Episode 19 – In-Laws.
Famine on Telos! With Republic forces spread out across the Galaxy, numerous worlds are left to fend for themselves! Seizing advantage of the lack of a Republic presence, pirates have begun to raid and capture supply ships bound for Telos, cutting them off from much needed food supplies! In an effort to provide aid, General Han Solo and his Wookiee friend Chewbacca make a desperate attempt to run supplies through to the starving people of Telos!
Aboard the Millennium Falcon…
Han and Chewbacca sat in the cockpit of the freighter as it flew through hyperspace.
"Keep an eye on the hyperdrive, Chewie. I don't like how the power levels keep fluctuating like that." Han said, Chewie grunting a response.
"I do check it, regularly, especially after that disaster between Hoth and Bespin." Han replied, Chewie grunting his response.
"It looked fine. Wait a second…" Han said before turning in towards the hall to the cockpit.
"HEY! SOMEONE WANT TO CHECK THE HYPERDRIVE?!" Han yelled into the back.
"On it!" a voice from the back called. Han sighed and stood up, heading to the back, leaving Chewie at the controls. He entered the main hold where a pair of Noghri bodyguards, four plain clothes 501st Commandos, and Lando Calrissian were. Lando was working down in one of the "pits," trying to do some on-the-fly repairs to the Falcon, one of the Commandos assisting by handing him tools.
"What are you doing back here, Han? I'm checking the hyperdrive. Can't find anything wrong with it." Lando said as Han knelt down next to the pit.
"Then what are you doing? Sure doesn't look like maintenance to me." Han said as Lando grinned up at him.
"Improving the port power regulator. You realize that in this configuration, those light turbolaser turrets don't get enough power?" Lando asked as Han rolled his eyes.
"It was fine the way it is. It's 'military regulation' or some garbage." Han grumbled.
"I've seen military reg power regulators, and that wasn't it. That was a disaster waiting to happen." Lando argued.
"Actually General, you just increased the draw by two percent." The Commando technician next to the pit said, turning a datapad in his hand around towards Lando.
"There, see, ol'…uh…what's your name?" Han asked.
"RC-132, call me Splicer, sir." The commando replied.
"See, Splicer here says I was right." Han commented.
"Actually sir, your configuration increased the draw by six percent." Splicer commented, earning a glare from Han.
"And I left Golden Rod with Leia." Han mumbled as Lando chuckled in amusement.
"Even when they're on our side, the Stormtroopers know how to give us a hard time." Lando laughed, Splicer smiling in amusement.
"We're still trained to crack down on good-times-had-by-all, sirs." Splicer replied, earning a smirk from Han.
"Hey, you've got a sense of humor. Keep an eye on it for me will ya?" Han said, standing up and heading for the cockpit.
"I'll do my best sir." Splicer replied as Han looked to the other three commandos. One was seated at the engineering station, monitoring the systems while the other two were seated at the Dejarik table, playing against one another. The two Noghri stood on either side of the ladder leading to the turrets.
"Alright, I might as well know your names. Names please, no numbers." Han said as the other three Commandos turned towards him.
"Grappler. Demolitions." One of the Dejarik players replied.
"Fence. Medic." The other Dejarik player replied.
"Wheeler. Squad leader. Splicer there is our technician." The commando at the engineering station replied.
"Good, now we're on a first name basis. Still don't know who these two are." Han said, motioning to the Noghri who remained silent as he passed by towards the cockpit. As he entered the cockpit, Chewie let out a grunt.
"Yeah Lando's ruining everything back there." Han mumbled, sitting down in the pilot's seat. Chewbacca roared in concern, motioning towards a readout.
"Yeah I don't like it either, Chewie. Might have to drop out of hyperspace to check it." Han replied, Chewbacca grunting his agreement.
"Right, standby Chewie, we're going to drop out of hyperspace to see if we can't-WHOA!" Han yelped as the Falcon suddenly dropped out of hyperspace.
"What happened?!" Han asked, quickly pulling back the hyperspace throttle to avoid a burnout. Chewbacca was roaring in frustration.
"I don't know!" Han replied to the Wookiee as the proximity alarms started going off.
