By Leela Starsky.
CHAPTER THREE.
Wedge Antilles swallowed his disappointment as he watched the approach of the X-wing onto the flight deck of the Rebel cruiser. Disappointment that the newest arrival wasn't Luke Skywalker. Eighty percent of the squadron had made it to the rendezvous directly after the battle of Hoth, but there were a few who, due to mechanical problems, had needed to take a more circuitous route. Plus, for security reasons, the Rebel fleet had moved from the original rendezvous site, which meant the stragglers had to seek them out.
Barlon Chambers, it seemed, had been forced to hide-out on Negavan for the last two weeks. And, while Antilles was pleased to have one of his fellow pilots back safe, he couldn't help feeling miffed that a prick like Chambers could make it back while Luke and the Falcon were still missing.
He sighed as he watched the pilot report in for debriefing, then forced himself to concentrate on his own work. They'd only managed to replace fifteen percent of the supplies lost on Hoth so far, and he'd been put in charge of finding a new avenue of replacement. It was the sort of assignment that would leave any self-respecting fighter pilot wishing he'd gone out with honour in the last firefight.
"Wedge, can I show you something?"
Antilles looked up from his datapad, surprised to find Chambers beside him. The thickset pilot glanced around furtively as he pulled a datachip from one of the pockets in his flightsuit and Antilles, knowing the man's penchant for sharing around pornographic holos, rolled his eyes and growled irritably, "Not now, Bar."
"Wedge, did the Falcon make it back?"
Chambers now had Antilles' full attention and Wedge gave him a hard look that told Chambers he was in no mood for the man's usual bullshit. "Not yet," he said carefully. "Why?"
"I think they've been captured." Chambers waved the chip surreptitiously. "I was offered this on Negavan."
Antilles took the proffered chip and looked at the title. "The Princess and the Pirate", he read aloud and fixed Chambers with a steely glare. "Tell me this isn't a porno, Bar." Antilles didn't think he'd ever seen Chambers look so uncomfortable.
"I think it's from an Imperial Surveillance Tape."
Antilles immediately turned to the nearest data display to insert the chip but Chambers stopped him.
"Not here."
Wedge considered the man for a moment. If there was one thing Barlon Chambers' wasn't, it was squeamish about pornography. Antilles picked up the personal reader lying on the bench nearby and inserted the chip. Imperial Surveillance Tape could mean only one thing; someone he knew had been captured. And, knowing Luke had not left Hoth in the Falcon, Wedge found himself reconsidering the title. "The Princess and the Pirate"… Please don't let this be what I think it is…
Looking over his shoulder, Chambers reached around and jumped the recording forward then let it play. It was obviously a couple having sex. Antilles felt a small moment of relief; he'd been expecting torture or something. He was about to berate Chambers for wasting his time with pornography when the larger man moved the image forward again until the faces could be seen.
Antilles froze. It looked like Solo and the princess. But look-alike stuff was rife in the porn industry. Though why they would want anyone to look like Han and Leia was a little obscure.
He looked askance of Chambers and the pilot said, "You know who it is, don't you?"
"I know who it looks like," Antilles admitted. "And you think it's them because…?"
"Because the creep who sold it to me insisted it was a digital recording from a surveillance record. With all the surveillance tricks intact. I don't have the sort of equipment to put it to the test…but I could zoom in enough to see the scar on Solo's back."
Antilles looked at him. "You're kidding." If Solo's scar was recognisable…
Chambers shook his head. "Those aren't look-alikes, Wedge,"
Antilles looked back at the image on the reader, at the couple in the throes of passionate lovemaking, and groaned, "Oh, gods…" No, not them… It just wasn't fair…
"Plus," Chambers added awkwardly. "It's not like your usual porn, if you know what I mean…"
"No." Antilles tore his gaze from the reader to look at the pilot, almost frightened to ask, "What d'you mean?"
"Well, for a start there's only them. I don't think I've seen a human porn tape that didn't involve at least 3 people, and…" he winced uncomfortably, "they seem to care. About each other. You know?" He paused then added matter-of-factly, "Plus there's no cum-shot; and that's a pre-requisite in the porn industry."
Antilles groaned and switched it off. Han and Leia making love… Of all the horrible, shitty, sith-loving… Imperial Surveillance Tape. "We're gonna have to show someone."
"I know," Chambers agreed and smiled apologetically. "That's why I came to you."
"Yeah, thanks." Antilles was feeling anything but grateful. He pondered their dilemma for a moment then said, "Rieekan's probably our best bet." The general genuinely liked Solo.
"Rieekan!" Chambers exclaimed, then hurriedly quietened, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed his outburst. "You can't show him this," he hissed. "She's like his daughter!"
"I know…" Antilles agreed, getting to his feet. "But he's the only one I trust-" Not to fly off the handle, he thought but didn't voice it. The only one who will look past the content and take this seriously.
Chambers backed off. "Well don't expect me to come-"
Antilles grabbed him by the front of his flightsuit. "He'll want to question you anyway, Bar. You might as well do it now."
He let the man go and headed for the general's office. Chambers readjusted his flightsuit and followed resignedly. "You know," he said, indicating the reader in Antilles' hand, "I thought they hated each other."
