Chapter 10: Cold Scenarios
April 30, 2227.
The Constantinople reached the system of Hoth, and with that the planet that named it. A giant snowball even more distant from its star than Neptune was back in the Milky Way. Jordan could already spot the Republic fleet that was amassing over the new base, though the gathering point for the planned offensive on Sullust was going to be somewhere else.
The Captain sent his codes and the frigate was allowed to descend on the surface. Luckily, the base was not being traversed by a snowstorm, at that moment, but it wasn't easy to find a place to land anyway, so Jordan decided to go down with one of the Kodiaks, bringing Vetra and Thabo. The shuttle was directed toward one of the many hills that dotted the landscape. Already from there, he could spot the cupola of a large land-to-orbit ion cannon and a big parable for communicating with the rest of the galaxy. They were build at the base of a massive glacier, which made an easy guess where the actual base would be located.
On another side of the glacier, as it was expected, the Legionnaire saw a long door at the base in a rectangular shape and only tall enough to allow a small craft to fly through it.
The Kodiak did just that, landing between two rows of T-47 speeders and opening the doors for the passengers. And welcoming them were Zeb and Kallus. But first, Jordan felt a wave of cold just slapping his face, the only part of his body not covered by the armor.
"Welcome to Hoth." Zeb said in a grumpy tone. "Here we got frostbite, wampas and constant meteor showers."
"A true piece of heaven, uh?" Thabo joked.
"And the worst part is, the names is equal to the English word for high temperatures." Jordan replied in tone.
"Oh, I wish that was the case." Kallus said, his hands rubbing the opposite upper arms. "I can't wait to return on Lothal."
"How about you show me around, so we warm ourselves by walking?" Jordan proposed.
"Sure. Hera still has to finish a meeting anyway." Zeb said.
They thus proceeded to show the newly arrived how the base had been set up so far: the hangar they had landed was the primary, which overlooked a valley in front of the glacier that was the only ample space for a gathering, but also the only one for any attacker to use. From that hangar the T-47 could go out on patrols, and it was possible to see a line of trenches and turrets. Another line was being set up, and behind all of those, not too far from the hangar, there was the generator of the planetary shield, because Hoth was a planet small enough that the Republic could afford to cover with a whole shield.
The engineers had also already build a lower level, accessible through a set of stairs or an elevator, for storage rooms and barracks. Kallus said that they planned to build more levels, if the base turned out to be a stable staging point for operations in that region.
Finally, the soldiers of the Alliance were given access to the command center, which at the moment had only a handful of officers and operators working there.
"...need Delta Base as soon as possible. Scout the area for possible wampa clans and mark them, we will decide an approach after that." Hera was talking to the comlink of the holo-table, but turned around when she heard the door hissing.
She mimicked a greeting with her face alone, as the soldier on the others side of the comlink was talking. Jordan waved back and waited for the General to finish her business before she could finally come and speak with him.
"Hi, Jordan. Nice work in the Commonwealth: they have become much more open with us." she complimented.
"I just did what I had to do. Speaking of which, your father wants to know when you will present him to Jacen." the Legionnaire quipped.
"Soon, I suppose. UACT Command just gave me my new assignment: attaché to the Commonwealth as they are about to apply for membership in the alliance." Hera explained with a hint of pride.
"As long as it gets us out of here." Zeb grumbled.
Chopper, who was in the room as well, also warbled his discontent for the freezing temperatures.
"Just give a minute to…" Hera started, then she noticed somebody coming inside the room from the door on her left. "Ah, General Rieekan."
Jordan turned his head and saw the Republican officer that would superintend the offensive toward Sullust.
"Captain Bridger. It's an honor to meet you." the General said.
Jordan and his companions made the salute. "The honor is mine, sir. I see you have settled nicely."
"General Syndulla laid us a good base. Now I'll do my best to make sure her efforts won't go to waste."
"We know you will, Carlist." Hera reassured. "Meanwhile, we'll make sure that the Empire focuses elsewhere. I heard Ackbar has joined the battle in the Northern Fringe."
"It's not going too well, though." Vetra commented. "The latest reports show that the Republic is hastily evacuating Ithor. Either they stop the imperials at Agamar, or we might lose the Fringe."
"Ackbar and Darvos will work out a solution." Hera replied confidently. "Nonetheless, I can bring Phoenix Group over there, if necessary."