"Oh great, we've got incoming! Man the turrets!" Han yelled as the Falcon was rocked by laser fire. Han quickly brought the Falcon around to see two ships: an old Imperial Interdictor Ship and an old Gladiator-class Star Destroyer, both painted up in pirate colors.
"Well there's why we dropped out of hyperspace!" Han exclaimed as he brought the Falcon around to fly perilously close to the Star Destroyer, the Falcon's light turbolasers firing at the pursuant pirate fighters that chased after them. Lando came bursting into the cockpit, sitting down behind Han.
"The Noghri have the turrets! What happened?!" Lando asked. Chewbacca quickly roared a response.
"Great!" Lando groaned as they flew past the Interdictor, finding a large debris field of various ships, most of them freighters.
"I think we know what's happened to the other supplies meant for Telos." Han mumbled as he took the Falcon into the debris field, hoping to lose the fighters in the debris. Lando sat back watching a pair of displays showing what the turret gunners saw. As they evaded the fighters, Lando suddenly noticed one of the pirate fighters get shot and explode, but neither of the Falcon's turrets had fired on it. He then saw another fighter explode. It was as if something were picking off the fighters from out of nowhere.
"What's going on out there?" Lando asked as a stray shot from the Falcon hit something, causing something to fizzle into view. Lando recognized it immediately. It was an Imperial TIE Phantom painted up with yellow racing stripes. Its port engine was now smoking from the damage the Falcon had caused.
"Whoa, hey! We've got some help! There's an old TIE Phantom behind us! It's shooting down their fighters!" Lando exclaimed, Chewbacca roaring something to the two.
"A lot of good it's going to do against that Interdictor!" Han replied as they veered around a large chunk of debris, only two fighters left between the Falcon and the Phantom.
"I thought those old Phantoms were destroyed after the fall of the Empire?!" Lando asked as Han sighed heavily in frustration.
"I've got an idea where it came from!" Han replied, just as another fighter was destroyed by the Falcon's turrets, the Phantom targeting and destroying the other. The two ships were now clear of the two pirate capital ships and all of the pirate fighters had been destroyed.
"Okay, now we've got to find a way to destroy that Interdictor!" Han said as the Phantom flew up alongside the Falcon.
"Maybe our new friend there can help." Lando suggested. Chewbacca then started roaring something in alarm.
"They're what?!" Han asked as Lando looked at the screens. He was suddenly amazed as both Pirate Cruisers exploded.
"What happened there? They just…they just exploded. No sign of a reactor failure, no chain reactions…sabotage perhaps?" Lando asked as Han and Chewie both shrugged helplessly.
"It doesn't matter, let's get out of here. Chewie set course for Telos." Han instructed, but Chewbacca roared something while motioning out the viewport towards the Phantom, its port engine still smoking. Lando quickly checked the scanners and shook his head.
"No, Chewie, they're stuck. Their hyperdrive is leaking and their engines are failing. We need to help them, Han. It's the least we can do after they helped us back there." Lando said as Han shrugged.
"Alright, give them instructions to dock on the top side." Han said as he and Chewbacca rose from their seats, setting the Falcon on autopilot, and heading to the back. Soon the Phantom had touched down on the top of the Falcon's top access hatch, Lando joining the others in the hold.
"So any idea who our mysterious helper was?" Lando asked.
"None sir. They didn't broadcast an ID signal. It's possible their transmitter was damaged at some point." Wheeler replied. Han however was sitting at the engineering station, his head propped up on his hand as he leaned against the station.
"Oh I know exactly who it is and I'm not excited." Han said, earning confused looks from the others. They could hear the lift operating inside the tube.
"What are you talking about?" Lando asked but Han merely gave a sarcastic smirk and motioned towards the door. The door suddenly opened revealing a towering black figure coupled with a familiar breathing noise. The Stormtroopers immediately recognized him and stood at attention, saluting, and the Noghri dropping to one knee in reverence. The figure then stepped into the hold, turning to look at Han.
"Captain Solo." Anakin Skywalker greeted, although his tone did not imply fondness.
"Hey." Han replied simply, his tone not carrying any fondness either for his father-in-law.
"Skywalker, I uh…what are you doing here?" Lando asked, trying to figure out what was happening.