Antilles snorted, "Right!"
"No, really," Chambers insisted. "I thought she'd go for Skywalker, if anyone-"
"Shows how much you know, Bar."
"I guess," Chambers admitted.
…
Sighing deeply, General Carlist Rieekan switched off his personal screen and hung his head in his hands. He had been studying the data Antilles had delivered to him for over twelve hours now. Looking for anything that might tell him where it had been recorded. Anything to give them some clue as to the Falcon's whereabouts at the time. Anything that might help him find the princess…
The content of the data had saddened him greatly. Not because of what the princess was doing with Solo, although that had been very difficult to watch, but because of the invasion of privacy the datachip represented. The fact that Barlon Chambers had bought the datachip on Negavan meant that it was likely available galaxy-wide, or soon would be, and nothing he or anyone else did could stop that. And he could imagine how Leia would feel about it.
If the princess had still been part of galactic politics, this would have ruined her career. As it was, Rieekan suspected her standing in the Alliance would suffer because of it. Only the fact that she was the last Princess of Alderaan, and the Alliance didn't have the luxury of being picky, would stop her from being dismissed completely. It wasn't fair, he knew, but it was the way things were.
Then he considered the possibility that she might not even be alive to care.
Sighing again, Rieekan got to his feet and moved into his private 'fresher, hoping a break and a sonic shower would refresh his mind enough to allow him to see something he hadn't thought of. He knew he should take the information to the other generals, if only for the breach in security the capture of the princess could mean. But he was hoping to be able to at least give them confirmation of capture and a place where it had happened before alerting them to it.
The chime from his cabin door stopped his progress and he walked back to see who might want to talk to him in the middle of the ship sleep shift.
Wedge Antilles smiled apologetically at him as Rieekan opened the hatch, then slipped past him into the cabin. Rieekan let the hatch shut, sensing a level of excitement from the current leader of Rogue Squadron that suggested he had found something.
Antilles held up his own reader and said, "I was going over the data." Rieekan guessed he must have looked affronted because Antilles explained hastily, "It was still in the memory."
Rieekan nodded. "And?"
"Cloud City," Antilles said. He showed Rieekan the screen on his reader, image frozen, then zoomed in on the bedside table in the picture. Moved in so close they could clearly see the reader and stylus beside the glass of water on the table. He zoomed in still further until the writing on the side of the stylus could be read. Cloud City.
"Never heard of it," Rieekan admitted.
"Neither had I, General," Antilles said. "So I ran a check. Turns out it's a small Tibanna gas mining operation on Bespin. In the Anoat system."
"Anoat?" Rieekan growled. "Why the hell would Solo take her there?"
Antilles shrugged. "Who knows? It's close to the Hoth system; maybe there was a problem with the Falcon?"
Or maybe he just wanted some time alone with her, Rieekan thought sourly. Still, the likelihood of something going wrong with the Falcon was high…
"I could take an X-wing," Antilles suggested hopefully. "See what I can find out."
Rieekan nodded. "Do it. Before the trail gets too cold." Then added, "Though you might be better off in something other than an X-wing. That might draw unwelcome attention."
"Leave it to me," Antilles said.
…
The small transport with its cargo of thirty prisoners was headed for Kessell, and the Imperials in charge were taking great delight in tormenting their captives with tales of life in the Spice mines. The prisoners were a mixed bunch, mostly non-human, and included several Wookiees. But the biggest mistake the Imperials made was putting Calrissian and Chewbacca together on the same transport.
The moment Calrissian had realised that he was being shipped out with Chewbacca, he knew the odds of their escape had risen dramatically. Playing on the sadistic nature of the Imperials, he had made a good show of protesting loudly and fearfully at being on the same transport with the Wookiees. The Imperials' response was to shackle him to the strongest looking Wookiee there. Chewbacca had played his part by bellowing fiercely and violently shaking the arm Calrissian was shackled to him by. This had resulted in Lando being tossed around like a rag doll, much to the amusement of the Imperials.
Chewbacca was by far the strongest and healthiest looking Wookiee of the group, and Calrissian surmised the other Wookiees had been slaves for some time. They all looked underfed and dangerous, and a couple of them looked insane, but the Imperials had pegged Chewbacca as the one most likely to cause trouble on the trip.
All of the prisoners, except the Wookiees, had been stripped of their clothes, forced into yellow slave-labour uniforms and shackled to the bulkheads. Talking was forbidden, of course, but as none of the Imperials thought Wookiees had a language, Chewbacca and the other Wookiees were trading information openly.
One of the Wookiees whom Calrissian had decided was insane kept roaring at the Imperials, telling them that the others were talking. But the Imperials considered him an animal and simply ignored his constant howling.
Listening to the Wookiees' low level rumble of communication, Calrissian found it interesting that Chewbacca didn't tell the others that the human he was shackled to could understand what they were saying. It suggested an element of trust in him. Or perhaps it was simply that Chewbacca thought Calrissian might be useful later.
