subordinate."
Luke's eyes widened in realization. "Right," he said after a few moments. "Well. I guess it's a good thing I'm not attracted to her, right?"
"I'm really sorry, Luke." Wedge patted his friend on the arm.
Luke shrugged him off nonchalantly. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I don't have time for that stuff anyway, and this makes other things much clearer."
"What things?" Wedge asked, but Luke was already leaving the hangar, lost in thought.
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Leia had been pulled into the small briefing room as soon as the Falcon landed to give her unofficial report of the mission to Dantooine. General Cracken and General Rieekan sat back in their chairs, looking dismayed as Leia described the ambush and subsequent escape.
"I've got to hand it to you, Princess," Rieekan said. "You certainly have a knack for getting yourself out of life and death situations."
"Yes, well." Leia shifted in her chair. "I can't take all the credit. Captain Solo deserves his share of thanks."
"It's a pity he won't accept a military commission," Rieekan said.
Leia nodded, eyes downcast. "Yes, it is." She suddenly couldn't stop thinking about her last argument with Han in the Falcon's cockpit…the way his hand had felt on her arm…the way his breath felt on her mouth…
She had pulled away from him, sensing his intentions. Yet she couldn't help but wonder what she would have done if he had pulled her to him and kissed her before she could leave the cockpit.
She closed her eyes, pushing those thoughts out of her mind. She was out of her mind. She had a job to do. She could dwell on Han later. As she always did.
Damn the man.
"You think this woman, Lieutenant Jade, could be an informant?" Cracken asked. They had, of course, discussed all the various ways that the Empire could have been tipped off to the mission, and Leia had felt obligated to confide her feelings about Mara Jade.
Leia nodded in confirmation. "As I said, I got a bad feeling when we first arrived. I realize my combat sense isn't as honed as others, so it could mean nothing. It could have just been my anxiety getting the best of me." Leia didn't want to condemn Jade if the woman really had just been jittery about her upcoming defection, but it was Leia's duty to be as thorough as possible in her reports. The Alliance military would certainly give Jade a fair chance to prove her worth, even if Leia did have some suspicions.
"Still, it is something we should look into," Cracken said. As the head of Intelligence, he was keenly aware of the threats of espionage that constantly plagued the Alliance. Even if the Imperial attack had been a complete coincidence, there was still a possibility that one of the pilots was a spy for the Empire. Which, of course, was why they'd returned to Home One and not the Thila base. "We'll be pulling them in for debriefing as soon as we finish here. So far, all her records check out clear."
"Right," Leia said. Of course they'd check out clear even if they had been tampered with. Jade was from Alderaan, and all the planetary records had been destroyed. Jade's only existing records now came directly from the Imperial academy, and if she was a spy, she could certainly falsify those records without anyone in the Alliance ever being the wiser.
"We'll let you know what we find out, Princess. Or would you prefer to be involved in the debriefings?" Rieekan asked.
"No, that's fine," Leia responded, grateful that they'd even thought to consider her. Sometimes it seemed that she was gaining respect in the Alliance on a daily basis.
She stood up and shook the generals' hands, then left the briefing room, lost in thought. She needed to find Luke and talk to him about Jade. She valued Luke's opinion most of all in the Alliance…and certainly he would be able to tell if the woman was involved in any sort of treachery.
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Finally clean, Luke was enjoying a meal in the mess—well, enjoying was probably not the correct word, as the food wasn't that spectacular (better than ration bars, at least, and Luke would eat anything) and Wes and Dack were still teasing him about Mara Jade. Apparently, nothing could deter Wes and Dack when they were on a rampage, not even threats of kitchen duty and scrubbing down the X-wings. Luke decided to let them roll with it and hoped that they'd soon grow tired of harassing their commanding officer and set their sights on a new target...like Hobbie. Perhaps Luke could bribe the accident-prone pilot into getting sent to the bacta tank again.
Wedge, to his credit, finally pulled the two pranksters out of the mess, giving Luke some peace and quiet with Hobbie and Zev. Hobbie told them about his time at the academy with Tycho Celchu, and had nothing but good things to say about the man's skills in a cockpit. "He was one of the best there, if not the best," Hobbie said. "It's just a damn shame he wouldn't defect with us."
"I'm sure he regrets it enough now," Zev said. Luke nodded somberly, recalling that Tycho was from Alderaan. The planet's destruction had caused many Imperials to finally leave for the Alliance. Luke would never, ever be grateful for the planet's destruction, but he was glad that the event had finally forced so many Imperials to come to terms with the truth about the Empire.