"A rescue mission actually. One of the pirate vessels that attacked you was a vessel Republic intelligence has been trying to find for some time. It has been conducting raids on New Alderaan for several years and until now we had no way of finding it. My forces detected the vessel and I gave pursuit in my TIE Phantom, hoping to catch the vessel. I managed to sneak aboard before they made the jump to lightspeed." Anakin explained.
"But who were you rescuing?" Han asked as Anakin turned towards the Noghri, issuing a command to them in Honoghran. The two Noghri both rose to their feet and climbed into the lift, riding up to the Phantom.
"The pirates had kidnapped two Jedi Padawans during one of their raids on New Alderaan many years ago. The Pirates kept them as trophies but now we have them back." Anakin explained.
"Trophies? What do you mean?" Lando asked. Anakin slowly turned towards Han who predicted his meaning.
"He means carbon frozen, right?" Han asked as Anakin gave a nod.
"Yes. By my estimates they've been carbon frozen since shortly after the Emperor's final death seventeen years ago." Anakin explained as one of the Noghri returned in the lift with a large slab of carbonite, this one containing a young human man in his late teens. The Commandos helped carry the slab into the main hold.
"They're going to be in for a rude awakening when we let them out." Han said, Anakin giving a nod.
"I agree. You're not going to like this, Solo, but I don't intend on releasing them until we reach a medical facility with the proper equipment to deal with hibernation sickness…that and so I can have a chance to make myself scarce." Anakin explained, confusing Han.
"Funny I always get that desire whenever you come around." Han stated but Anakin ignored him.
"Why would you want to leave before they're revived?" Lando asked as the other Noghri exited the lift with the other slab, this one carrying a human woman in her early twenties.
"How would you feel if you came out of hibernation and saw Vader standing over you?" Han asked.
"Actually, your insolence aside, you are correct. These two Padawans are two of the few remaining Alderaan natives left in the galaxy. I'd…I'd rather not be present when they awaken." Anakin said as Han took a deep breath.
"Well it's going to be a while before we can get them to a medical facility. We're on our way to Telos right now to deliver some food to the locals. Apparently the pirates are on the Sith's payroll." Han said as Anakin gave a nod.
"Agreed. The suffering of Telos must be alleviated as soon as possible. Continue your mission, Solo. These two aren't exactly going anywhere." Anakin said as R4-K5 exited the lift from the Phantom.
"One question though. Did you have anything to do with why those ships exploded back there?" Han asked, Anakin giving another nod.
"I did. Once I was aboard the Star Destroyer and had the two Jedi onboard my ship, I had R4 initiate a silent self-destruct. It was a security precaution that the Empire installed on most of their capital ships to avoid their getting captured by enemy forces. It would cause the ship to self-destruct without giving any indication of a countdown or warning that their doom was seconds away. It can be triggered by remote and I triggered the silent self-destruct on both ships that way after making my escape. That is why their ships exploded." Anakin explained.
"Well thanks. Come on Chewie let's leave his worshipfulness alone and let's get out of here." Han said as he and Chewbacca headed for the cockpit, Lando close behind. Anakin quietly watched them depart before sitting down at the engineering station, observing the controls. In the cockpit, Han, Chewbacca, and Lando took their places.
"Coordinates for Telos are locked in, TIE Fighter is detached, stand by on the hyperdrive. Ready?" Han asked, Chewbacca roaring his acknowledgement.
"1…2…3!" Han said, pushing the hyperdrive throttle forward, but nothing happened. The hyperdrive merely spluttered and stalled. Han almost instantly rolled his eyes, burying his face into his hands.
"I didn't do it this time." Lando said, raising his hands.
"No. I think that sudden drop out of hyperspace damaged the hyperdrive. Better go back and look, come on." Han grumbled as they headed back for the main hold. As they entered, they saw Anakin in the process of climbing down into the pit.
"What are you doing?" Han asked.
"Assisting with repairs. I heard the hyperdrive malfunction." Anakin replied.
"Uh, no you're not. It's my ship, I know her far better than you do." Han said, Anakin glaring up at him.
"I have been fixing machines my entire life. I built my own podracer when I was ten!" Anakin argued.
"This isn't a podracer. Get out of there before you break something." Han ordered, earning a noise back from Anakin that was a mixture of a sigh and a growl.
