Like Herding Nexu
By Andrew J Talon
Millennium Falcon
Kessel System
Han frowned deeply as he looked over the data from the Falcon's sensor arrays. The run through the blackholes to Kessel hadn't been much of a challenge-It was old hat to him and Chewie.
However... Getting to the planet itself? That was trickier.
The ominous shapes of three Star Destroyers, with a mass of support ships, loomed on the screen. Chewbacca growled his distaste.
"You said it Chewie," Han muttered. He shook his head. "Looks like whoever's running security here isn't as stupid as the last time."
Chewbacca made a crude observation about evolution. Han nodded.
"I guess we did kill all the dumb ones, only leaving the smarter ones around," he said.
Still, this was not good. Last time the New Republic had checked on Kessel, it had become independent. The Imperial warden and guards had been overthrown. Now it was back under Imperial control-What the hell had happened?
The holocomm flickered to life. Leia appeared.
"Han? Chewie?" She asked.
"Sweetheart, now's not a great time," Han said quietly, double checking the encryption. Given the surveillance around it, too much electronic noise might tip off every ship in the system.
"Are you crazy? Trying to rescue Lando in the Kessel system all by yourselves?!" Leia demanded.
"Leia, do you even have to ask?" Han deadpanned. "Besides... Lando found a Force User. He's just a kid... Name's Kyp Durron."
Leia frowned deeply. She mentioned the name to an aide off holo. A moment later, she was given information on a datapad.
"There are records of Dar and Arina Durron. They were prominent protestors of the Empire on the planet Deyer. They lead marches in the streets, flooded the HoloNet with urges for peaceful protests against the Empire's actions after Alderaan."
"Yeah... I remember that," Han said grimly. Chewie growled.
They'd done a recon flight of Deyer in the Falcon back then. Just long enough to slice into the Imperial networks, and then get out. Hundreds were gunned down in the streets, arrested, imprisoned, or conscripted.
"The records say their son Kyp was sentenced with them to hard labor for life on Kessel," Leia went on, glaring at the datapad, "he was only five years old."
"And he's lived in this hellhole ever since?!"
Han grit his teeth. Leia's fury was burning in her eyes. Chewie snarled in fury.
Even after all this... The Empire still disgusted him. On some level, he was glad. It meant he wasn't getting used to it.
"We need to try to get him out," Leia said, "but it won't do us any good if you get captured too. Hang on, I'll try to find you a way in."
"Don't take too long, gorgeous," Han warned, though he smiled.
"And don't you do anything reckless," Leia stated.
"Hey, it's me!" Han grinned crookedly.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Leia deadpanned, just as the transmission went off.
Chewbacca chortled. Han rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't going to go in half cocked," he protested, "hmph. Not as young as I used to be."
"Ain't that the truth?" Chewie chuckled.
Their wait wasn't as long as Han thought it would be. Leia appeared on the holocomm once again, her expression conflicted. Han leaned forward.
"Leia? What's the news?"
"I got you some help," Leia said, "Ahsoka's got a line with the Scorekeeper. She's got an agent who can assist."
"The head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild?" Han asked in disbelief. "You couldn't just call in Luke?! Kid could demolish this place!"
"One, he's still at Bespin, he'd never make it in time," Leia stated, "two, this bounty hunter already has a way in that doesn't involve blasting."
Han sighed.
"We sure about this bounty hunter?"
"Ahsoka says the Scorekeeper has a tight leash on him," Leia said, "she didn't go into any more detail than that. But... Han... I've got a bad feeling about this. Watch yourself. I'm not becoming a single mother."
"I'm not letting you become one," Han growled. Leia blew a kiss, before the holocomm went off.
It wasn't five minutes later that the holocomm beeped again. Han activated it... And his jaw dropped.
"Oh... No... No kriffing way," he muttered. Chewie growled.
Boba Fett stood on the holocomm pad, his inscrutable helmet tilted slightly as he scrutinized the former smugglers. Despite that mask... Han knew he was smirking.