"You'll have to ask that to Command. Now get to the Ghost and get ready to depart, we'll accompany you with the Constantinople." Jordan concluded.
"Don't need to tell twice. Come on, boys." Hera said to her two crew members as she walked outside. The Lasat and the former Imperial obliged with much eagerness.
That left Jordan in the room to speak with Rieekan.
"General, may I?"
"Of course." the Alderaanian replied kindly.
"I was wondering if me and my crew could help with the attack on Sullust."
Rieekan seemed only half surprised. "You have no obligation to stay with us, if I recall correctly."
"Taking Sullust might be a pivotal point in the war." Jordan replied. "And I want this war to reach an end as soon as possible. And since my superiors told me that I'm free to help the war effort any way I see fit, I believe this must be our priority."
Rieekan huffed a smile. "I couldn't be more grateful. Your experience in recon might just grant us a decisive advantage."
"Of course. I need to go back to Lothal and discuss a couple things with my government, but I'll be back as soon as possible."
"We're far from ready, take your time." Rieekan reassured.
Jordan thanked him and hurried back to the hangar where the Ghost was parked.
May 1, 2227.
Ezra woke up tiredly. The last few rotations had been exhausting, between jumping in and out of Ithor, getting out civilians and rescuing wounded soldiers on the battlefield.
He had found himself amazed at how much he used to ignore when he was waving his lightsaber around. He was a Jedi, and for him it was extremely difficult to be wounded. But the first time he saw one of the soldiers laying on the ground, almost choking on his own blood as a blaster bolt had burned half of his lungs, he was almost paralyzed with shock.
Just a few days observing a battle, rather than play the hero in it, had made his resolve to end this war even stronger. The question was how.
He noticed that Sabine was not in bed, despite it being early dusk on the planet. However, she had gone to sleep earlier than him, last night, so it wasn't that surprising that she had already gone back to work.
He stretched a bit, put on his clothes and went to wash his face. As he looked at himself in the mirror he noticed that he hadn't shaved in the last few weeks and a beard was starting to form. It itched, though in the cold of Agamar, he thought that it might not be a bad idea to let it grow a bit for cover.
He then headed for the common room of the Silver Bullet, still a bit sleepy, and he was surprised to find a small cake on the table. His favorite type, actually, only made with what few ingredients could be found around there.
Next to it there was a small piece of paper, on which there was a message written in Basic.
'Good morning and happy birthday, cyar'ika. I'm sorry if I left early, but I had promised to do a job down at the camp. I hope you like the cake. I love you.
Sabine.'
He smiled, a bit amused and a little embarrassed. He had forgotten to look up at the calendar, in the last few days, so he had forgotten that that day he was turning 21 but his wife had not.
He took a piece of the cake. It was nice, and most importantly, Sabine had put much effort into it. He then drank a cup of milk and he felt ready to go back to work. With his armor on, he opened the ramp of the freighter and went outside.
The ship was parked alongside other two Gauntlets belonging to the Protectors and two Fang fighters as escort. The mandalorian pilots had been provided a prefab shelter with bunk beds and spent most of their time there, making sure that the engines stayed clean and ready to take off at any moment.
Ezra headed down the icy path that separated that small landing zone from the refugee camp, which was already sprawling with tents and makeshift huts.
However, his attention was then drawn to the skies as he heard a rumbling of engines becoming ever louder. He looked up and was surprised to see a group of five transport ships landing into the plain outside the camp...and that the Millennium Falcon was among them.
He walked as fast as he could toward it, crossing the camp as the crowd of refugees also moved toward them, likely hoping that they were carrying more food and medicines. Ezra reached the open field and found Sabine talking with Leia, Luke and Han, but they turned around when they saw the Master.
Sabine smiled and went to him. "Hey, happy birthday, Master." she said before putting her hands around his neck and kissing him.
He caressed her flanks and smiled. "I appreciated the morning gift." he whispered while they were far enough to not be heard.
Sabine then brought him to their friends.
"Hey Ezra, happy birthday." Leia greeted merrily.
"Thanks, Leia. What's this about? I didn't know you were coming." Ezra asked, happy to see them but a bit confused.
"Well, Her Highness found a few more transports to get these people out." Han replied.
