Chapter 4

"I was cast out by fools who thought I had nothing to offer. They had no idea what riches I really have.

"We're waiting for the rebels to arrive. Our business partner Lando seems resolved to make this happen. I was looking for a little cash to grease the wheels, maybe set myself up with the resources I need but the more Wedge tells me about this rebellion the more I think maybe there is something to this.

Han has a low opinion of their hopes for success. Outdated ships limited resources on the run from an implacable foe, kind of rings a bell. My mission is to stop iblis and find Athena, but who knows.. maybe along the way I can help out a few kindred spirits.

The thing is, there's something odd about Lando, one minute hes a smooth oily shark in the water the next is an unstable volatile mess. Wedge tells me he's been through some terrible things, things that can make a man question his purpose, his direction. I've been through some terrible things to, and still I know two things.

My name is Starbuck and I'm here to save the universe."

***

"Hey don't glare at me you kriffing throwback!" Lando protested, "it was a perfectly legal move!"

Chewie roared insulted and Lando put a palm to his temple.

"Han would you control your property?" demanded Lando, "Someone should have it put down."

"Them and what army?" Starbuck snapped angrily. He rose from his chair and grabbed Lando by the collar and dragged him away from the holographic table, "Don't worry Chewie I'll take care of your light work."

"Get your hands off me you punk!" Lando struggled, "I don't have to take that abuse from a…"

"Lando one more word out of you and I will throw you in an escape pod myself and blast you back to Kashyyk." Roared Han entering the lounge. "What is the matter with you?"

"I don't know what I'm doing!" cried Lando grabbing his head again, "This blasted hangover!"

"Easy everyone easy." Wedge attempted to intervene, "lets just go back to our corners here. Han, Chewie, we'll take care of him."

"Your rebel buddies will be here within the hour." Han snapped, "When they get here, I want him off my ship and out of my sight." He stalked off angrily and with a glare at Lando Chewie followed him.

"Buddy, I like a stiff drink myself sometimes." Said Starbuck, as he and Wedge muscled Lando into a closet sized bunkroom. "But you might want to take it easy. Chewie was going to take you apart, and I don't think even the three of us could have stopped him."

"I don't know where that came from." Said Lando shaking his head in confusion, Lando sank down onto the bunk and looked up dejectedly"I've known Chewie for a long time, I really don''t know…" He looked up at Starbuck with bloodshot eyes, "I'm really losing it."

Wedge and Starbuck exchanged an uncomfortable glance.

"Hey easy! Said Starbuck encouragingly, you woke up drunk it doesn't make you a monster. To be honest, I think Chewie was being a bit of a spoilsport, although suggesting he put down was a bit out of line."

"Just sleep it off buddy." Said Wedge stolidly, "And stow that anti Alien rhetoric before you board the Redemption or things won't go well."

"Right." Said Lando in a tired voice… "Just sleep it off." He sank down and Starbuck and Wedge left him.

"That guys playing a card short of a deck." Said Starbuck Wedge stopped him.

"Lando was a prisoner of the Cylons, when they took Corellia and then later the Vong when they shaped it. Thrawn turned hat place into a sinkhole and got both sides fighting over it. Not many people made it out of there and those who did…"

"The cylons can be nasty customers, and these Vong…" Starbuck shuddered, "I'm just glad I never ran into them. "

"The Cylons…" mused Wedge bitterly, "That was our illustrious leader's idea, many of us were against it. He had a falling out with the leadership and went off on his own. He came back after the Goa'uld were on the move talking about seizing the initiative, it seems he stumbled across a fleet of inert base stars from an ancient war. He started turning them all back on and from there it was either go along or get run over."

"You must have had previous records from the first Cylon wars." Said Starbuck, "How could you have thought you could trust them?"

"trust never entered into it Starbuck!." Wedge said candidly, "We've used droids for years, we didn't think we were trusting the Cylons, we thought we were controlling them. Sure we had old legends and fairy tales but we thought they were just droids! During the clone wars the battledroids were what everyone remembered but it was the trade federation controlling them. We figured the Cylons were cannon fodder at a time when we needed something to throw at the Empire. It made perfect tactical sense given what we knew, we were assured the Cylons were under control, it just never occurred to us that bel Iblis was lying."