"Well, well, well... Captain Solo, and Chewbacca," Boba stated, "it has been a while, hasn't it?"
"The hell do you want, Fett?" Han sneered.
"Now... is that any way to talk to the man here to get you into Kessel to rescue your best friend?" Fett asked, a smirk in his voice.
Coruscant Orbit
New Republic Star Destroyer
Intrepid
"WHO?!" Leia bellowed.
Ahsoka winced over the holocommunicator.
"She says he's going to be professional!" Ahsoka insisted, though she didn't sound very certain.
Leia sighed in disgust.
"Why is he even-HOW did he survive?!" She demanded.
"It's apparently a long story," Ahsoka admitted, "but Fett has a relationship with the Syndicate running Kessel! The Scorekeeper says he'll get them in!"
"Oh, I don't doubt that," Leia sneered.
"Cal and I will be back up," Ahsoka promised, "but we can't just let Lando and a Force user languish there, can we?"
"No, but this? This is the worst idea in the history of bad ideas," Leia declared.
Ahsoka shrugged and smirked a little.
"The day is still young."
Kessendra, Kessel
Moruth Doole was a Rybet, and an old one, too. He had been made administrator of the Kessel Mining Complex by the Empire itself, and had done his level best to keep his new masters happy.
However, the spice was too lucrative to be kept in just Imperial hands. So he'd begun to engage in the black market, dealing with gangsters like the Pyke Syndicate, Jabba the Hutt, and Black Sun. Even with just the scraps of the Empire's operations, he had become very, very wealthy. The Imperial officials who worked with him were soon bought off, or disposed of, as the lure of wealth in the spice trade was too potent to ignore.
It wasn't all rainbow gems and Corellian wine though.
Solo had seen to that.
He rubbed his cybernetic eye with a handkerchief of shadowsilk irritably, grinding his sharp teeth.
No. Focus. An important dignitary was arriving.
They had to arrive right after a prison riot, of course! And another wealthy bidder had gone missing in the confusion! Admiral Daala wasn't going to be happy about that, but hopefully this new representative from Tattooine would bring him some good news.
That's when he saw it. His jaws dropped open in shock.
A beaten up old YT-1300 freighter glided down, effortlessly as you please. It settled into a landing on the pad in front of them, alighting and settling down with blasts of steam from its hydraulic systems. The gangplank descended... And a familiar human and Wookie came down.
"Solo," Doole growled.
The human smiled, and held his hands apart.
"Doole. Hey. So... About that shipment I lost you..."
Moruth Doole grinned almost lecherously, a bit of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
"You made a fool of me, Solo," he snarled, as his guards held up their blasters. He pointed to his artificial eye: "You cost me this. Jabba was going to kill me for the shipment you lost. He made me beg for just my eye to be taken, Solo!"
His saliva was foaming up in his rage, as he hissed angrily. He held up his clawed hand, ready to order his guards to fire-
"I wouldn't do that," Han stated, looking nonchalant and calm. Chewbacca was just as cool and confident.
The Rybet... Gaped. He goggled in disbelief at Han.
"How do you-What do you mean?!"
"I mean, I'm a General with the New Republic," Han said, "On a special diplomatic mission." He examined his fingernails. "If I don't send a signal back to my forces in ten minutes... My fleet of Mon Calamari Star Cruisers will jump into the system."
Doole snarled.
"You're lying!"
Han shrugged, spreading his hands out with a wry smile.
"Would I come into Kessel with just my freighter and passage from Boba Fett?" Han asked. "You're not that isolated out here. Surely you've heard of what I've been up to. I wouldn't just bluff my way into Kessel, would I?"
Doole twitched and seethed.
"You're... What do you want?!"
Han smiled again wryly.
"Rogue Squadron visited you a few years back. We wanted some political prisoners: We seem to have missed a few," Han said, "Now, you can start handing them over to me, and let us head out. Nice and easy... Or you can make me miss my call out to my reinforcements. And then you can deal with them."