"As you wish." He replied in a low tone as he began climbing out of the pit. As soon as he was out, he glared down at Han for a moment before sitting down at the engineering station, taking a relaxing breath, and going into a light meditation to calm himself. In the meantime, Han climbed down into the pit and started examining the hyperdrive. After a few minutes of examination, Han could be heard groaning.
"The Hyperdrive regulator has been damaged." Anakin said calmly, having deduced the problem simply from the sound and the brief moment he was in the pit, as Han poked his head out of the pit.
"Yeah, we're going to need to replace it. Chewie, check the parts bins, see if we have a spare." Han said, the Wookiee walking off into one of the side rooms.
"What can I do sir?" Splicer asked, kneeling next to the pit.
"Uh, hand me that hydrospanner." Han said, the commando handing him the spanner.
"What are you going to do?" Splicer asked.
"I'm going to see if I can't get the old regulator out. Oh, hey, Lando, head to the cockpit, keep an eye on the scanners and see if there aren't any Republic ships in the area that can give us a hand." Han said, Lando heading towards the cockpit. One of the Noghri then said something in Honoghran towards Han.
"Uh, translation?" Han asked.
"He said they would man the turrets, if anything, to be both out of the way and on alert should any enemy ships come our way." Anakin translated.
"Oh, yeah, sure." Han said, the two Noghri climbing into the ladder shaft leading to the turrets.
"Is there anything we can do, General?" Wheeler asked, Grappler and Fence both rising to their feet from the Dejarik table.
"At the moment…" Han replied, giving a helpless shrug as Chewie came back from one of the rooms, carrying a bin full of spare parts, setting it down next to the pit.
"Alright let's see what we're working with here." Han said, Anakin taking an immediate interest.
"You're going to try and build a new one?" Anakin asked.
"Yeah, why?" Han asked.
"It could take more than three hours to build a new one whereas salvaging one shouldn't take long at all. What type of regulator does the Falcon use?" Anakin asked. Han reached down and placed the broken regulator on the edge of the pit.
"It used to be a type T-37." Han replied, Anakin getting up and picking the broken regulator, examining it.
"T-37 regulators are fairly standard. I imagine if we searched the debris field for working hyperdrive systems we should find a functioning T-37." Anakin said.
"Your old fighter wouldn't happen to have one would it?" Han asked but Anakin shook his head.
"No. I had to install a small and simple hyperdrive. The regulator for it would be too small…however there is one thing I need to retrieve from the fighter if it's not too much trouble. Something that I cannot allow to fall into the hands of pirates or anyone else." Anakin said as Han rolled his eyes.
"What is it?" Han asked.
"A Stygium cloaking device. The device was damaged during the fight earlier but could still be salvaged. I can activate a remote self-destruct however, and destroy the ship if salvaging the cloak would take too long." Anakin said as Han climbed out of the pit.
"Well we're not going anywhere and actually that cloak could come in handy if more pirates show up. You think it could be repaired and adapted for the Falcon?" Han asked as Anakin gave a nod.
"It seems we are of like mind for a change, Solo." Anakin said as Han headed past him towards the cockpit.
"Didn't answer my question." Han said, entering the cockpit with Anakin and Chewie close behind.
"It should. It largely depends on the state of the device itself." Anakin replied as Han sat down at the controls, Lando still seated in the copilot's seat. He brought the Falcon around towards the debris field.
"Uh…new problem, how do we find it?" Han asked as Anakin pulled a small device from his belt, pressing a button on the device.
"This should help." Anakin said as they suddenly saw the familiar green laser fire of a TIE Fighter in the distance. The laser fire was firing in one direction and wasn't hitting anything.
"You can set that thing to fire by remote control?" Han asked.
"It was a wild idea I had while I was working on the fighter. A cloaking fighter that could attack remotely could conceivably create the illusion that there was more than one fighter. Unfortunately the autopilot left much to be desired. Its combat maneuvers were very pathetic when left on autopilot." Anakin explained as they approached the fighter.
"What exactly are we picking up?" Lando asked.
"Cloaking device." Han replied as Anakin remotely deactivated the fighter's weapons. Within minutes the Falcon had connected to the Phantom again and Han and Anakin had taken the top hatch up to the fighter. Han had a rebreather with him for safety, despite the fact the life support systems were still working. Anakin immediately walked over to a large compartment near the back of the cockpit and pulled out a long cylinder shaped tube of hardware with a large red crystal attached in the center.