"What?" demanded Starbuck whirling, "What did you say?" he gripped Wedge by the shoulders, "Iblis?"

"General Garm Bel Iblis, " replied Wedge confused, "He led our forces, found the cylons!"

"Where is he now?" Demanded Starbuck, "Where??"

"Long dead." Replied Wedge, "The Vong threw everything they had him from the moment they set foot in this galaxy, they hunted him all the way to the maw and Thrawn blew half their fleet to hell, and took most of the Cylons with them. Seems the empire had a secret base in there nobody knew about."

"Iblis hasn't been seen since?" Starbuck pressed, "No rumors of survival? Nothing?"

"Nobody survives a supernova." Wedge asserted, "There was no way he.." Suddenly the falcon rocked and a furious Wookiee exploded into the lounge demanding to know who had sent a signal. Bowling the two men aside he ripped open the door to the bunkroom.

"Imperial fighters from the surface are coming in fast!" came Han's voice over the intercom, "Someone better get in those turrets real fast!"

With a roar of surprise Chewie was hurled backwards out of Lando's room. Wedge gaped openly as Starbuck whirled in surprise. Lando strode out of the room his eyes flashing, literally.

"Quel nek Kekk." He declared imperiously. As Wedge moved to stop him he backhanded the man across the lounge. Starbuck grabbed one of Lando's arms and found an arm snap like a vice around his throat. He felt himself lifted up as he tried to pry apart steel fingers. He clutched at the Zat he carried at his side but the Gao'uld tore it from hios grasp and discarded it.

Wedge kicked back to his feet and grabbed a chair that had broken loose in the scuffle. As he swung it Lando caught it contemptuously and still holding Starbuck crashed the chair against Wedge's head. Spots exploded before Starbucks eyes until suddenly a wall of fur interposed itself. Chewie roared louder and deeper than Starbuck heard him and savagely backhanded Lando.

Landing atop Wedge's still form, the Goa'uld blinked and shook his head and than tore the blaster from Wedge's belt. Levelling it on Chewie he snickered.

"Animal." He spat but as he prepared to pull the trigger Starbuck let fly a burst from the Zat he had lost in the scuffle. With a cry of rage the Goa'uld sank to the floor as the Falcon shuddered again. Without missing a beat, Chewie began to rummage through Lando's pockets until he found at last, a comlink. He slapped it against a wall and a flattened smear shedding crumbs of pulverized electr5onics slid to the floor.

"What's going back there Chewie? Their all over me!" Shouted Han.

Hissing at Lando's still form Chewie scooped it up and threw him bodily into one of the escape pods. Tearing the inside door panel from the wall, the wookie dumped it unceremoniously on top of the Goa'uld. Slapping the outer door controls he sealed Lando in, declaring to Starbuck, there would be time for discussion later. Chewie hurdled off down the corridoer to the guns. Starbuck staggered over to Wedge thinking he would not want to be the Goa'uld during that discussion.

"Easy there big guy." Starbuck warned, "You took a hell of a beating, why didn't you just shoot him?"

'Lando's still in there." Said Wedge smiling faintly, "Besides I could have missed…"

".. and hit me." Finished Starbuck sadly, "Hey I'll take my chances next time alright?"

"Not you…" said Wedge laughing weakly, "if I hit Chewie he'd have REALLY gotten mad."

Starbuck blinked. Before he could say anything Han shouted, "Chewie what the hell are you doing up there, get Wedge or Lando in those guns!"

"Leave me Starbuck, its over for me." Said Wedge weakly, "I can't breathe, I think I punctured a lung and I feel cold…"

"No more of that." Warned Starbuck, "I need to concentrate, you see I might just have a few tricks up my sleeve…." He closed his eyes. Hey laid his hands over Wedge's battered form and pressing his tongue to the top of his mouth, he inhaled deep through the nose. As his stomach inflated it was as though a circuit had been completed. He felt energy building within him, through his hands he felt, ever so faintly from Wedge, the rhythm life. Dropping his tongue and exhaling, the energy began to discharge, and Starbuck focused it through his hands.

