CHAPTER 6:
Han Solo pulled out his holdout blaster, and using both that and his blaster, he fired blindly into the thick white smoke while he ran and yelled at the top of his lungs. Redge said that there were six storm troopers, and Han had to jump over and swerve to avoid two fallen men in white armor. Four more, Han thought as he picked up his pace. He kept firing and firing and he fell another one, but then the smoke dissipated and Han skidded to a stop when he noticed a gray wall ahead of him and thee missing storm troopers.
"Oh, shit."
The path was adjacent to another path, and Han pressed his body against the wall closest to the corner, holding his blaster up. The three troopers had to be waiting for him to turn the corner so they could blast him to pieces.
"Redge?" he whispered.
"There's a door on the west side. It houses the cleaning droids," Redge answered. "No living beings, and there's a small door that the droids use at the other end of the room."
"Thanks."
Han ran back, found the door, and slipped into it before the storm troopers figured out he ran back toward where he came from. Hoping that the Imps didn't keep their cleaning droids in a secure room, he palmed the control panel. He sighed in relief when the door slid open. Han her the faint footfalls of armored men, and he crouched down in the crowd of droids, held his weapons ready, and waited.
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Princess Leia Organa's large brown eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open as she stared at the computer screen before her. Her stomach churned, and her body temperature dropped.
"It can't be."
Luke, still staring at the screen, stood up straight and slowly exhaled as he tried to control his emotions. He felt angry; he felt like crying. He felt defeated. He tried to swallow down those emotions but they just got stuck in his throat.
"Another Death Star?"
"That's what it looks like."
Leia's fingers then flew over the illuminated outline of the computer screen. "Looks like this is a concept report; just a rough plan and illustration. No actual plans."
"That's a good thing, right?"
"No. These must be old. There are no actual plans in this file, and none in the other files." She leaned forward and squinted at the screen. "They've started building it," she whispered.
Suddenly Luke felt queasy. "Does it say where they're building it?"
"No." Leia then tapped on a few more keys, and the information was transferred to their microchip.
Luke glanced at the door. "How much longer?"
The princess put her hand on her earpiece. "Han's trapped in a janitor room."
Luke pressed his lips together as he listened to Han's conversation with Redge.
"We're close. We should try to help him."
Although Luke wanted to, he knew it would be the wrong move. "Han gave us an order, and we have to get these plans back to the Alliance." The kid felt guilty, but the mission couldn't be jeprodized "He always manages to get himself outa trouble."
"But—"
"We have the plans. What if get captured or killed? This mission would be for nothing."
"Right," Leia answered, but the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach only got worse.
The microchip popped out of the server, and the princess grabbed it. She slid it into a clear cover and then unzipped her jumpsuit until her black lace bra was partially exposed.
Luke's large blue eyes were stuck to the sight of her cleavage. He had to force himself to look away. "What are you doin'?"
"Putting the microchip in a safe spot."
Luke looked up at the ceiling, his cheeks bright red. Leia smiled at her friend's embarrassment, pulled the left cup of her bra away from her breast, and slipped the chip into a small pocket sewn into the garment. She then zipped up her jumpsuit.
"Are you finished?"
"Yeah." She took pleasure in his discomfort as she headed to the door. "We better get out of here."
"Right."
Still smiling, the princess stopped in front of the door. Luke was right behind her. They both drew their blasters.
"Tycho, is it clear?"
"Negative." His voice came through their earpiece. "A squad coming your way."
"Air vent it is."
Without having to communicate, Leia leaned against the wall under the vent, laced her fingers together, and adjusted her stance to give her stability. Luke put his foot in her hands and reached for the opening of the vent while Leia pushed him up. He used the strength of his arms to pull him the rest of the way. Then Luke turned around, lay on his stomach, and reached out his arms to Leia.
Leia grabbed his wrists, and Luke grabbed hers. The young rebel then pulled her up while she used her feet to climb up the wall. Once she reached the opening in the wall, Luke backed up and allowed her to pull herself up the rest of the way on her own. Once she was inside, Luke handed her the grated closer, and Leia tried to refit it over the opening.