"Makes you wonder though," Hobbie mused. "Why it took something like that to convince people to defect."
"Sometimes people are too afraid to see what's right there in front of them," Zev explained. "It's not until they're smacked in the face with something awful, like Alderaan, when they can't ignore it anymore."
"I guess," Hobbie replied. The three pilots spoke for a little while longer, until Zev and Hobbie finished eating and left Luke alone at the table. He ate leisurely for a few minutes until Leia walked in. Her brown eyes searched the mess, then she spotted him and hurried over.
"I was hoping to find you," she said, giving him a hug. Luke returned her embrace, relieved that he finally could feel completely comfortable around his friend. He didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't gotten over his farmboy crush when he did. He had always been so nervous around her and it had been getting in the way of their friendship. Of course, with Mara in the picture now, he probably wouldn't have found it that hard to forget about Leia. Especially when Leia was so obviously mooning, in her own special way, over Han.
Not that Luke would ever say such a thing to her face, of course.
"What's up?" he asked, offering her a piece of flatbread. She accepted it gratefully and waited until she was finished chewing to speak.
"I need you to do me a big favor," she said in her best diplomatic tone.
"Sure, anything."
"I need you to question Mara Jade."
Luke blinked. He had not been expecting that. "Um…why me?" he asked. "Isn't Intelligence conducting their debriefings?"
"Yes, but…I thought you might be able to offer some insight. With the Force." She looked at him with intense eyes and Luke felt a pang of insecurity. It was bad enough that he held on to his own expectations about how he should be acting as a Jedi. Now other people in the Alliance were expecting him to be much more powerful in the Force than he was. Expectations on the battlefield, he could handle. But this was a whole 'nother ball game.
"I really don't know, Leia. You know I haven't had much time to train…"
Leia shook her head at him. "You've always been a good judge of character, as long as I've known you. It has nothing to do with whether or not you've trained. Just…use the same instincts you always have, and let me know what you think of her."
Luke nodded. "Okay…but why do you want me to do this? Do you suspect her of anything?"
"I got a bad feeling about her when we arrived," Leia said, almost apologetically.
"You think she had something to do with the ambush," Luke accused.
The Princess looked at him sharply. "Perhaps. But I can't be certain. That's why I'd like your input."
"I didn't feel anything malicious from her at all, Leia. In fact, I think she could be a great asset to the Alliance." He hoped that he didn't sound too eager, but apparently he had failed.
Leia stared at him blankly for a moment, then shook her head in disbelief. "Dammit," she spat.
"What?"
"I hate it when he's right."
"When who's right? What are you talking about?"
Leia looked back at him, eyebrows raised. "You like her."
Luke sighed and placed his head in his hands, rubbing his temples. "Oh, not you, too," he moaned.
"What?"
"I've already got Wes and Dack giving me shavit about her. I really don't need you of all people to get on my case."
"Do you like her?" Leia demanded, not letting up.
"I don't even know her!" Luke protested, probably a little too strongly. "Sheesh, I save one woman's life and all of a sudden I'm in love with her."
Thankfully, Leia was diplomatic enough not to point out what happened the last time Luke rescued someone. "Well, she is a very pretty girl," she pointed out instead.
"Do you want me to like her or not, Leia?"
Leia held out a hand in supplication. "Okay, okay. Forget I said anything. But please, just talk to her. See if you sense anything odd or suspicious. I'd really appreciate it." She smiled at him, and Luke had to shake his head at her ability to get anybody to agree to anything. He was pretty sure that Leia Organa could get him to jump through fire if she asked nicely. It was no wonder that she had become a senator at the age of eighteen.
"Okay," Luke sighed. "I'll try."
"Thank you," Leia said, squeezing his hand. "And seriously, Luke, as your friend? Don't get in over your head."
Now Luke was the one to raise his eyebrows. "Oh, you should talk."
Leia gave him an annoyed look, the kind of look a sister would give a brother. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing." Luke grabbed his tray and rose from the table. "See you later, Leia," he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
As he was depositing his trash in the receptacle, he felt a spark of recognition in the Force…and he turned around and spotted Mara Jade entering the mess, flanked by the three other pilots and Agent Retrac. The young woman's green eyes locked on his as she stepped through the threshold…
She offered him a small smile and headed to collect some food. Luke almost decided to eat another meal so he could talk to her now…but he merely smiled at her in return before leaving the mess.
He'd let her eat in peace. He could talk to her later, alone, and do his best to placate Leia's suspicions.
And, eventually, he would also ask her about the Force.