So, within the chaos that is the college semester, it's time for another chapter of the story that has gotten a lot more attention than I expected. Over a hundred follows! It's all thanks to you guys! Now, the disclaimer!
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Chapter 8: Hyperspace Transit; Not what it used to be
Mara was impressed with the speed with which this ragtag Resistance prepared for combat. A lot of the members she had conversed with were apparently ex-military, which helped with the process immensely. X-Wings were prepped for takeoff, emergency transports were being prepared if the worst case scenario were to happen. Mara didn't want to think about that possibility, not when she was going to aid the stealth team herself, but she had to admit that Leia was always prepared, no matter which dimension. Her task was focused on the Falcon, at the moment. After the briefing she'd heard from Han about the recent antics of the old Corellian transport, she wasn't sure if Han should've been loading the Falcon. She heard a roar and looked up to see Chewie standing on top of the Falcon, informing Han of something.
"Check the horizontal booster!" Han yelled back, tense. "I don't care what the readouts say, visual checks always give the best results." He turned around to see Finn bobbling what looked like several metal sphere. "Be careful with those Finn, they're explosives. One of those suckers go off and we're all dead."
Finn stopped dead in his motion, looking at the load he was carrying with a newfound fear. "They are?! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Didn't want to make you nervous," Han replied simply. "When you've finished loading those, go talk with one of the techs and see if you can scrounge up a backup thermal regulator for the Falcon."
Mara allowed herself a brief smile before calling Han's name, getting his attention. "Listen, shouldn't we be taking the Jade Shadow? I mean, the Falcon's been who knows where-"
"Jakku," Han grumbled.
"And we don't know what sort of mods have been made of her since you lost her," Mara continued, not missing a beat.
"That's why I'm running diagnostics now," Han countered.
Mara shook her head. Han Solo was always obstinate. "And if something comes up?"
"I'll deal with it," came the simple response.
"You know, the last time I was on the Falcon, the ion flux stabilizer was acting up," Mara pointed out. "And it nearly got us killed."
"But you aren't dead," Han pointed out, "So everything went alright. I don't trust anything that isn't the Falcon anyways. My mission, my ship."
Mara sighed. At this point, nothing was going to change the smuggler's mind. She sensed Leia coming up behind them and decided it was better to simply prep for the mission than waste time arguing with Solo. "Fine, Captain, but once we get to the planet, I'm taking the lead."
"Wouldn't want our great former Inquisitor to get all huffy," Han grumbled.
"Emperor's Hand, not Inquisitor," Mara corrected as she boarded the Falcon. It had been awhile since she'd had to dig out her old assassin pack, which contained some specialized explosives, smoke bombs, an old vibroblade, and a splicer given to her by Ghent. She paused as Han's word's registered in her head, but decided not to comment on it. She found Katerina in the Falcon's lounge, playing against the computer in a game of dejarik on the holotable.
"Master, were you ever this nervous when you went on one of your missions?" the young Jedi asked, brown eyes staring intently at the board as she watched the creatures walked around on the board.
"You cannot allow yourself to dwell on what may happen if you fail," Mara responded. She sat down on the couch opposite from Kat and toggled the CPU controls to her, moving the ronto on the board into a better position and earning a scowl from Kat. "But yes, I've been nervous before. It's okay to feel a little nervous so long as you don't let it consume you."
"How'd you do that?" Kat asked, looking up at Mara. The Jedi Master could see the concern in her eyes. She really didn't want to fail this mission.
"Back in my days as the Hand, I always had a laser focus on the target. I didn't think about anything else. I couldn't afford to," Mara explained. "When I met Skywalker and became a Jedi, there was less pressure to succeed, so the nerves didn't surface as often. It's a simple matter of taking a deep breath and relaxing. The Force will guide you, Kat. Let it flow through you, and you will find that any nervous tension you're having now will simply drift away."
"Yes Master," Kat said simply.
"And go help Finn load the explosives," Mara ordered. "It's always good to have a task to take your mind off things. And the poor man could use some company."
"Understood."