"Damn. I can't get it."
"Leave it," Luke ordered. "We don't have the time."
Cursing to herself, Leia put it down, and on her hands and knees she followed Luke. They began to trace their steps at a quick speed.
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Han tried to ignore the chatter in his ear as he listened carefully for his pursuers. The familiar clank of the boots of the armored-men grew louder and louder until Han could hear them no more.
Han exhaled then inhaled, waiting for the inevitable. He squeezed behind a couple of droids before the door slid open. The storm troopers won't have a chance, he smugly door opened, and Han blasted two troopers before they realized what was going on. The third one fired back, and the smuggler dunked behind a droid. The droid's head sparked and fell off its body. The storm trooper pressed himself against the wall outside the door and popped out only to shoot into the tiny room. Han was now at a disadvantage. He tried to find another droid for cover while shooting at the Imperial when his enemy stuck his head and arm into the room firing at Solo.
Okay, maybe I was wrong, Han grimaced.
If things continued on as they were, he was doomed. Han glanced at the thin opening at the other end of the janitor room, the door Redge told him about. There was no way he was going to make it and fire at the storm trooper at the same time. Han kept firing each time the trooper's head and arm popped into the room to fire at Han. Solo looked around. He had no choice; he had to take out that Imp before the Imp took him out. Han began to fire continuously at the door, preventing the storm trooper from shooting into the room. The smuggler kept firing as he made his way closer to the door. Once he reached the door, he stopped firing, holstered his weapons, and pressed himself against the wall.
"Captain, did you hear? The princess has the plans." Tycho said into Han's earpiece. "A squad of storm troopers headed their way."
Han exhaled, hoping they would get out before the squad of Imps found them. The trooper outside the door shot into the room a few more times. Han froze and waited. The blast fire ceased, and then the storm trooper entered the room to search for the smuggler. As soon as the soldier was halfway into the room, Han body slammed him against the doorjamb across and began smashing the trooper's arm against the wall until he dropped his blaster. The storm trooper's arm snapped, and he yelled out in pain. Han pulled off the stunned Imp's helmet, grabbed the storm trooper's head, and snapped his neck.
Solo dragged the dead Imp into the janitor room and poked his head out of the door. He quickly pulled back his head when he saw the squad of storm troopers that Tycho warmed Luke and Leia about. They didn't notice Han or the open janitor room door; his enemies were headed straight for the server room down the hall where Luke and Leia were. He drew his blaster, ready to storm the Imps if he had to.
Tycho's voice filled his ears. "Squad of storm troopers headed into the server room.
Han pressed his hand to his earpiece, "Leia?"
"We've escaped through the vent."
Han let out a sigh of relief. "Good girl."
Once he knew that Luke and Leia escaped before the Imps entered the room, Han shut the door and looked around for the droid's exit door. He maneuvered his way around the crowd of frozen droids and looked for the control panel. Solo expelled a Corellian curse word. There was no control panel. The droids probably signaled the door to open. He scanned the room, saw a mouse droid—a droid that would be small enough not to be noticed—and activated it. The droid squealed to life. Solo then ordered it out the door. The tiny droid squealed again and the door slid open. Han slipped through it before it closed again.
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Luke and Leia froze as they heard a large explosion.
Skywalker looked back at the princess and smiled. "Wedge."
She returned their smile. They continued on before hearing a pop from behind. Leia stopped and looked back. A cloud of orange smoke was coming their way fast.
"Gas." She picked up her pace and then pushed Luke forward to make him go faster. "Take the first right you see."
A fork in the vent finally came up as the chemical cloud closed in on them. The path produced another choice: an open channel leading down and another path leading to the left.
"Down," Leia ordered.
Luke looked down the shaft. It was long but he could see the bottom.
"No time to hesitate," Leia said as pushed passed him.
She sat on the edge, her legs hanging over the unknown. The orange cloud of smoke was catching up. Luke grabbed her hand.