For his part Wedge became suddenly aware of a deep and resonant power permeating his body. He felt frozen in place as a warmth spread through him. Starbuck knelt over him breathing deeply, his brown knit in concentration and then it was over. Wedge took an experimental breath, the pain was gone. He flexed his arms as Starbuck leaned back to one side to catch his breath.

"Thanks for the lessons Cassie." He muttered to himself as Wedge patted his ribs down. Wedge locked eyes with him.

"You are jedi." He said softly, "I thought they were all gone."

"I'm not a jedi." Said Starbuck tiredly, "You could say my method is a little more direct. He clapped Wedge on the shoulder, "We better get to those guns pal, if we don't chase off those fighters I have a feeling none of this is going to matter."

"You ever used a quad laser before?" Wedge asked vaulting to his feet.

"No but judging by those growls I might have a little more luck than Chewie." Said Starbuck, "I didn't think he could even fit in there.

***

Han let fly a string of curses that would make a Hutt blush as he flipped the Falcon end over end. Fast as she was, the Falcon didn't have the maneuverability of a TIE fighter, and they constantly peppered the battered freighter with fire. The deflector shield was all but gone and han couldn't spare the attention to reroute it, He concentrated on extricating his ship from their formation and presenting the slimmest profile. A burst of sparks heralded the demise off his navicomputer as feedback surged through the system.

"Where in blazes are you guys?" he demanded, suddenly a fighter exploded over head.

"I got him! I got him!" Exclaimed Starbuck.

"Where'd that guy learn to shoot?" Han demanded as Chewie came up behind him. Two more fighters exploded above and Wedge winged one below. It spun off into space engine flaming. "never mind, get on that deflector and see what you can do with it."

As another pair of fighters were blasted out of existence Han whistled, "That guy's a natural, see that Chewie we might just make it out of this."

The remaining seven fighters were pulling back and regrouping and the Falcon limped from the engagement. Its engines flickering dangerously, with sparks running along the hull, the TIE fighters had certainly crippled it, but as its guns had come alive, it had suddenly put up a formidable defense.

"I don't like this." Muttered Han, "They wouldn't pull back unless they knew…" Suddenly a massive triangular shape snapped into view overhead.

"Frak me!" Starbuck could be heard exclaiming.

"We're caught in a tractor beam." Han announced, "Engines are shot, but they're not getting me without a fight."

"Wait!" Shouted Starbuck, "There are other alternatives to fighting!"

"What did you have in mind, hiding?" Demanded Han, "A little hard to pull off since they'll be wondering who'd been fighting back."

"Unidentified freighter, this is the Imposer." An authoritative voice declared over the comm., "Heave too and prepare to be boarded. You are under arrest for firing on an imperial escort, your ship will be impounded and your cargo is forfeit."

"They're after the stargate." Starbuck surmises "Lando had a comlink on him, he tried to take on the three of us, and he was shouting in the Goa'uld language. He must have told them what we had on board."

Chewie expressed doubt that the empire would be in league with the Goa'uld and Han had to agree, Palpatine had pretty much institutionalized the concept of human superiority and anti alien prejudice, to that ideal, the Goa'uld were anathema. Thrawn seemed more reluctant to waste a potential resource but his actions during the war had demonstrated he viewed the Goa'uld as a threat, and having all but eradicated them it was hard to believe he would permit them as agents.

"Hyperdrive's down, even if we dump the cargo we can't escape." Said Han, "I hate to do it, but we may have one more chance, you said you could manually dial that thing?"

"If I had coordinates and a power supply…" Starbuck protested, "I'd need Wedge and Chewie's help, Han it would take too long!"

"Leave that to me." Said Han flipping the comm. and motioning Chewie to go. As the Wookiee left, Han pitched his voice and protested

***

"Sir, the captain of the millennium falcon is asking to speak with you." Reported the comm. officer, "He attempted to use a false ID and claimed the patrol didn't issue a warning, he thought they were pirates. He's demanding to speak to the captain."