"You-You couldn't have a force to deal with four Star Destroyers!" Doole seethed. Han smirked, brushing his nails against his jacket.
"Four Star Destroyers? We only saw three coming in. Well, that might make things a little more challenging," Han observed, looking over at Chewbacca. The Wookie growled in agreement, "But we also noticed a serious lack of fighter coverage for those destroyers. Trench Run Syndrome is a killer. And I brought X-Wings."
Solo's eyes locked onto Doole's.
"You've got five minutes, Doole. Do you really want a massive firefight up in orbit over Kessel? You really want me to break your monopoly? You can either answer my very simple questions and give me what I want, letting me leave in peace... Or you can face the alternative. Four minutes."
Doole hissed. He turned and entered into quiet, fast conversation with some of his guards. Han maintained his confident smirk, even as Chewbacca growled low next to him.
"I know, Chewie, I know," Han murmured. This was a hell of a bluff. But he was hoping it paid off. Doole's remaining organic eye was turning white, which meant he had been dipping into his own spice. The spice could enhance your mental processes to the levels of a supercomputer for short bursts. But overuse would eventually burn out your nervous system, starting with your eyes.
It also led to paranoia, dementia, and other psychological issues. And Doole wasn't exactly stable to begin with, working under the Empire.
Finally, Doole turned back to Han and Chewie... All demented smiles. As authentic as a Hutt running a charity.
"Well, Solo... Given the situation I'm in... I suppose I have to agree to your terms. Please send your message to your fleet, will you? I have a deal for you."
Han nodded to Chewbacca.
"Chewie, mind handling the message?"
The Wookie nodded, leveling a glare at Doole that promised pain if something happened to Han. He turned and headed back up into the Falcon. Han kept a hand on his blaster, smiling sincerely at Doole.
"So... The deal?"
"I'm not an imbecile," Doole hissed, "You came for someone in particular. You've been working with Luke Skywalker, the Jedi. You want Force users. One took one of my guests hostage. I know where the guest and his hostage are. You can have them both. They're in a chamber of the mines. I can tell you where it is, and let you go to it."
"You want me to go to a location of your choosing? Kind of sloppy, Doole," Han said dryly. Doole sneered.
"You want your Force user or not?"
"I want some reassurance," Han said, "none of your guards. And give me the security codes for the sector."
Doole hissed. Han waited. The Rybet growled, but managed a nod.
"Fine," he growled. He held out a datapad. "Here. You will have access to the prison-Equal to my second in command."
"Reassuring," Han stated, taking the datapad. He glanced through the codes.
They seemed pretty similar to the code system from last time Han and Chewie had visited. But that had been a long time ago. And Doole's smile was not reassuring in the slightest.
Chewbacca came down from the Falcon, and growled a few things under his breath.
"Reinforcements can be here in a few hours," Chewbacca muttered, "but they hit us with jamming so I'm not sure it got out."
Han nodded, and turned back to Rybet. Han handed the datapad over to Chewie.
"You have one hour before I check in again," Han stated, "And my fleet will come in blasting, Doole. Worse than that? You'll be ticking off Boba Fett."
Doole shivered, but he maintained his defiant glare.
"Fine, Solo," Doole said, "You'll find I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. Go ahead."
Han nodded. Chewie muttered something else.
"I did program the autocontrol to come online."
"We have that?"
"Courtesy of the charging port for Threepio," Chewie smirked. Han grit his teeth.
So if things went sideways... And they probably would... They could now rely on dumb luck, and Threepio to save them.
"Great," Han murmured. He nodded to Doole.
"We're going."
"Right this way, my guards-"
"You," Han ordered. Doole huffed.
"Fine. I will lead you."
Doole shuffled off, his guards lowering their weapons as Han and Chewie followed. So far, Doole had put himself in their power, given them codes that looked legit, and bought their bluff. It was better odds than their usual missions.