Starkiller Base
In the vast, darkened assembly chamber of Starkiller Base were only two figures: one tall and uncertain, the other looming and imperious. For all their isolation, they seemed to somehow fill the room. There was as much curiosity in Supreme Leader Snoke's voice as there was disappointment. "This scavenger, this girl, resisted you?!"
"That's all she is, yes. A scavenger from that inconsequential Jakku. Completely untrained, but strong with the Force. Stronger than she knows." His mask off, Ren replied with what seemed to be his usual assurance. No one else would have sensed a difference. Snoke did.
The Supreme Leader's voice was flat. "You have compassion for her."
Ren's denial was as emphatic as it was hollow. "No—never. Compassion? For an enemy of the Order?"
"I perceive the problem," Snoke uttered with the authority that he had gathered for a long time. "It isn't her strength that is making you fail. It's your weakness." The rebuke hurt, but Ren didn't show it. "Where is the droid?"
Smooth and unctuous, the voice of General Hux rang out in the assembly hall before Ren could respond. "Ren believed it was no longer of value to us." Turning, the quietly livid younger man followed the approach of the increasingly confident officer. "He believed that the girl was all we need. That he could obtain from her everything necessary. As a result, although we cannot be certain, it is likely that the droid has been returned to the hands of the enemy." The General gave Ren a satisfied smirk, like a older brother would give the younger when the former knew the latter was in trouble.
Though visibly angry, Snoke's tone remained unchanged. "Have we located the main Resistance base?"
Hux was clearly gratified to be the bearer of good news. "We were able to track their reconnaissance ship back to the Aleemian system. We are coordinating with our own reconnaissance craft in the area in order to lock down the specific location of their base."
Snoke replied with cold satisfaction. "We do not need it. Prepare the weapon. Destroy their system."
Collected and composed as he was, Hux was not immune to surprise. "The system? Supreme Leader, according to the most recent galographics, at least two and possibly three habitable worlds circle Aleemian. Following the destruction of the Hosnian worlds, would it not be worthwhile simply to destroy their base and claim the remainder for the Order? We will have the location of the base within a matter of hours and—"
Snoke cut him off. "We cannot wait. Not even for hours. Hours that may permit as little as one ship to depart with the information that will allow them to find Skywalker. That would be one ship too many. The more time we give them, the more likely the chance, however slight, that they will find Skywalker and convince him to return to challenge our power. As soon as the weapon is fully charged, I want the entire Aleemian system destroyed."
Daring to disagree and perhaps to look better in front of Hux, Ren took a step forward. "No, Supreme Leader, I can get the map from the girl, and that will be the end of it. I just need your guidance."
"And you promised me when it came to destroying the Resistance you wouldn't fail me." The threatening figure of Snoke leaned toward Kylo Ren. "Who knows if copies of the map have already been made and sent out of the system, to other, minor Resistance outposts? But those who are most aware of its significance will all likely be gathered at their main base. Destroy that, destroy them, and we may at least feel a little more confident that the way to Skywalker is eradicated. Even if copies have been made and exported, the annihilation of their leadership will give pause to any survivors who might dare to contemplate further resistance to us." He sat back. "For that reason alone I would order the destruction of the system, even if there was no assurance it would also put an end to this accursed map." He turned to Hux. "General, prepare the weapon, with the same efficiency you have already demonstrated."
"Yes, Supreme Leader!" Buoyed by the praise, Hux turned and strode quickly out of the hall. That left Snoke to fix his eyes on its sole remaining occupant.
"Kylo Ren. It appears that a reminder is in order. We have both felt the awakening in the Force, but I sense there is something more to this than just Luke Skywalker. No, there is another Skywalker and she is coming."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "Why would Leia come here? They can't possibly know the location of this base."
"No, she is not the daughter of Vader," Snoke mused, "But she is powerful nonetheless. So I will show you the dark side. Bring the girl to me."
Aleemian System, D'Qar, Resistance Base
"No matter how much we fought," Leia said to Han outside the Millennium Falcon, "I always hated watching you leave."
Han grinned. "That's why I left. To make you miss me."
For the first time in quite a while, she laughed freely. It was infectious, happy, and, these days, all too rare. "Well, thank you for that, anyway."