"As if." Snorted Commander Niel peering over the scanner operator's shoulder at the battered freighter's image. "After Thrawn's crackdown there haven't been pirates in this sector for months. Check with the flight commander to be sure."

"Already downloaded his comm. logs sir." Replied the officer, "He did in fact fail to issue a warning."

"No matter, the ships are clearly marked, and Imperial design." Replied the commander dismissively, "We won't bother the captain with it."

"I'm afraid he insists sir, he claims there is sensitive cargo on board that will be damaged if he is not permitted to speak to the captain, shall I jam the channel sir?" asked the officer hopefully, he was growing weary of the ranting captain.

"He's fighting the tractor beam sir." Reported the scanner chief, "His engines are heavily damaged, if he keeps that up his engines will blow."

"This is Commander Neil of the imperial Star Destroyer Imposer." Declared Neil thumbing a switch, "Cease your efforts to resist lawful detainment, you have violated imperial law and you will be held accountable. If your engines do not shut down in ten seconds will disable your ship with an Ion bolt, and as you know, ion surges can be quite… hazardous…" he leered with the implications. Overloading power surges could cause horrific burns among the crew, some of the older ships would lose life support or artificial gravity. "Target that ship with the nearest Ion cannon." He ordered his senior gunner.

"You might want to think twice about that." Came a belligerent reply from the Falcon, "You hit us with an Ion bolt and we could lose containment, or are you unfamiliar with drone technology?"

Commander Neil blinked. "An obvious bluff sir, no civilian craft carries drone weapons."

"Right, why do you think we were so jumpy about pirates? Demanded the other ships captain, "We are on an important secret mission, and somebody screwed up, scan our cargo bay."

***

"They're not releasing the tractor beam, but they're not pulling us any closer." Han reported over the intercom, "Make it snappy Chewie."

"One more symbol!" shouted Starbuck grunting. He, Chewie and Wedge were dragging the inner ring of the Stargate to the final position, "Watch your hands everyone, when the seventh chevron lockes, get the Frak out of the way or you'll be vaporized by the formation off the event horizon. Han you better get down here quick. The Stargate may compromise the lower hull, the Falcon could fall apart real fast."

"I'm coming I'm coming!" shouted Han, with a reluctant sigh and one last glance around the cockpit he leaped out of his seat and was off. As he ran his headset crackled to life.

"This is Captain Tarrs of the Star Destroyer Imposer, We have orders from fleet intelligence to detain your ship, we have checked your story and it is an obvious trick, so give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your ship out of the sky and be done with it."

Entering the cramped hold Han threw the headset to the floor muttering, "…don't have time for pleasant conversation anyway. Starbuck, tell me that thing works!"

"You got it." Said Starbuck, sliding the ring the last few inches and stepping back as the chevron locked, "Watch this."

Nothing happened.

"Watch what?" demanded Han. Chewie roared.

"The address is what you told me! You got your coordinates wrong!" Starbuck protested. Han dove for the headset on the ground

"…to whatever gods you pray to because your about to meet them." Declared captain Tarrs, "Fire at w…"

"Wait!" Han screamed, "You damaged our comm. systems We fixed it."

"How convenient." Replied the captain drolly, "What was it you needed to discuss sir."

Han shot daggers at Starbuck and Chewie who were engrossed in an argument and shot a look at Wedge who shrugged helplessly.

"Listen, we uh… we have a shipment of drones on board and they sort of fell into contact with a live conduit, they could be charged, we don't think you should bring us aboard until we can jettison them."

"We're sending a demolitions team over." Replied the captain, "When this is over, you and I will have a very long chat sir."

"Right over and out." Replied Han glumly. "What the kriff?" he demanded as Starbuck and Chewie began to push the ring once more.

"Dagobah didn't work, we're going to dial the coordinates for Imperial city." Replied Starbuck, "Its only other place their might be a gate in this galaxy, and there definitely isn't enough power here to dial another galaxy. Nice trick attaching that drone to the power supply by the way, were you going to tell us about that or just kill us all?"