"That looks an awful lot like a big lightsaber." Han commented.
"Similar design actually, but in this case it's merely for compartmentalization and ease of maintenance. The system appears to be largely intact. It seems the only damage is to the power circuits. Easily replaced with even the simplest of parts." Anakin explained, carefully setting the cloaking device into a small repulsorlift cargo trolley. Anakin then turned and opened up a series of compartments, stripping large pieces of machinery out of the fighter, confusing Han.
"What are you doing now?" Han asked.
"Salvaging what usable parts there are. They might come in handy." Anakin said, putting the parts into the trolley. Han watched his father-in-law removing parts from the fighter in silence for a short while before finally clearing his throat.
"So…how's things?" Han asked, causing Anakin to pause, turning towards him curiously.
"What?" Anakin asked.
"I'm trying to make small talk. It's not easy, especially with you. No offence." Han said, Anakin looking away briefly before looking back at him. The Vader mask made his emotions impossible to read except by the force sensitive which Han was not.
"I've been…well. I understand your difficulty making small talk." Anakin said as Han rolled his eyes.
"And the insults begin." He mumbled.
"Not this time. I imagine having me for a father-in-law is extremely trying on you. I don't make it easy." Anakin said, continuing to scavenge for parts.
"Yeah, trying to explain to people that I married the daughter of the guy who used to be Darth Vader is not an easy conversation to have. Usually it doesn't come up though." Han explained as Anakin gave a nod.
"I imagine your own personal vendetta against me doesn't help matters much." Anakin said, examining a small device and shaking his head, tossing it aside.
"Vendetta? What vendetta?" Han asked.
"Take your pick. You, like Leia, probably have a list of reasons to dislike me. In your case, the whole incident at Bespin is probably the top of your list." Anakin explained as Han sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair with a groan.
"Well…let me put it to you this way. Being married to a Jedi Knight and the brother-in-law of a Jedi Grand Master does kinda give you a sense of understanding about the Force and such. So for that whole incident on Bespin, I blame Vader, not you. It's taken me a long time to reach that point and there are some things I still can't forgive you for. A little carbon freezing is nothing compared to some of the other stuff you did as Vader." Han said as Anakin gave a nod.
"Alderaan, Order 66, cutting off Luke's hand, killing Obi-Wan Kenobi…my life is full of regrets. For what it's worth, I do know what it's like to be carbon frozen." Anakin said, startling Han.
"No kidding? Who'd you torque off to have that happen to you? Palpatine?" Han asked but Anakin shook his head.
"No, it was voluntary. It was a tactic we used to smuggle myself and a number of elite troops into a Separatist prison during the Clone Wars." Anakin said, turning towards Han.
"I never knew that." Han said as Anakin shrugged.
"There is a lot you don't know about me. I wasn't always the Dark Lord you knew." Anakin said.
"Well that, I know. Galen explained a lot of your past history to Luke and Leia shortly after discovering your true identity. Leia didn't know you were her father at the time but she began to pity you like Luke did." Han explained as Anakin pushed the trolley full of parts to the lift, the two riding it down to the Falcon.
"For which I am grateful. I know Leia will never forgive me for some matters either, Alderaan being one of them, and I don't expect her to. I am repentant of that but I expect no forgiveness for it and I deserve none." Anakin replied as they entered the Falcon, Lando running into the hold as they entered.
"Han! We've got trouble! Pirate frigate just dropped out of hyperspace!" Lando exclaimed.
"Go! I will deal with the cloak!" Anakin said to Han, the ex-smuggler running to the cockpit with Lando. As he took his seat, he saw the ship in question. It was a Nebulon-B Frigate that had undergone extensive modifications.
"Cut the power to everything but life support. It'll make it difficult for them to detect us and maybe they'll just pass by without noticing us." Han said as they started deactivating various systems, the frigate flying towards the debris field. The frigate started flying through the debris field, and as it passed, they noticed an alarming modification to the frigate that made Han groan audibly.
"There, just behind the forward span…is that what I think it is?" Han asked.
"Gravity well. We're stuck." Lando grumbled as Han rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"If it isn't one thing it's another." Han mumbled as Chewie grunted his frustrations.