He turned reflective. "It wasn't all bad, was it? I know we argued a lot." He smiled affectionately. "Maybe it's because we both have such shy, retiring personalities. Of course, if you'd only done what I said…"
"And you'd only done what I asked," she countered with a smile.
He chuckled softly. "I mean, some of it was good."
"Pretty good," she agreed, nodding.
"Some things never change."
"Yep." She glanced downward, remembering, then met his gaze once more. "You still drive me crazy."
"Crazy as in crazy good, or crazy as in borderline insane?" Thirty long years and that lopsided grin of Solo's still melted her heart.
"Probably a little of both," Leia admitted.
He put his hands on her shoulders, and those thirty years fell away in an instant. It was like they were back on Endor, celebrating the destruction of the Death Star and the beginning of the end of the Empire. "Leia, there's something I've been wanting to say to you for a long time."
Fighting to hold back tears, she put a finger to his lips. "Tell me when you get back." She didn't want to spoil the moment.
He started to object, then caught himself. There'd been too much arguing over the years, he knew. This time he really might not come back; the last thing he wanted was to part on even a semblance of a spat. Instead, he took her into his arms, which really was much better than arguing, or even talking. They stood like that for a long moment, holding tightly to each other.
"If you see our son," Leia whispered, "bring him home."
He nodded without speaking. If nothing else, in thirty years he had learned when to be quiet.
Starkiller Base, Holding Cell
Rey's mind was still on that encounter with that man, Kylo Ren. She had gleaned his name from her incursion into his mind, but she couldn't believe it. What had happened? Shackled and unable to move, Rey lay on the inclined platform in her restraints, pondering the encounter with Kylo Ren. At first there had been the same pain and fear she had felt in the forest on Takodana. It had intensified as he had probed deeper and she had fought to resist. Then—she had resisted. More than that, it was as if her resistance had somehow turned the probing back on him. For a brief instant, she had been in his mind. She could remember clearly his shock, then concern, and finally a retreat. He had pulled away from her, and out of her mind, with a suddenness that bespoke—not fright; something else. Apprehension, she decided. Whatever she had done had thrown him badly off balance. He had withdrawn: no doubt not only to consider what had taken place, but also to decide how to proceed with her. That meant, most likely, he would be back. She would do anything to avoid that.
And that is what she proceeded to do. If she could push him out of her mind and enter his, what else could she do? What might she be able to do with regard to someone else? Someone less skilled, untrained in the ways of the Force? The single guard posted just inside the front of her cell, for example? A memory came to her mind, unbidden, but almost as if something had awoken inside of her and told her what she needed to do. She was three years old again, watching a man wave a black gloved hand in front of a green-skinned Twi'lek dancer.
"You will take us to your boss," the man said in a kind voice, and Rey could feel the power behind his words, as well as the disarming tone.
"I will take you to my boss," the Twi'lek repeated in a distant tone and turned around to lead the two of them to someplace, a place Rey was not familiar with. The memory faded and Rey was 18 again. At least, she figured she was 18. It's hard to keep track of one's age when you're a scavenger of Jakku. Still, Rey figured that she could at least try to do what the man did, though with her hands restrained, she couldn't exactly do the wave of the hand the man had done.
"You!" Rey shouted, getting the stormtrooper's attention. He turned toward her, patently unconcerned and a little bored. She studied him closely. As he was about to speak, she addressed him clearly and firmly—and not only with her voice. "You will remove these restraints, and you will leave this cell, with the door open, and retire to your quarters."
The guard eyed her silently. He did not look in the least intimidated. In fact, he seemed rather amused at her order. Finally, he spoke "You're joking, right? I'll tighten those restraints and continue guarding this cell, Rebel scum!"
Her confidence wavering as she shifted slightly in her bonds, she repeated what she had said with as much authority as she could muster. She pushed out with her mind as well as her voice. "You will remove these restraints, and you will leave this cell, with the door open, and retire to your quarters. You will speak of this encounter to no one."
Raising the heavy, black-and-white rifle he held, he came toward her. Heart pounding, she watched him approach. Was she going to be killed, freed, or maybe laughed at? Halting before her, he looked down into her eyes. When he spoke again, there was a notable alteration in his voice. It was significantly less confrontational and, perhaps most importantly, distant. "I will remove these restraints, and leave this cell, with the door open, and retire to my living quarters. I will speak of this encounter to no one."