Ezra looked at the transports and saw that the pilots had come out, but were not unloading anything.
"We can bring all the civilians to Axxila, then the authorities will redistribute them among the UACT nations." Luke explained. "Leia has made sure to create a commission specifically for them."
"Now that's something that really makes my day." the Jedi replied. "Let's get started right away, then."
Therefore he headed back to the crowd and activate a voice amplifier that his omni-tool had.
"Attention, people. These ships have come to bring you to a safer place. Please, start packing what you have, but do not exaggerate. Bring only what's strictly necessary."
Most of the refugees were still Ithorian, and not all of them understood Basic, but luckily for Ezra, Byph was also there, and when he stepped next to the Master and repeated the instructions, all the refugees finally understood and went back to their shelters to pack up what little they had left.
"Thanks, Byph." he said. "Let's help the most fragile."
The Ithorian sounded a positive and they were already heading back into the camp when Luke called "Ezra, can we talk for a moment?"
Ezra stopped in his tracks. "Sure. What's going on?"
"I have had a vision a few hours ago." Luke said in a careful tone.
"What kind of vision?"
"I'm not sure on the details: I saw a ship. A civilian freighter, maybe refugees, right in this region. I don't know why, but I feel that we should pay attention to them."
"You know where they are?" Ezra asked with interest.
"No. But while on the Falcon I noticed that someone sent a distress signal near the Polus system. I have a feeling it might be them."
Ezra pondered. Polus sat in the Oricho Sector, right next that part of the Spur where the fighting was going on. He knew that, while risky, people of both parts who tried to flee or reach the nation they identified the most tended to use active battlefronts, since the factions would be too busy slaughtering each other to care for a single freighter.
Most importantly, Luke seemed incredibly sure of what he was saying, and he had the strongest connection to the Force out of everybody in the Order.
"All right, Luke. I trust your gut. Let's get my ship and see if we can find these people."
Luke smiled. "Thanks, Master."
Ezra returned the smile, then turned toward his companions.
"All right guys, listen up." he said loudly, and when the crew of the Falcon, Sabine and the other Jedi turned to him, he kept going. "Luke and I are going on a SAR mission. Sabine, you're coming with us to pilot the Bullet, everybody else make sure every last refugee gets out of the planet, we'll see you again on Axxila."
"You sure you don't want help?" Han asked.
"The Falcon is needed as escort for the convoy, just in case the imperials or some pirates show up. Besides, if everything goes as I hope, the worst we can expect is a small group of enemies."
Byph wished them good luck, convincing the rest of the group to trust them. The two Jedi and the Mandalorian headed back to the Silver Bullet, which shortly after was reaching the orbit, passing through the UACT fleet preparing to receive the imperials.
As they passed next to the Home One, Ezra referred their intentions to the Grand Marshall, who gave them free passage.
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Sabine asked once they were in the clear.
"Presumably a small ship, but we will know once we find them." Luke replied calmly.
Sabine rolled her eyes. "That's on me for asking."
Luke chuckled. "Sorry. But I don't have a straight answer, right now."
"Hey, if she wasn't able to put up with feelings, she wouldn't have married me." Ezra joked.
The three laughed a little before Sabine activated the hyperdrive.
"So that's it. We are going to Polus and check this out." Ezra said down the bond.
"Are you sure it's a good idea? Remember that the Sith are not new to send us false alarms through the Force." Jaral replied worried.
"Even Luke would know if something was fishy about his vision. I trust him enough to look into this."
Jaral sighed. "I guess that's what a good Master should do."
"I knew you would understand! Bye sis, I love you."
"Be careful, Ez. And happy birthday again." Jaral concluded in a cheerful way.
After they closed the bond, Jaral refocused on her own where and when. She was on Lothal, heading with the entire class of younglings and her own two Padawans to the colony of Atin, to take part in one of the many exchanges that the two cultures had inaugurated to deepen their reciprocal knowledge and ability to cooperate in their new role as galactic peacekeepers.
"Everything okay, Master?" she heard and turned around. Both Sellion and Lissia, who were sitting in the two-seats-row next to her, were looking at her and the young man had spoken.
She smiled at them. "I was just talking with Ezra, no problem at all."
The two looked at her with a certain suspicion. Then Lissia asked "Is he doing something rash again?"
"Dangerous, for sure." Jaral replied. "But I think he can handle it."