"I'll lower you down as far as I can."
Leia took his other hand and allowed him to lower her down. When Luke couldn't lower her any farther, he let her go, and Leia dropped the rest of the way.
"You okay?"
"Perfectly fine," she answered. "I'll break your fall."
He was about to ask how but trails of smoke started to overtake him. Luke rolled to his belly and lowered his legs down. When he was stretched as far as he could go, he felt Leia's hands on his legs.
"Let go."
Luke did as he was told, and to his surprise, Leia kept him pinned to the wall with her body, her hands sliding up his body until he touched the ground. Luke began coughing, and Leia patted him on the pack.
"We got to get out of here."
The princess crouched down and followed another tunnel with Luke closely behind her. A thin trail of orange smoke started to surround them. They both started coughing and their lungs began to burn. Leia blindly led Luke through the air vent, turning down corners and sliding down vertical passages until they came to a grated opening. Beyond it, a handful Imperials and storm troopers were searching the room.
Leia stifled a cough as the orange cloud thickened. "What now?" she whispered.
"We have no choice. I'll go first," Luke said. "You cover me."
"I don't know…"
"We don't have the time." Luke squeezed pass her.
The princess lay on her belly and drew her blaster. The young aspiring Jedi kicked out the grated cover and activated his light saber as he jumped down into the room. Immediately, Leia began firing at the Imps. She took out two officers and three storm troopers before they knew what was happening. Once the Imperials realized they were being attacked, they began firing back. Luke used his light saber to block the blasts. The lasers ricocheted off the elegant weapon, some lasers bouncing back and taking out more Imperials.
The orange smoke surrounded Leia, and she began coughing violently. She fought through her discomfort and kept firing until none of their enemies were standing. Luke deactivated his light saber, attached it to his belt, and grabbed Leia under the arms. He fought the urge to cough, the urge to breathe, as he pulled her to him, her body pressed against his as he lowered her to the ground.
The princess wobbled on her feet and then dropped to her backside as she tried to catch her breath. Through a coughing fit, Luke looked up to find the orange cloud spill out of the air vent, thick and quickly moving.
"Come on *cough* *cough*," he pulled Leia to her feet.
Leia allowed him to pull her to her feet. They both suffered spasms of coughing and they fought to catch their breaths. Their lungs burned, their eyes watered, and their heads spun, making it hard to maneuver their way around the fallen Imps as they made their way to the door. Luke tripped on a body, falling onto it and bringing Leia down with him. Luke came face to face with the dead man, and he froze.
"Come on *cough* *cough* *cough*, Luke."
This time it was Leia who pulled her friend to his feet. Through her watery large brown eyes she saw the door and relief spread through her body. She pulled Luke as she stumbled toward it. Just when they made it to the closed door, it slid open and storm troopers blocked their path. Leia tried to draw her blaster, but her body could take no more, and she dropped to the floor, bringing Luke with her.
"We found them," one trooper announced.
An Imperial officer with a gas mask covering his face stepped forward. He pressed a comlink connected to his uniform. "We have the rebels. Clear the air vents."
A storm trooper roughly tried to pull Leia to her feet, but when she continued to cough and fight for her breath, he picked her up. Two storm troopers took Luke's arms and dragged them out of the room as he was taken over by a coughing fit. Once they were out of the room, the door behind them sealed.
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Redge's voice came through the rebels earpieces. "The princess and Skywalker have been captured. I repeat the princess and Skywalker have been captured."
Han, who had almost reached the rendezvous point, stopped where he was, and closed his eyes. His stomach churned. Not only did the two rebels have the microchip on them, Leia was once again in Imperial captivity and in danger of reliving her experience on the Death Star. And though the Empire wasn't sure she was still alive, they put a bounty on her head. There was a good chance she wouldn't be identified; Redge was an expert at creating new identities and embedding them into the Empire's system. Still, if she was recognized…Han couldn't think about it. All he knew was that he wasn't going to let that happen.