"I don't see any fighters on sensors, but with pirates, not seeing them doesn't mean anything." Lando said as Han turned towards the controls.
"We need to get the hyperdrive fixed as soon as possible. Problem is we need to replace the regulator." Han said.
"But how can we replace it if we can't even get to one of those hulks to salvage a replacement?" Lando asked but Han smiled.
"For once I'm glad my father-in-law is aboard." Han said as he leapt up and headed to the main hold where Anakin was already attaching the stealth device, installing it into the Falcon's systems. Anakin immediately predicted Han's next question.
"I've almost got it hooked up. The moment it's ready, we won't have an opportunity to test it. You will need to divert power from weapons and communications to provide ample power to the device." Anakin instructed, Han sitting down at the engineering station.
"LANDO!" Han yelled into the cockpit.
"Yeah?!" Lando replied.
"Take the controls and standby to make a break for it!" Han yelled as Anakin finished attaching the cloaking device which started to give off a steady hum, parts of it lighting up, the stygium crystal glowing a bright red.
"Go!" Anakin instructed. Han immediately began messing with the controls. Outside the Falcon, a blue static-like glow began to wash over the Falcon until it suddenly vanished altogether.
"We're good! Go!" Han ordered. The Falcon immediately began flying away from the frigate.
"Do you think they noticed?" Lando asked as Han and Anakin entered the cockpit.
"In this debris? Unlikely." Han said as they started scanning the debris field.
"So what kind of ship should we look for?" Lando asked. Chewie grunted an answer.
"Yes a whole one would work but judging by the looks of things we're not going to have that much luck in finding a whole ship." Han said.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be a whole one. We have rebreathers and a couple space suits so we can do a spacewalk if necessary." Lando said before Chewbacca started roaring something, pointing out the viewports.
"That should work." Anakin replied as they saw a battered old VCX-100 light freighter drifting helplessly in space. The cockpit had been blown out as the floating corpse of its Gand pilot could be seen hanging out the front edge of the viewport.
"You think they'll have the parts we need for a T-37?" Han asked.
"T-37s are exceedingly common. I'd be amazed if they didn't have one." Anakin replied as he headed for the back.
"Bring her in nice and easy Chewie. Steady." Han said, Lando following Skywalker into the back. The 501st Commandos were donning Stormtrooper armor, sealing their suits and Anakin was attaching a device to his chest panel.
"Where are you going?" Lando asked.
"To retrieve the hyperdrive regulator. I live in a permanent space suit already so it would be best to save yours just in case." Anakin replied, affixing a black hose to the two triangular portions of his mask.
"Be careful out there." Lando said.
"I will, General Calrissian." Anakin said as the Falcon stopped near the freighter, turned so that the top of the freighter was parked directly in front of the VCX. The Falcon deactivated the cloak, the frigate only visible as a speck in the distance. Anakin and the 501sts emerged onto the top of the Falcon, Anakin and the 501sts equipped with small jetpacks designed for spacewalks. The five landed inside the cockpit of the ship, the door into the rest of the ship sitting wide open.
"I'm reading that the whole ship is depressurized. The pirates have been thorough." Fence reported as they activated their magboots, allowing them to walk safely without fear of drifting. They made their way into the main hold of the ship, Anakin activating his lightsaber for light. They made their way to the engine room, cutting the doors open with Anakin's lightsaber. They immediately entered and began salvaging the hyperdrive. As they worked, Anakin found the regulator, a T-37, the part they were looking for. Back on the Falcon, Han, Lando, and Chewbacca were seated in the cockpit, waiting for the salvage team to return.
"You seem to be in a better mood than earlier." Lando said as Han looked at him with a confused look.
"What do you mean?" Han asked.
"You've been acting like a Hutt with a belly ache ever since Skywalker came on board." Lando replied, Chewbacca roaring his agreement.
"Let me put it to you this way, if you still had to have regular contact with the man who carbon froze you, destroyed your wife's homeworld, and was an enemy of yours for a very long time, you don't exactly throw a party whenever you see him." Han said. Lando shrugged in response.
"Good point. I bet he hates having you as his son-in-law too. Probably disapproves of your having married Leia." Lando said but Han shook his head.
"Actually if there's one thing I have to give him credit for, he didn't object. You were at the wedding, you saw him give Leia away. He was actually smiling during the wedding." Han said as Lando gave a nod.