The Padawans laid back and the bus reached the colony a couple of minutes later. The younglings dismounted and found themselves at the entrance of the colony, which by now had grown enough to become a small town. Jaral herself also noticed that the mandos were diversifying their interests: now there were workshops, a clinic and other shops, and even if they revolved mostly around weapons, there were also members of the old pacifist faction that were engaging in civilian activities and manufacturing supplies for the relief missions or some consumer goods for the colony. Jaral had even seen some of them setting up shop in the capital.
The class was then greeted by Alrich Wren, who walked to them with open arms.
"Welcome, young Jedi, to Atin." the old Count said. "We hope your visit will be inspiring and entertaining." then he turned to her. "Always a pleasure to see you, Jaral."
"Likewise, Alrich." Jaral replied as they shook hands. "Where are Tristan and Asha? I need to give them my best wishes." she added jokingly.
"Oh, they are already at the fields. Our younglings seemed quite impatient to start this meeting." the Count said with a certain happiness.
Jaral hummed impressed. "Then let's not make them wait too much. Everyone! Stay close and let's go. Sellion, Lissia, keep an eye on them."
The children obeyed. All of them were between 5 and 11 years old. Sellion and Lissia were into this exchange as part of their training as Padawans: the Bridger siblings had decided that it was necessary for every member of the Order who had started climbing the ranks to spend some time mentoring the younglings. It was a small, but important first step to prepare them for their future responsibilities as teachers for the next generation.
They were led to the training fields of the colony. There they did found Tristan, Asha, Din and Paz with a group of nine young mandalorians and also Grogu, who waved at Jaral when he saw her.
"Hello, everyone." she greeted.
"Welcome back, Jari." Tristan greeted back with a smile.
The two shook hands, and Jaral spoke to both the Duke and his spouse. "I heard the news. Congratulations, you two."
"Thanks. I must say, it took us by surprise but...I'm really looking forward to it." Asha said.
"I know the feeling...well, let's get started." the Jedi Master concluded.
The adults thus gathered on one side and invited the kids to group all together in front of them. After Sellion and Lissia herded them, Alrich started with his speech.
"Greetings to all of you. As you probably know, Jedi and Mandalorians have been enemies since the first day they met. On one side, our ancestors, who devoted themselves only to war, seeking conflict with all of our neighbors. On the other side, the Jedi, who spend all their efforts in trying to make the galaxy a more peaceful place for everybody.
"Both of us suffered enormously at the hand of the Empire in the last twenty years. The Jedi have been almost completely destroyed, and we lost our home planet forever. But from the ashes of our cultures, we have come to understand that we have much more in common than we ever realized. We both train our bodies and minds for all our lives. We mandalorians need a reason to fight, and the Jedi can give us one: fight against injustices and against those who use their strength to oppress others.
"You are here today to learn. Learn that we don't need to fight, because both of us can learn much from each other, and overcome our differences so that we may strive together toward a better galaxy."
He then stepped aside, allowing his son to step forward.
"Hi. I'm Tristan Wren, current Duke of House Atin. I presume most of you have probably seen my sister, Sabine, roaming around the Academy." he said in a lighthearted tone.
The Jedi younglings started murmuring a positive, though Alora, now age 8, spoke toward him. "Yeah. She's Master Ezra's wife."
"Exactly." Tristan replied. "I admit, me and my family at first found it awkward. But thinking about it again, their marriage showed all of us that our peoples could get along. And that's why we are all gathered here today. First, how about you start making questions to each other?"
While the adults and the two teens started separating the two groups so that they could distinguish themselves and start this little debate, Din approached cautiously behind Jaral and tapped her shoulder.
"Jaral, I need to speak with you." he said in a tone that suggested it was a bit urgent.
"Sure." she replied. And seeing that all the others were distracted, the two stepped away from the group to talk in private.
"I have received a tip from a contact of mine inside the Bounty Hunters Guild." Din started, still speaking with a low voice.
"About what?"
"Apparently, there is an imperial Moff who offered her a full canister of beskar bars to track and bring Grogu back to them."
That was already bad news, but one detail surprised the Master. "Beskar? But it can only be found on Mandalore."
"I know. It might just be a part of what the Empire has stolen for years when the planet was under their control, but I would like to investigate...and to hunt a Moff, I could use the help of a Jedi."