Solo ran back to the large hole in the building that was created by Wedge and his team where a squad of storm troopers lay dead. Han had no plan of rescuing his friends, but he did blast his way out of the Death Star, and that was a giant space station where the odds were against him. Blasting his way out of the Bureau should be a piece of cake.
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The Imperials took Luke and Leia to another room with more security. A storm trooper sat on the ground, supporting Leia and holding an oxygen mask to her face. She greedily took in the air only after the Imperial officer held the mask to his face first. Luke was receiving the same treatment. A Two-One-B droid entered the room and pressed a syringe needle into the rebels' arms. Immediately, Luke and Leia's lungs didn't feel like they were going to pop.
Leia wiped the moisture from her eyes as she felt her strength come back. She pushed the oxygen mask away from her face and shoved the storm trooper away.
"We have a fighter on our hands," the officer sneered. "Major Melue will enjoy that."
Major Melue. Leia played the name back in her mind. Why was it familiar to me?
"Don't think you'll be to hold us long." Leia raised her chin.
The officer laughed. "My you're an optimistic one." He walked over to the princess and stood over her. "We know there are more than just the two of you. We'll catch them to."
She smiled at him, "I wouldn't be so sure of that."
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"Redge," Han touched his earpiece. "Where are they being held?"
"On the first floor, a room at the end of the hall. They know the princess and Skywalker aren't alone."
Wedge's voice broke in, "Let us take care of it, Solo. We're disguised. We'll have a better chance of extracting them."
Wedge was right, but that wasn't going to stop Han. "They have the microchip." He came up with an excuse. "We can't let it fall into their hands."
"I repeat, Solo. Let. Us. Take. Care. Of. It." Wedge said.
"Who's in charge, Antilles?"
"I'm suggesting that we have the best chance of extracting them." Wedge tried to hold his irritation out of his voice. "You can covertly back us up."
Han was silent for a moment. Again, he was putting the princess ahead of the mission. If he rushed in and blasted his way in and out, the odds would be against them. And he could get someone killed. "Confirmed."
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The princess felt exposed without her blaster at her hip as they were led out of the room and down the hall. They took Luke's blaster, too, and his light saber. The Imperial officer tossed it in the air and caught it as he lead his prisoners—flanked by four storm troopers—through a maze of halls with various doors. They were brought to the lobby. There, a handful of officers and more storm troopers were standing in formation.
"Major Belue," Luke's and Leia's captor said. "We caught these two in the air vents. I believe them to be rebels."
The major stepped forward. "Of course, they're rebels. Right Princess Leia?"
Leia's face paled, but she kept her mien neutral.
"Sir?"
"We've….met before." He stepped closer to the princess. "Don't you remember me?"
Leia lifted her chin. "Should I?"
"On the Death Star?" The major took her chin in his hand. "I'm surprised that you don't remember me. We were….intimately acquainted during my post there."
"Leave her alone." Luke ordered.
Major Bulue smiled at the boy.
It rarely happened, for the princess was quite adept at hiding her emotions, but the fear in her eyes was evident. "All you Imps look alike," she said lamely and pulled her chin from the major's grasp.
Bulue chuckled. He gazed into her large brown eyes for a moment and then addressed the occupants in the room. "You could say, Her Highness saved my life." He returned his attention to the princess. "I was Darth Vader's assistant during her interrogations. I prepped her for the sessions and cleaned up the mess after."
Leia showed no reaction.
"When you failed to be cooperative, I was demoted and stationed here…before you rebels destroyed our glorious Death Star." He ran his hand along the side of her face. "You saved my life."
The princess's bottom lip trembled but not out of fear. She fought to hold in her anger. "And I'll be the one to cause your death."
Again, Major Belue chuckled. "Such bravado." He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned in close to her face. "I wouldn't count on it." He stood up straight. "You're going to be my redemption, Princess, once I hand you over to Lord Vader."
A chill ran down Leia's spine. Luke looked at her. He could feel her fear. He wanted to comfort her, kill this Major Belue, but he was in a helpless situation.