"I thought he was just faking happiness for Leia's sake." Lando said but Han shook his head again.
"Well, maybe. I went the old fashioned route and went to him to ask for Leia's hand, at least to show I had some kind of gentlemanly qualities or some garbage. I never expected him to approve. I went in expecting him to choke me to death then throw me out an airlock. To my surprise…he approved. We still don't get along but he still approves of me for Leia." Han said as Lando blinked in mild surprise.
"Wow. I wonder why he said that." Lando said, Han sitting back in his chair.
"He told me when I asked for Leia's hand, actually. He said, and this is paraphrasing…" Han said before the comlink clicked on, Anakin's voice ringing through…
"Solo, you are a scoundrel and a gambler. Your home is among the stars on a rotting old spice freighter. You are reckless and contemptible. That being said, I do approve of your devotion and loyalty towards Leia. I sense within you the heart of a man who would give up anything and everything for those he cares for. I know how Leia feels about you and I know you are not the kind of man to break her heart. While I dislike certain qualities about you, I approve of you for a son-in-law. If Leia approves of you, then that is good enough for me. You have my blessing…you were holding down the comlink button and I heard the whole conversation." Anakin said, Han shrugging.
"Guess we're adding clumsy to the list." Han mumbled, Chewbacca laughing in amusement.
"Contemptible? That's what you find amusing? Go ahead, laugh it up fuzz-ball." Han said, Chewbacca doing just that.
"We have the hyperdrive regulator. It's the right kind and is in perfect shape. We are almost back to the Falcon." Anakin said over the comlink.
"Good, the sooner we can get out of here, the better." Han said.
"We've still got that frigate with the gravity well to deal with." Lando commented, glancing out the viewport to see the frigate still very far into the distance.
"Yeah but I've been thinking about that. I've got an idea but it depends heavily on my father-in-law." Han said as they heard the top hatch opening up. The three proceeded to hurry into the main hold where Anakin carefully held the regulator as the commandos climbed back aboard with additional parts stored in containers.
"I took the liberty of having the men salvage some extra parts while we were there. I thought you might be able to use them at some point." Anakin said as Han shrugged.
"Fine but uh, I've got an idea to run by you. Having the hyperdrive working again isn't going to do us any good if that gravity well is still out there. We both know the Falcon doesn't have the armament to take on a frigate but then I had an idea." Han said as Anakin handed off the regulator to Chewbacca who climbed down into the pit and began installing the new regulator.
"What is your plan?" Anakin asked.
"Here's the hard part. How attached are you to that old TIE Fighter?" Han asked, Anakin beginning to realize his plan.
"Not at all. Why?" Anakin asked.
"You mentioned it had a remote autopilot. Does it still work?" Han asked as Anakin pulled out the TIE's remote.
"Yes but I took its weapons offline while we were onboard. All it can do now is fly and self-destruct." Anakin replied as Han shot him a winning smirk.
"Wait, are you suggesting sending the fighter on a suicide run against the gravity well?" Lando asked as Han gave a nod.
"You got a better idea?" Han asked back as Anakin stepped over to the engineering station, connecting the remote to the Falcon's communications system.
"I can better control the fighter from here. I can prime the self-destruct mechanism to detonate the moment the fighter impacts the gravity well, effectively turning it into a giant missile." Anakin said as Han clapped him on the shoulder pads.
"Perfect! We'll draw the Frigate's fire, using the cloak to sneak up on it and catch it off guard, then we'll lure it towards the Phantom, giving us the element of surprise so that when the Phantom starts its attack run, they'll have less time to react." Han said as Anakin gave an approving nod.
"A bold plan. The fighter would also present less of a threat to them as a turbolaser equipped freighter is more likely to do more damage than a single TIE Fighter." Anakin said as Chewbacca roared from the pit, climbing out. Han quickly walked over to the engineering station, checking a few readouts.
"Diagnostics coming back in the green, the hyperdrive is operational." Han reported.
"Then let's put this plan into action. Engage the cloak." Lando said as he, Han, and Chewbacca headed for the cockpit.