This did nothing to make Han feel better.
On the other side of the spaceport, the shuttle Insouciant touched down. Lady Barriss walked down the ramp, Admiral Daala walking alongside her. Their stormtrooper guards flanked them. A tall, skinny man, pale as a skeleton with short white hair, came up with a smile.
"I am Arb Skynxnex, Admiral, Lady Pellaeon. I am Warden Doole's second in command. Once again, thank you for allowing us to run Kessel as we wish, even under your rule."
Barriss managed the most diplomatic smile of her entire life. Daala sighed.
"Unfortunately we don't have enough resources to fully annex Kessel back under our control right now," Daala murmured to Barriss, "But we have things under control."
Barriss didn't need to be a Jedi to sense just how much tension there was in the air. She had the distinct impression that the former Imperial guards who now worked the mines were not happy about the situation, but the Imperial Remnant didn't have the strength to save them.
The sheer pain and anger of the place...
"The Force user," Barriss stated, "Take us to him."
Skynxnex nodded.
"Of course. We just recently got a prison riot under control. The subject in question is holding a potential investor in the mining operations hostage. We had hoped you could resolve the situation peacefully, Lady Pellaeon? You are, after all, a Jedi."
Barriss frowned deeply. She could sense deception... But what kind of deception, she couldn't determine.
"I would like to take my security guards with me," Barriss stated. Skynxnex nodded, feeling perturbed but willing. Still, that sense of deception was still strong.
"I will happily go along too," Daala said cheerfully. Barriss glanced at Daala.
"I think it would be better-"
"Nonsense! I've never been able to see a Jedi in action," Daala said cheerfully, "And I so rarely get to do actual field research anymore."
Barriss held back another sigh. She was doing a lot of that lately.
"Very well," Barriss stated, "please, take us to him."
"Of course," Skynxnex nodded with an inelegant bow, "come with me."
Omake
Wedge Antilles, a General in the New Republic Military and the leader of the legendary Rogue Squadron, had stopped by to visit his old friend and squadron mate, Luke. Wedge sat with Luke in Luke's office, both of them drinking some Whyren's Reserve.
Wedge: "I gotta ask, how did you get some of the good stuff?"
Luke: "One of my students is Talon Karrde's second in command."
Wedge: snorts, chuckles "Fair enough. Though honestly, this is NN182. She really got you that?"
Luke: "Yeah. She said it would help me be more diplomatic with my 'stupid friends'."
Wedge: "When you gonna marry her?"
Luke: rolls his eyes "We're not like that-"
Wedge: "Sithspit. She got this for you."
Luke: "That doesn't mean-We did save eachother's lives a few time! We've saved eachother's lives and we're not together!"
Wedge: "Yeah, but I don't look nearly as good as she does in Shadowsilk stockings."
Luke: sigh "Seriously..."
They both laugh and drink.
Wedge: "So, how goes running a Jedi School?"
Luke: "It's chaotic, crazy, exhausting... But it does come together perfectly, thanks to the will of the Force, every so often."
Wedge: chuckles "Sounds like old times."
Luke: "Nah, it's not that bad. Thankfully, I'm teaching them a lot more self control. And so is Ahsoka."
Wedge: "The half-trained apprentice of your dad? Oh yeah, I bet she's disciplined."
Luke: "She's a lot better than that... Really. And anyway, this is nothing like when I ran the Rogues."
There is a loud female scream. Both men look out the window and see Ezra running for dear life from a furious Mara.
Mara: "GET BACK HERE BRIDGER! YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
Ezra: "I DIDN'T PUT THAT SNAKE IN YOUR BOOT!"
Mara: "YOU CAN'T LIE TO ME!"
Nearby, Ahsoka looks guilty even as she giggles, as Cal and his daughter record the chase.
Wedge: "..."
Luke: closes his eyes and sighs "Okay, so it's exactly like the Rogues."
Wedge: "Well, at the very least, you have plenty of practice."