While disdainful of his life-debt to a human, the other Wookiees were fascinated and envious of the life Chewbacca had been leading until recently. Most of them had been slaves for over ten years. The psycho one, they revealed, was the youngest of them but had been enslaved the longest – almost twenty years.
Sowhile the Imperials ignored them, gambling to pass the time, the Wookiees planned their escape. Calrissian made comments and suggestions about their plan from time to time, using the sign language he, Solo and Chewbacca had perfected between themselves all those years ago, and Chewbacca played his part by giving him threatening looks at regular intervals.
As soon as a plan was agreed upon, the Wookiees stopped talking, and the sudden silence inside the prisoner section of the transport was profound. Uneasy, the Imperials stopped gambling and the other prisoners shifted nervously.
"Maybe they were talking?" one of the officers suggested, and was promptly laughed at by his peers.
Then Calrissian watched, dumbfounded, as one of the officers approached the insane Wookiee and proceeded to taunt and tease it by barking at it. The insane Wookiee cowered; backing as far away as its shackles would let it, and whimpered pathetically. Empowered, the Imperial moved even closer to it, growling and barking threateningly, openly mocking the creature.
Quick as a flash and without warning the Wookiee struck. Having coaxed the Imperial to well within its reach, the insane Wookiee tore out the tormentor's throat with its teeth. Before the Imperial's body had fallen to the deck, a blaster bolt hit the insane Wookiee in the head, splattering everyone nearby with blood and matter.
Now the entire transport was in an uproar. All the prisoners were screaming, especially the ones shackled to a Wookiee, and the Wookiees were roaring and throwing all their formidable strength into tearing their shackles from the bulkheads. The prisoner sitting closest to the fallen Imperial, a Devaronian, saw the mayhem as his chance for freedom and grabbed the dead man's blaster, but was felled by a blaster bolt before he could fire it. Another prisoner picked up the fallen firearm, blasted the bulkhead holding his shackles to free himself then succeeded in shooting two of the Imperials before he too was blasted.
One of the Imperials had kept his head, because the blue bolts of a stun beam lanced out and downed three prisoners. At the same time, one of the bulkheads gave way and the shackles slid from the binders on those prisoners' wrists and ankles. It freed three of the Wookiees, one of whom was felled by another stun blast.
Struggling to keep low and out of range of any blaster fire, Calrissian found himself staring at the body of the Imperial who's throat had been ripped out. There, just out of reach on the man's belt, was the command key that would release all their binders.
Calrissian tugged on the shackles that bound him to Chewbacca, trying to get the Wookiee's attention. Chewbacca was crouched low behind the seat in front to avoid being shot, but was intently trying to pry apart the bulkhead holding his shackles.
"Chewie!" Calrissian hissed, and then again, "Chewie!" But Chewbacca either didn't hear him over the noise or was choosing to ignore him. "Chewie!" Calrissian yelled and finally succeeded in getting the Wookiee's attention as well as several of the other Wookiees'. He indicated the fallen Imperial and Chewbacca leaned as far from the bulkhead as he could, enabling Calrissian to reach the Imperial and drag the corpse close enough to be able to relieve it of the command key.
He immediately turned and used it on Chewbacca's binders, then gave it to the Wookiee who used it in turn on his own binders.
[Give it to him,] Chewbacca said, handing him the key and indicating the grey and black Wookiee across from them. Calrissian turned to comply and found the other Wookiee glaring at Chewbacca contemptuously.
"Hey!" he said, attracting the angry Wookiee's attention and offering him the command key. "You want this or not?"
The grey Wookiee snarled at him but reached for the key and Calrissian hastily handed it across, hoping he wouldn't get his hand blasted off in the process. The grey Wookiee freed himself and passed the key on.
Their plan had changed a little, but with the Wookiees now free of binders, had a much greater likelihood of success.
The other Wookiee whose sanity Calrissian had doubted had got through to the Imperials and was making a horrible mess. Calrissian tried not to look, but found himself having to duck the odd uniformed limb as it was flung in his direction. Soon the screaming stopped and blasters were passed around. The hatch to the cockpit was blasted open and, although the Imperial pilot and co-pilot put up a fight, they nevertheless shortly followed their companions to a bloody death.
Calrissian started to climb into the pilot's seat and received a howl of abuse from the grey Wookiee. He paused and asked sarcastically, "You want to pilot?"He melodramatically stepped aside as his assailant made a show of pushing his way forward, then added, "I think you may have a little trouble fitting in the seat."
The comment earned him a blaster muzzlein his face but he glared resolutely up at the grey Wookiee. Chewbacca slapped the blaster away and an argument ensued between all the Wookiees. Ignoring them, Calrissian climbed into the pilot seat and started reprogramming the navicomp.
A Sullustan slid into the co-pilot's seat beside him and asked in heavily accented Basic, "Where are you taking us?"
"Tatooine," Calrissian replied matter-of-factly.
One of the Wookiees obviously heard and was far from impressed because it howled, [Tatooine?]
"Yes!" Calrissian yelled back loudly. "Me and Chewbacca are going to Tatooine! After that the ship is yours!" He looked at Chewbacca to see if he would find any argument there, and the Wookiee nodded his approval.
…..