…
The Pirate Frigate was still patrolling the area, its gravity well active, waiting to ambush any unsuspecting transports bound for Telos. As it cruised through the debris field, a freighter suddenly appeared out of nowhere, firing a pair of light turbolasers on the ship, the first volley destroying the ship's tractor beam. As the Falcon came around for another pass at the ship, the frigate finally began returning fire, its turbolasers firing towards the Millennium Falcon but Han's flying abilities kept the ship from scoring a direct hit.
"We're really in the thick of it now, huh?!" Han asked as they started leading the frigate on a merry chase through the debris field.
"I just hope no more of their ships show up." Lando added as they flew past the hulks of the destroyed pirate ships from earlier.
"The Phantom should be around here somewhere." Han said as the Frigate continued chasing them. In the engineering station, Anakin activated a holographic display showing a live feed from the Phantom's cockpit. The Falcon and the frigate were fast approaching. Finally the Falcon flew past, the frigate bearing down on the freighter. Anakin immediately activated the fighter's engines and started flying it towards the large sphere attached behind the frigate's forward half.
"I have you now." Anakin said, grinning inside his helmet as the Phantom collided with the gravity well, the self-destruct going off, causing massive damage which caused the generator to explode.
"YEEHOO!" Han cheered as the gravity well exploded but had the unintentional side effect of weakening the Frigate's neck.
"Whoops!" Lando laughed as the Falcon came around.
"Let's finish her off!" Han said as he locked on with the Falcon's concussion missiles, firing a pair at the ship's neck at its weak spot. The two missiles went flying in and collided with the frigate's neck, causing a massive explosion which caused the Frigate to snap in two, a chain reaction ripping through the back half as the engines exploded, the forward half left to drift aimlessly in space.
"Alright Chewie, punch it!" Han ordered as Chewbacca pushed the throttle forward, sending the ship into hyperspace.
Later in orbit over Telos IV…
Anakin stepped onto the bridge of the Tatooine Avenger, the 501st Fleet Group having arrived ahead of the Falcon. Commander Delta was with him.
"We apologize for missing you, Lord Skywalker. We had no incidents trying to reach Telos so we had assumed you had gotten here alright." Commander Delta reported.
"It is an understandable mistake. There was a brief window where there wasn't a gravity well field interfering with hyperspace travel. I believe you may have passed by within that window. But at least the pirates have been dealt with and Telos now has a steady supply of food to last them for a while." Anakin said.
"Your orders sir?" Delta asked.
"Lay in a course for the Yavin system. General Marek will be waiting for us there. I want to give him my report of the situation, personally." Anakin said as Delta saluted.
"Yes Lord Skywalker." Delta replied before heading off towards the turbolifts, passing Han as he walked in.
"Hey, you should've seen it down there. All those people happy to be fed. I told them that Anakin Skywalker helped clear out the pirates. They wanted to see you in person to thank you." Han said to Anakin.
"It is for the best that I didn't join you to the surface, Solo. My appearance has given me reason to shy away from public appearances and I desire no gratitude." Anakin said as Han shrugged.
"Your call. So I guess I'll be heading back to Coruscant. I imagine Leia's got some things for me to do." Han said.
"Actually I have a job for you if you're interested." Anakin said, earning Han's attention.
"You have a job for me?" Han asked, mildly surprised.
"It's very simple. Those two Jedi in carbonite, I would like you to take them to Ossus to be released from their frozen prison." Anakin instructed, Han smiling and giving a nod.
"You got it. And Skywalker…may the Force be with you." Han said with a small smile towards his father-in-law.
"And with you, Solo. We might not get along, but I still am proud to call you my son-in-law." Anakin said as Han smiled and gave him a nod back before heading towards the turbolifts, leaving Anakin to stare out the bridge viewports, watching the 501st ships as they maintained orbit over the planet. Later as he watched the Falcon depart and fly off into the distance, he felt a disturbance in the Force, something was happening that sent a chill down his spine. Anakin immediately headed for his meditation chamber onboard the Star Destroyer to meditate on the issue as the fleet began to move out towards the Yavin System.
End Episode 19.
I'll come right out and say it, Han Solo is difficult to write for. It's hard to determine what he would say or do in an instance. He's a great character, don't get me wrong, but he's a challenge to write for.
The VCX-100 Light Freighter was a nod to the series Star Wars Rebels. The main starship in the series, the Ghost, is of the same class but the freighter featured here is NOT the same ship.