Jaral didn't hesitate. "Of course. But I also doubt the two of us would be enough."
"I spoke with my Tribe and with the Duke. We will certainly find a few more volunteers if it's about beskar."
"For a few bars?"
"How would you feel if you knew the Empire is holding several kyber crystals?"
The woman made an impressed face. "Okay, I got the gist. Just give me the time to arrange Samira's care and then I'll be ready to go whenever you want."
Din nodded. "Thank you."
"This is the Way." Jaral said, finding it actually funny.
"This is the Way." Din replied dead serious.
In just five hours, the Silver Bullet reached the Polus system. Much like Agamar, the only planet that hosted life was an icy one. According to the Codex, the second and last planet of the system was inhabited by the Pyn'gani, a Near-Human species that created the technology for carbon-freezing a little more than a thousand years before. It seemed unlikely that they would meet them in that occasion, however.
"All right, then. Jinx, run a scan of the system." Ezra instructed.
"Scanning." the AI replied on the speaker.
"Luke, do you feel anything?" the Master then asked to his apprentice.
Skywalker was already focused outside of the viewport, though, and Ezra could feel that he was being directly in touch with the Force. He then suddenly turned his head. "They are here." he declared.
"Detecting two ships coming out of hyperspace." Jinx announced.
Indeed, a few moments later, first a commercial shuttle, then an armed gunship came out of hyperspace, with the latter clearly trying to blow up the former, or just take off its engines.
"It's them. In the shuttle!" Luke said.
"Sabine, load the guns." Ezra ordered as he quickly accelerated to intervene.
"Already ahead of you." Sabine commented in the co-pilot seat as she directed some energy to the weapons and the Gauntlet was approaching the skirmish.
But as they were about to enter into range, the chased shuttle was hit and started leaving behind a trail of smoke. The pilot immediately headed for the frozen surface of Polus.
"You two should go. I'll keep the gunship distracted." Sabine suggested.
"Good idea." Ezra agreed. "Luke, check your gear."
The Jedi prepared themselves while the Bullet quickly caught up with both ships and fired on the gunship to spook it. It worked, as the imperials had to make a sudden turn and break the chase while the shuttle made an emergency landing.
"Let's make this quick." Ezra said. "Me and Luke jump down, get the civilians, then you quickly get down and we jump back aboard."
"Got it." Sabine replied.
The two Jedi hurried to the access ramp in the rear of the ship, materialized their armor and suit and waited a couple minutes until Sabine lowered the freighter near the crash site. She didn't land the ship because the gunship was coming back, so the Jedi immediately jumped out and the Bullet powered away, already attempting evasive maneuvers.
Luke and Ezra didn't look at the battle in the skies, instead focusing on the crashed shuttle. They dashed there and found a group of four people, most likely a family: a man, a woman and two kids.
The adults were putting breathing masks on the children who were clearly suffocating for the cold air that almost cut their breaths, but when they saw the two armored men they pointed a couple of E-11 at them.
"Wait!" Ezra yelled, immediately putting his hands in the air, followed by Luke. "Don't shoot. We are Jedi. We are here to help you."
The man apparently recognized the Legionnaire armor of the Master, because he motioned the woman to lower the rifle. "Wait...that's Ezra Bridger."
She took a moment more to analyze him and recognized the armor, too. "Oh, thank the Force."
"It's ok. We'll get you out of here." Ezra reassured as they finally reached the civilians. "But first, let's get into that cave and wait until my wife gets rid of those noisy guys." he added as he looked at a nearby formation.
They entered, and the temperature quickly went back to be much more tolerable for the relatively light dressing of the refugees, but they decided that it was best to keep the masks and helmets on.
"As you said, I am Ezra Bridger. This is my Padawan Luke Skywalker." Ezra resumed the conversation.
Luke waved a hand. "Hello."
"The man who blew up the Death Star." the woman said amazed.
"It's not something I like to take credit for, but yes. And you are...?"
The man spoke up. "I'm Melton, former Lieutenant of the Imperial Engineer Corps. This is my wife Bevelyn. And our children, Reen and Zelly."
The kids were visibly scared, hiding behind their parents. Luke made sure to make his visor transparent and squatted down so that they might at least see his smiling face. "Hi."
"Hi…" the children said timidly together.
"So, It's safe to assume that you deserted the Empire?" Ezra asked calmly.
"Yes, sir. We also bring urgent news for the Republic: the Empire is…"
Ezra felt a surge of danger. He immediately rose his directional shield and jumped between Melton and the entrance, just in time to block an energy bolt. The others quickly realized that they were in trouble. Luke ignited his lightsaber and jumped next to his Master to cover the civilians who quickly took cover behind the Jedi.
Ezra ignited his own saber and removed the shield, only then realizing that there were two old acquaintances of his blocking the access to the cave.
The Astarte twins.
"Bridger." Morit started in a sarcastic tone. "I heard you are now a Master. Congratulations."
"Thanks. I heard you are now serving somebody slightly worthier but still, I am a bit disappointed." Ezra replied in tone.
"It's the cause we chose to believe in. And a man we decided to follow." Aiolin replied sternly.
"But chasing a few deserters seems a little above your skill set." Luke commented, making Ezra realize that this was a very fair point. It seemed like his friend's gut was right in making this rescue mission.
"It won't matter when they are dead." Morit threatened and the twins assumed a fighting stance, igniting their plasma sabers.
"Ok, Luke." Ezra whispered. "Remember: just protect the civilians."
"I got this." Skywalker replied confidently.
The twins didn't waste any more time to go on the offensive. They were as fast as Ezra remembered them from their last duel on Byss, meaning that he had not many problems withstanding or dodging the first barrage from Morit. Luke also managed to hold his own, even if he struggled a little against Aiolin, a foe the level of which he had never faced, yet.
Then, Luke made a successful parry that destabilized Aiolin. He immediately seized the opportunity and tried to go on the offensive, but Ezra quickly realized in horror that he couldn't make it.
Indeed, Aiolin recovered incredibly quickly, dodged the strike and went straight toward the refugees.
Ezra activated his omni-tool's flamethrower and managed to make Morit stumble back. Then he quickly turned around and threw a portable bubble shield next to Melton. The energy cover came up a moment before Aiolin could strike, her saber sparkled against the shield.
Luke had by now realized his mistake and quickly fell back onto Aiolin, forcing her to focus on him again.
They needed to get outside of there, or at least allow the civilians to get outside safely. Ezra quickly realized that Luke was now forcing Aiolin to go past them and more inside the cave, so all he had to do was to pin down Morit.
And the quickest way he could think about was to just draw him in and then push him down the floor, which is exactly what he did, with a little help from the Force.
"Go, go, go!" he yelled as Morit struggled beneath him and he would clearly manage to get out soon.
Melton and Bevelyn took a kid each in their arms and ran outside. As soon as they were past them, Ezra let Morit go, but not before he had put himself between the cyborg and the refugees.
"Luke!" he ordered, implying that his Padawan had to fall back.
The Jedi reformed their line, even under the constant attacks of the twins, then made the only thing they had left to do: as they blocked their sabers with their foes, the Jedi used the Force to provoke an avalanche and managed to dash outside the cave right before it covered the entrance, instead leaving the twins inside.
It wasn't enough to stop them, but enough to allow them a tranquil escape. In the skies, Sabine managed to shake off the gunship for a few precious seconds and quickly reached the surface, loaded the group and then sped away while the gunship landed next to the cave, presumably to help the twins to get out.
On the ship, Ezra was not happy with Luke.
"What were you thinking?! I told you the priority was to protect them!" he said severely.
"I thought I had a chance!" Luke defended himself.
"Well, you didn't! And you almost let the people we came here to protect, die."
Luke didn't have much else to say in his defense, but Ezra realized that it wasn't appropriate to make such a fuss in front of the people they had just helped. He sighed and turned toward them. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. The important thing is that you all are safe."
"We are. Thank you." Bevelyn said.
"On one thing my friend was right: the Astartes are extremely skilled agents. They wouldn't be used to chase down a deserter unless you have something important to say."
"I do." Molten said. He left the family and stepped closer to Ezra, who dematerialized his armor.
"I'm listening." the Master said.
Molten looked around as if he was scared that somebody could listen. "We escaped Coruscant after becoming double agents for Crimson Dawn. Recently, I have learned something critical.
"I don't know where...and I don't know how much already but…" he rose his fearful eyes to the two Jedi.
"The Empire is building another Death Star."