Working methodically, he unlatched her shackles. He stood and stared at her for a moment, then turned and wordlessly started for the doorway. Lying in shock on the reclined platform, Rey hardly knew what to do next. She was free, relatively speaking. She was still on an unknown planet in the bowels of an unknown base with who knows how many people that would eagerly put her back in her cell. That hardly constituted freedom. But it was a start.
As the guard reached the doorway, she spoke hastily, realizing what she was going to need if she wanted to escape the base. "And you will drop your weapon."
"And I will drop my weapon," he responded in the same uninflected voice. This he proceeded to do, dropping the rifle down on the floor, then turning left into the outside corridor to depart in silence. For a long moment she stared at the open portal. Deciding that it was not a joke and that the guard was not waiting for her just outside the cell, she moved to pick up the weapon and leave. One step at a time.
Hyperspace Transit
The journey out from the Resistance Base was uneventful, as was the jump to hyperspace. The Jedi that had helped Finn load the explosives was meditating in the lounge, leaving Finn to his thoughts. Normally there was something relaxing about traveling in hyperspace, Finn mused. There was no fighting in hyperspace and very rarely any kind of surprise, unless an Interdictor Cruiser was in play, but those were expensive to produce, and as such were few and far between. Hyperspace travel allowed time for reflection, for casual conversation with comrades, for checking out and preparing one's equipment. Not this time. Not in the course of this jump. Weary of living with only his own thoughts and not getting a response from the introspective Jedi, he left the lounge and moved forward into the cockpit, where he found Han and Chewbacca in their respective seats, monitoring the journey. Mara sat right behind the Wookiee, looking rather preoccupied as she went over a mental checklist of her own. She had asked Han how they were going to get past the shields, but the smuggler remained tightlipped about it until they had jumped. Even now, he had only given her vague hints, hints that did nothing to stifle the vague prickle of danger sense creeping up her spine.
"I haven't asked you," Mara said to the pilot as Finn entered. "How are we getting in?"
Han explained without looking up from his console. "Any kind of defense will be geared to guard against an attack in force. They shouldn't be prepared for an attempt by a single ship to slip in. That would obviously be suicide."
Mara nodded as she pondered this. "Okay, now I'm really encouraged. Let's say that your optimistic assessment is wrong, and they're even prepared to detect and destroy a single ship. How do we avoid that in a ship without a cloaking device?"
"Are you still salty that we aren't taking your precious Jade Shadow?" Han asked, which only got a scowl from her. "No planetary defense system can be sustained at a constant rate. It would take too much power, even for your Starkiller base. Besides, it isn't necessary. All planetary shields have a fractional refresh. Instead of being constantly 'on,' they fluctuate at a predetermined rate. Keeps anything traveling less than lightspeed from getting through. Theoretically, a ship could get its nose in when a shield is off. Half a second later, the shield snaps back on and, well, it isn't good for anyone on that ship."
"I get that," Mara said, irritated. "You still haven't answered the question; how are we getting in without being cut in half by an oscillating shield?"
"Easy." The way Han said the word made it sound like the simplest thing in the world. "We won't be going slower than lightspeed."
"What?!" Mara exploded, leaping out of her seat. "Are you insane?!"
"I ask myself that at least twice a day," Han muttered
Unsure he'd heard correctly, Finn gaped at him. "We're gonna make our landing approach at lightspeed? Nobody's ever done that! At least, I've never heard of anybody ever doing it." One did not have to be fluent in the Wookiee language to get the gist of Chewbacca's comment.
Han smiled pleasantly. "We're coming up on the system. I'd sit down, if I were you. Chewie, get ready."
"Captain Solo, you are not a Jedi, how in the world are you going to time it correctly?" Mara said quickly. "And I've got a bad feeling about this."
"I've got this sweetheart," Han said in a tone that was meant to reassure her, but in fact did the exact opposite.