"I needed an insurance policy, and that little trick just bought us some time." Han snapped, then his eyes caught the drone in question, "You disconnected it?" he cried aghast.

"We needed the power for the stargate." Starbuck snapped as the first chevron locked, "We figured we'd be out of here before it became unstable."

"Well we're NOT…" Han shouted stalking over to the drone, it hummed ominously. "Wedge get over here and help we with this thing."

"You want me to touch it are you nuts?"

"We need to jettison it out the top airlock." Han replied, "If it blows in here, we're all dead, if on the other hand it is seized by the tractor beam…"

"They'll either suck it up or cut power to the beam, buying us more time." Wedge finished, gingerly he lifted the drone as Han led the way.

***

Moments later the hatch on the top of the falcon opened and with a rush of air the drone floated out and was caught up in the tractor beam. It accelerated up the beam towards the projector and as the operator frantically deactivated the tractor beam, the drone exploded halfway into the bay. Through luck or providence the shuttle carrying the demolitions team was at that moment exiting the launch bay, its crew having boarded and launched with due haste and efficiency.

The explosion beneath him causing him to panic, the shuttle pilot jerked up on the stick smashing the shuttle into the ceiling of the hanger. The ensuing explosion triggered secondary explosions among the TIE Fighters hanging in neat rows above prepared for deployment.

***

"Chew stop messing with that thing and reset the navicomp." Han shouted, "That power surge should have been dissipated by now. Starbuck and wedge back to your guns, all hell is breaking loose up there."

He settled back into his seat and jerked the Falcon into a slow spin. Despite the likely distraction of the carnage in the launch bay, the Imposer's crew was targeting the Falcon however the time spent in the tractor beam with its engines powered down and provided plenty of time for the shields to recharge. Han noted with satisfaction as Starbuck shot a turbo laser turret out , and then another, Wedge began pouring fire into the launch bay hoping to capitalize on the chaos. With minimum profile presented to the star destroyer and a good angle for both turrets the Falcon began to corkscrew down and away in retreat.

Chewie reported the Navi comp could be reset and rebooted in just a few moments and Han was beginning to think they might just have that long.

"I should never have doubted you baby, forgive me?" he implored ship humming around him. A sound behind him gave him half a seconds warning and he dove into Chewie's seat as a blaster bolt exploded into the flight controls. In a smooth motion he drew his blaster and shot the figure looming in the hallway recognizing only belatedly that it was Lando. Chewie came running at the sound and roared in rage at the still form.

"Easy Chewie I'm ok." Han replied, but he glanced back at the smoking ruins of the controls, "We can still use the back ups, but we're really starting to push our luck here. Tie that clown up, I can see he's still breathing, make sure he doesn't get out this time."

For the second time in an hour Chewie hefted Lando and headed for an airlock.

The Falcon shuddered mightily and han returned to piloting, now from Chewie's controls. During the distraction the Stardesroyer had managed to orient its nose at the falcon. All efforts to take the ship intact abandoned, Han found himself staring down the barrels of a lot of guns.

"I have a bad feeling about this." He said at last as a virtual storm of turbo laser fire streaked towards his battered ship. Suddenly a large shape interposed itself between the Falcon and the stardestroyers. Rolling to present its dorsal surface to the destroyer and its belly to the Falcon, the Comm clicked on.

"Commander Antilles, this is the redemption. Have your ship dock with us immediately, we'll get you out of this!" Ordered a gravelly voice.

"Do what he says Han!" Wedge shouted from the guns.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Han shot back "Their bay isn't big enough for the falcon we're going to dock." As strong clamps secured the Falcon to the Redemption the ship lumbered forward and away. Han sat back in relief as they streaked into hyperspeed.

"Commander Antilles report on your status." Ordered the voice once more."

"This is Captain Solo of the Millenium Falcon." Han replied thumbing the com. Whoever you are I suppose it goes without saying that we will be wanting hazard pay."