As the wide-eyed Finn scrambled for a seat and harness and found himself wishing for a number of very large, soft pads, Chewbacca groaned his readiness. Han studied the readouts before him. The Wookiee raised a hand over his own console.
"And…" Han followed the declining fractions intently. "Now!"
Human and Wookiee hands flew over the main console, supplementing as best they could the approach and landing information they had preprogrammed into the Falcon's instrumentation. Not unexpectedly, more than one last-second override was required in order to make the ship do something that was against its nature and perform maneuvers for which it had never been designed. Mara stepped forward, using the Force to hold herself to the floor as the Falcon shuddered, complaining as it hit the edge of the gravity well. Hyperspace travel was never designed to travel in the gravity well of a planet, it was suicide. Mara decided that she had to act, in order for their very survival. She reached out and pulled on the lever Han was reaching for a split second before he did, the old Corellian transport shuddering in complaint with how she was being treated. And just like that, they were inside the shields.
At that point they were traveling at very much sublightspeed, continuing to slow at an incredible rate, and heading above snow-covered ground directly for a forest that was not as tall but was far denser than the one on D'Qar. Chewbacca howled loudly enough for Finn to hear him clearly above the wild, blaring alarms.
"I am pulling up!" Han yelled as he fought with the wayward controls. While the trees were packed more closely together than those that formed a canopy above the Resistance base, they were much smaller in diameter. The Falcon pulled up just in time to skim over the treetops, though Han dipped the Falcon low enough that the ship was below the tree line, branches and limbs shattering against the viewport as the YT Freighter plowed through them. Chewbacca roared something at Han.
"Any higher, they'll see us!" Han shouted. Of course, if the vicinity of the First Order base was monitored by ground-scanning satellites, they were likely to be seen anyway. They could only hope that the instruments on board any such reconnaissance craft were aimed out toward space and not down at the landscape. Mara used the Force to help Han and Chewbacca slow the Falcon down as much as they could, toggling a switch here, Force pulling a lever there, little things that the two smugglers wouldn't have been able to do on their own. Aided as they were by the trees in slowing down, they were still going too fast for Mara's liking. Using the Force like she had never used it before, Mara actually began to pull back on the Falcon, slowing it down just in time for the forest to end. The old transport hovered in the air on her repulsorlifts, a good 10 feet away from a sheer cliff. Without a word, Han lowered the Falcon onto the snow, finding out just how deep the snow was as his ship sank into the snow. Half buried in the snow, the Falcon settled down gently, on the planet and intact.
With a sigh of relief, Finn unbuckled from the harness he'd used to secure himself. "We are never doing that again." Chewbacca groaned an agreement.
"Oh yeah?" Han responded, turning to face his copilot. "You try it!" The Wookiee growled something that made Han scowl and Mara wince. Having succinctly delivered himself of his opinion of the most recent effort at piloting by the ship's captain, Chewbacca rose from his seat and headed back to the lounge to get himself something to drink. He decided he was going to need it to steady himself for this mission.
"Don't have too much of the Wooskie," Han called after him.
"Wooskie?" Finn repeated, confused.
"Wookiee whiskey," Han explained, "Potent stuff, a couple of shots will get a lightweight like yourself wasted. A blast at parties."
"For who, exactly," Mara asked, remembering an unpleasant encounter with that particular alcoholic beverage. The hangover that following morning had been seared in her memory.
"Those that can handle it," Han retorted, looking at the readouts. "That should've gone better."
"We're down, we're alive, in one piece," Finn said, "What more could you have asked for?"
"That was too rough for my liking," Han answered, "Was a time when it wouldn't have."
"Could've been a lot worse," Mara pointed out. "Just imagine what could've happened if I hadn't been here." Han just grunted, still looking at what the scanners told him. He wasn't willing to admit it, but the Jedi Master had been a huge help with this landing.
So, a bit of a less bumpy landing for this one, eh? Some things have changed with Mara's presence, and I did my best to explain why Rey was able to perform the mind trick. Now our heroes are on Starkiller Base, which means we're getting closer to that exciting climax. Should be fun. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Response to Guest Reviews (In order with which they reviewed)
Guest: That's exactly what happened, as planned from the beginning.
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Until the next chapter my friends!
From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut