Chapter 12: Breakaway
The nondescript, beige ball glowed against the onyx blanket of space as Luke allowed his x-wing to hover before the place he never expected to see again. Tatooine looked as unremarkable as he remembered, too removed from importance to be affected by anything, and yet, the center of his life's new beginning. His heart hammered as he stared at it, the resolution which brought him here draining at the sight of the planet.
It had already been just over a month since the events at Bespin, and though he was physically healed and could meet everyone with a brave face, inside he still felt like shattered china - a million sharp, fragile pieces treacherously drawing blood at the slightest touch. There was simply too much that happened - that changed - in those brief months and everything in him was knocked aggressively off-center.
That was why he was here. Far away from the reminders and guilt and pitying glances that dogged his steps in the rebellion.
Subconsciously, he flexed the fingers of his right hand, ears still picking up the soft clicking of the mechanical joints. Eventually, the medical droids told him, he would get used to the artificial joint and such sounds would fade into the background. But if he was honest with himself, he was fine if that never happened. He went to Cloud City with naïve confidence and paid the price and the hand was his reminder of just how much he did not know.
I can save them, he had argued.
In the end, it was he who needed saving.
And because of him, he wasn't alone in that regard.
Despite Lando and Chewie's tireless efforts so far, there had been no word on Bobba Fett or Han Solo. His bounty had been supplied by the Empire, and, obviously, that had been fulfilled. There were others, of course, out on Han's head - relatively small amounts by disgruntled clientele that would have been happier to see the smuggler's belongings rather than his face - but they wound up being dead ends. And though Lando was sure there were others in the bounty guilds, the fall of Cloud City lost him any clout or contact willing to let him know.
So, they were stuck doing things the hard way. Between new and growing rebellion duties, the crawling progress was enough to make everyone strained and agitated. Worst of all was Leia. She did her best to channel her boundless jittery tension into work, diving deep into her role as general and coordinating about two dozen different tasks a day, but she couldn't hide it from the Jedi. Her worry was a storm of acid, roiling about her in random, enormous waves and, for Luke, it was as an assault; one he felt day and night without reprieve, only piling on to his ever-deepening sense of failure and guilt. And it wasn't just Leia; all around the rebellion there was a suffocating sense of failing hope as rumor and truth mixed into dark tales.
A soft droid whistle through his headset brought him back to this moment and instinctively his senses flung outward defensively, before recognizing the concerned warble.
"Sorry, R2," he finally said, drawing back into himself. Behind him, the little blue and white droid gave another questioning whistle.
"Yeah, everything is alright. Just a bit of nostalgia." Shaking himself out of the reverie, Luke took hold of the piloting controls again and kicked the fighter into gear. "Let's get going. I don't think I can remember where it is after sunset."
xxxx
He had been wrong; even without the Force gently confirming his path, Luke seemed to know exactly how to reach the old, empty hut. It was half buried on one side from repeated sandstorms and evidence of scavengers littered the front door, but otherwise it was untouched. The dark interior called to him with patient whispers and eventually, following his much braver droid, Luke stepped inside.
For a moment, as R2's spotlight illuminated their path, he expected to see the old man sitting, tired, on the hard sofa, gesturing lightly as he explained vague details about the old Jedi order.
But there was no one. Ben's hut was abandoned and cold and empty.
With a sigh, Luke moved further in, and, after finding a lantern with a still working power cell, took in the room as it was.
The old man's items that he hadn't seen need to take on their urgent departure, were scattered along the dust-ridden floor, the remnants of vagabonds or transients searching for anything of value in the collected junk. There were no clothes amongst the mess nor anything with any shine that could have been traded or used in a port. Only flipped books, ancient data pads, mementos, and womprat-soiled bedding. All things considered, it was in pretty good condition. Stable and sturdy, and hopefully, he thought as he began to organize the mess around him, teeming with answers for the questions he was too afraid to ask.
The training room trembled and buckled under the lashing rage of the young woman failing miserably within. The combat droids she faced bore down on her without mercy and even under the Forceful barrage, they still lumbered forward with the intent to kill. Six remained of the initial ten, though she could hardly call their defeat a victory. Her slim, borderline malnourished frame was bruised and bloodied, her limbs threatening to collapse at any moment. They had taken more from her than she from them and it was only as she threw a powerful tantrum that she posed any real threat.
But it was what Sidious needed to see. She had been conscious and sane enough to give simple 'yes' or 'no' answers to his questions for three days now and that was enough for him to put her to this test. He would not waste his time if she was damaged beyond repair.
And she was damaged. He felt the planet-wide fracture in her psyche as clear as day. Two souls, birthed from two breakings, fought for dominance in her and she was the battle they raged; a pure, unadulterated funnel from two wells of raw, bleeding anguish. The Force could not help but bend to her; she gave it no choice.
In other words, she was unlocked. And unhinged. A perfect conduit.
He smiled and with a thunderous crash, collapsed her power. The room grew dark and still, silent save for her panting breaths. When the lights flickered on again, he saw her, watching him, golden eyes flickering, a beast sniffing out this interesting new competitor.
His smile broke into a full grin, and he laughed. "Oh yes…I will make you wonderful…"
~~7 Months Later~~
Six sets of eyes stared silently the data projected before them, a thick sense of cautious relief creeping into the room. After almost a year, the information felt too good to be true and no one dared even breathe lest it blow their chance away.
Finally, they knew who had Han.
For Luke, the name on the display felt like a cruel joke: Jabba, the Hutt.
How many months had he spent in the eyes of Tatooine's suns, locked away in the old hut, less than a speeder ride away from where his friend was being held?
What use was it all, if you couldn't even sense him? his mind bitterly cursed, though the reason was clear before him.
According to Lando's contacts, Jabba displayed the still frozen Han Solo as a trophy in his chambers. At such near-death hibernation status, it would have taken a Jedi of much stronger skill to sense the thin life force, let alone recognize as it any particular person.
He was stronger - at or near the level 'Knight' if Ben's old books could be believed - but not that strong. (You would be if you'd finished your training the right way.)
With the strength he did have, though, he could feel the tumultuous roil of anxiety, relief, desperation, and love rolling off Leia. Not that he needed the Force to do that. Everything was written on her frame, in little movements only those close to her could decipher. Her anxiety was in her jaw, clenched tight, the muscles jumping, the relief in her far-off gaze that only seemed to be watching the display, and her desperation in the small crease at her brow that formed when her mind was working a million miles a second.
"Well, we obviously need to rescue him." Half the table nearly jumped at Wedge's sudden proclamation, his voice shaking them from independent thoughts. Then, as one, they all cast him a look of incredulous disbelief.
"Ya' know, kid," Lando started, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I hadn't thought of that!"
"Well, no one else was saying it," the boy shot back. "And there doesn't seem to be a point in wasting time acting like we're not gonna do it..." he trailed off as he realized Leia was also looking at him, her steady gaze a different beast that shuttered his confidence. "I mean...aren't we?"
The eyes all turned to her now, waiting.
Most had given up any hope that he would be found, and for those that had kept a candle alive, the prospects of his return had been grim. But it was well understood that Leia suffered neither to take root in her mind. Though his name no longer left her lips and she had allowed any efforts to find him to be a volunteer-only mission, with no priority and no funding, everyone knew she never gave up hope. And now, now that there was solid evidence at last, it was only right that she made the call on what happened next.
"Of course," she finally said, voice surprisingly steady and matter-of-fact.
Luke practically saw the diplomat's cloak fall over her shoulders as she answered. Her own optimism was buried, deep down, where it would not impair her focus. But it smoldered brightly, nonetheless.
"It won't be easy," he offered cautiously. Now the eyes all flickered to him, and he still took a moment to recognize the way they regarded him with more than a little respect. Since returning from Tatooine, it was something that happened more often. His honed connection with the Force was transforming him into something from a more civilized time, and even if he didn't go around showing it, his friends, it seemed, still took notice.
Pulling his shoulders back, in an effort to reflect their gaze, he continued. "Jabba is more than just the head of the underworld on Tatooine – for all intents and purposes, he might as well be a king. He's old and greedy and there isn't a single industry on Tatooine he doesn't have his hands in. And that was before the Empire. If he's operating with backing from them, now, I can't imagine he's being subtle with his control. There's probably nothing that happens there that he doesn't know about and no one he can't use to make it go away."
"We'll also need time for Han to get back to normal."
Leia frowned at Lando. "Back to normal?"
He nodded, gravely. "After what happened, I talked to some…experts…about what could happen to someone frozen in carbonite. Turns out Vader didn't pull the plan out of thin air - it was a tactic used a few times during the Clone Wars. But they didn't use it for nearly as long because of the fear of hibernation sickness. Carbonite isn't really tuned to the complicated mammalian revival process, so, the effect of snapping someone back to full form can cause a whole mess of illnesses like blindness, vomiting, impaired motor control, forgetfulness. It's pretty ugly and guaranteed to be worse the longer someone is in hibernation."
"He's a monster," Leia spat, and it wasn't clear if she meant Vader or Jabba. "How long?"
"'Til we could even think of escaping with him?" Lando shrugged. "Depends, really, on him and his recovery. At best…a couple of days. But, princess, it could last a few weeks."
"Well, then, we just take him out frozen!" Again, the whole table rounded to Wedge with disbelief. "What?"
Lando opened his mouth, but Luke jumped in before the man could give a far ruder answer. "We'd have no way to get the repulsorlifts needed to move something as heavy as that and even if we did, they don't move very fast - we'd be sitting ducks."
"So, instead we have to find a way to sneak in, wake him up, nurse him back to health, and sneak back out?"
Luke couldn't help but flinch as Wedge laid out the ridiculousness of the rescue.
"Yeah," Lando said, leaning back. "And that's the smart plan."
Silence flooded back in around the small group, thick with worry. The reality of their chances was staring them in the face, and no one was quite prepared to let those chances win. It would have been a betrayal to Han to let the idea of the impossible stop them from even trying.
But none of them were Han Solo, and even Lando, the biggest risk-taker amongst them, knew when to step away from a bad shot. Besides, they all thought, what happened if they failed? It was only by evidence of Leia's extremely skillful multi-tasking that Mon Mothma and Ackbar allowed the search to continue, but they would be hard pressed to risk two star-pilots, a general, and a warhammer like Chewie on the slim chance of getting back one guy who never learned to pledge his loyalty.
"This would be a lot easier if we knew what was actually going on inside," Leia finally said with a frustrated sigh. "For all we know, there's an unguarded, worm-sized back door that just goes exactly where we want!" She chuckled bitterly. "Or four hundred bounty hunters crawling at his tail for scraps."
"Now actually," Lando started. "Inside…is not a bad idea." He leaned back, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "I ever tell you guys about this pest we had back on Socorro?" At the confused silence that followed, Lando continued, eyes unfocussed with recollection. "There was this scavenger bug, native to the planet, that burrowed in long, hard-to-reach tunnels. Turns out, some of them ran under our house and they would come in at night, just taking whatever they pleased. Clothes, food, equipment - whatever it could carry. Eventually we started losing whole ration kits to things.
"My parents decided they had had enough and trying to catch the things or stop them was nearly impossible. They were fast and hard-shelled and had a bite that must have been full of the trash they ate cuz most people only survived one by chopping off the part that got bit. So, my dad gets his hands on some xenotoxin and puts it in anything those roaches might even think of taking." He smirked. "And the greedy things did what they always did; they dragged that poison right back to the burrow practically all in one night." He leaned back with his signature smirk, spreading his hands as though displaying the majesty of his story.
It took a few minutes for the message to sink in, but as it did Chewie and Wedge shared the general's grin.
"So, what do we use as poison?"
"Me."
Leia rolled her eyes, barely entertaining the thought. "Luke, that's stupid."
"We don't exactly have clearance to use anything else he might want. Besides, once someone is in – unlike Lando's bug trap – they have to get back out."
"And what if he gets wise to it? Decides to turn you over to the Empire or just kill you then and there?" Leia shook her head. "You'd be outnumbered more than I think even you could handle, not to mention we have no idea what kind of weaponry he has in that fortress."
"Okay, so he doesn't go alone."
"Lando!" Leia cried though it was drowned by Chewie's sharp bark. "Oh, you think you can just walk in there and nothing happens?!"
"No," Lando answered for the wookie, nodding his appreciation to Chewbacca. "I'll take him. Do that fake prisoner trick Luke told me about that got you out of the Death Star."
Wedge bit his tongue to stifle a chuckle at the smug look Lando gave Leia, but a snort still eked out through his teeth. If they heard it, they paid it no mind. "That was an entirely different scenario."
"Yeah; harder, I'll imagine."
Smartly, Luke made no comment.
"Well?"
Leia sighed, leaning forward in her seat. Her eyes drifted toward the projection again. "There are so many things that can go wrong, and we don't have the chances or the time to try again if they do." She shook her head. "I don't like it."
"What if we could do a trial run?" Luke asked.
"How?"
"Well, there's got to be some place of equal or maybe slightly less challenge we can use. I'm certain there are other smugglers we could target, or - "
"- Or an imperial holding compound." Leia finished.
"A what now?" Lando asked, eyebrows raised.
But Leia didn't answer. She was speed scrolling through her datapad, reading quickly from whatever it showed her, then, with a flick of her wrist, transmitted the data to R2's display. It flickered in beside the information on Han, a list of captured alliance fighter pilots on a small planet called Vorzyd IV.
"About a month ago, we lost most of Green-B Squad," Leia explained, "on a scouting mission based on reports the Empire might be trying to establish another hold along the Salin Corridor. Turns out the reports were right. Nine of the fifteen pilots survived the initial skirmish and were taken captive there. Luckily - maybe - further scans indicate there isn't much progress on the colonization of the planet and the bases there are minimally staffed. We've been assuming this means anyone they have as prisoners are probably still alive since they wouldn't be high priority enough to warrant immediate transfer." She took a breath and looked around the room, mind buzzing with the quickly forming plan.
The others exchanged looks of their own, a silent commitment passing between them. It was broken only by Chewbacca's supportive bark.
Luke leaned back, thoughtfully. "With what's coming, I can't see even Ackbar turning down a mission to get back fighters…"
"And if those initial scans are right," Lando added, "the risk is pretty low, all things considered."
"Well then," Wedge said, mirroring the casual lean of the others. "When do we get started?"
The compound was comprised of a half-dozen elevated bases, supported by thick pillars and connected to each other by skinny catwalks, barely wide enough for a single trooper, and that the swung in the high winds. Vorzyd IV was a planet capable of both burning you at its higher elevations or poisoning you at its lowest, but the right in-between, in the narrow junction where the deadliness of either area didn't reach, was considered safe. Wide, red boughs which spread thickly above to soak up the sun, provided precious shade and dispersed much of the high temperature to a far more bearable sticky, humid warmth. Rainfall, which slipped in rarely but plentiful when it came, was captured in the natural hollow branches that served as funnels for their roots. It, combined with the wind, tempered the gases that rose from the ground below, keeping the poison away. By this logic, it was, technically, a habitable planet.
Sweltering in his plastisteel helmet under the bulk of a horned serpentine creature, Wedge was not entirely sure he agreed. His blaster was long lost in the creature's stomach – as was an uncomfortably large chunk of his torso armor – and it was only his awkward placement near the rails of the walkway that kept the thing from lowering enough of its maw to swallow the rest of him.
So, he was grateful for the cry of blaster that fire rang from somewhere behind the creature followed quickly by its shriek and hiss as the bolts found their mark. It slithered quickly from its prey and turned on the ones that hurt it. Four others in the gleaming white armor stood on the opposite building, weapons aimed. Its tongue tasted the threat in the air, and it weighed the worthwhileness of pressing onward. Then, with a powerful coiling of its body, the creature leapt back into the branches it had come down from and raced away.
"You alright?"
Wedge still cringed at the standard imperial voice mod aimed in his direction. Even though it was friendly enough, he couldn't get over the jolt of fear that it brought to him. Even as his own voice answered with the same tone. "Yeah," he said as he grabbed the proffered hand and allowed the other trooper to pull him back to his feet. "But you cut it close. Thing almost got too good a bite outta me."
"Maybe if it did central would put a bigger rush on getting us those repeller systems," the other said with a shake of his head. "They only care when we start dying, you know. Waste of resources or some such line."
The pilot chuckled his wordless response, tinged with the proper bitterness, and clapped his companion on the back in what he hoped was a sympathetic gesture. It hurt him to say, but he did agree with the sentiment. The attack wasn't even the first one today, let alone since he'd been here. The native fauna on Vorzyd IV did not take well to the intrusion of the imperial base and if soldiers weren't being attacked by something that thought they were food or competition, they were busy chasing away those that tried to make it their new home. In fact, if his two weeks here were any indication, Wedge was pretty sure the animals were the only enemy the troopers ever faced.
But they were still imps; bound and loyal to an Empire that was dominating and dictating an entire galaxy. At best, they were just caught up in the only opportunity available and would jump ship when everything crumbled; but he couldn't let his guard down for best case scenario. Especially not today.
"Speaking of resources," Wedge said with a not-at-all faked cringe in his voice. "No blaster, no armor…you mind taking over the rest of my shift?"
The other chuckled. "I might as well get used to it. You'll probably got tossed out once you file your report."
"Oh good," he shot back as they exchanged places. "And here I thought the Commander would take it badly."
The other just shook his head and gave a lazy wave as Wedge stepped back into base with the remaining three troopers that formed his rescue party.
It was an entirely different world here inside the cold, standard, practical design. Where nature painted a vibrant, colorful backdrop outside, the interior was a classic imperial gray, the smooth monotone walls broken only where the lights or doors stood. Occasional access panels blinked red or blue lights in accordance with their tasks and it was almost exciting to see the rare terminal glittering with the colorful details of the chosen display. His eyes flickered to the clock above one such display; just over an hour now. Thanks to that creature, he was off-duty early, but it made little impact on things. He didn't need to be out there to let them in; in fact, by now he didn't need to be here at all. He had already done his part, supplying them with encrypted blueprints, schedules, backdoors and plans - his only purpose now was to take up a seat on the return trip.
Keying his unofficial departure into a roster terminal (and glaring at the machine as it gave whatever passed for a snort in droid speak in disagreement with the time), Wedge peeled away toward the crew area. He had enough time to get properly chewed out by the commander, report for a temporary armor, and do a final sweep of the base before the alliance arrived and he was grateful for the distractions. He was never good with down time on the cusp of battle and everything inside him vibrated with anticipation.
Luke inhaled deeply and, with a slow exhale, stretched his senses out beyond the cargo container he was crammed into. He could identify, closest, the other two rebels who accompanied him, in containers of their own, and the strange half-sentience of the astromech droid that was poised to move them all into the imperial hold. Beyond that, in the base itself, he felt the chaotic energy of battle as their allies above, in screaming X-wings, drew the enemy's eyes up and away. The proximity alarm wailed to life, as planned, as the fighters passed within its sensors then a hail of laser fire rocked it to silence. Turret fire took up the call, sporadic and thunderous.
No one noticed the small RM shuttle that crept ever closer to the cargo hangar.
Everything was, so far, going as intended.
Luke shifted his attention back to the hangar and confirmed the lack of living personnel within before knocking thrice rapidly on the wall of his container. Instantly, the droid sprang to attention and Luke heard the ramp of the shuttle lower.
Already, the aerial battle was peeling away from them, as TIEs raced after the rebels, chasing them into more maneuverable territory, but that was of little concern. Their task was done, and, as the droid carted the three containers down the ramp and into the hangar, Luke brought his reach back to himself.
It took a few more precious minutes for the trio to be properly deposited amongst a small pile of other crates and the droid to return to and depart with the shuttle. Then, with another confirming sweep of the area, Luke carefully pressed out of his hiding place.
Beside him, Lando and Sheya - one of the alliance's codebreakers - popped out of their own containers, the former scanning the room with a practiced eye. His glance landed on the door at the far end of the hangar, the one that led into the base proper, and he jerked his head toward it. "You're up, Sheya."
She barely needed the invitation. Almost as soon as she was out of the crate, the small Chalactan was headed for the door, surprisingly athletic form darting quickly across the shadows until she reached the door, then, with practiced ease, her fingers examined over, around, and through the small access panel.
"You're sure there's no party on the other side of those doors?" Lando asked, trying not to let too much of his discomfort show. He had plenty of faith in Luke and the boy's mystical abilities, but he was also a man of facts who only took chances the numbers leaned in his direction. It was a big ask of him to trust 'senses'.
And that was something Luke understood. Lando's uncertainty was palpable, even without the Force, and the Jedi was happy to confirm again. He let his attention stretch beyond the hanger, twisting through the corridors along their route. Aside from a few droids, there was nothing else to sense. "Wedge was right," he answered, dragging all but a portion of his attention back to the hangar. "The place is understaffed enough that most of them got called to deal with the assault outside." He paused, as the Force trickled down more information, his skill still not quite sharp enough to grasp it all at once. "There's a block at the cells, though," he added with a frown. There were too many lives there… "I can't quite tell how many…"
Lando bit back a curse. "More than we can handle?"
Luke shook his head, refocusing on the areas just beyond the hangar. "It'll just be tricky but not impossible."
"Good," Sheya interrupted, her native accent drawing out the vowel sounds. "'Cuz we're through." On cue, the doors slid open, not just there, but at three passes ahead along the most direct path.
Lando couldn't help by grin. "You really are wasted behind a desk."
Sheya only rolled her eyes in response, following silently behind Luke and Lando as they moved through the passageways.
It all felt almost too easy, their uninterrupted trek down the hall, pausing only when they met another door that needed bypassing. Luke kept his senses extended, certain that at any moment some alarm would recognize their presence, or some platoon would be waiting to take them captive, but there was none. Within a handful of tense - but unhindered - minutes, they were there.
The wall-spanning double doors were rimmed with blinking red lights, and even from their position, sheltered behind the intersection just before the entry, the trio could see that the blast doors had been engaged.
"They definitely knew we were coming here," Sheya muttered.
"Can you get it open?"
The girl shook her head at the gambler's question. "At best, it just alerts the team inside that we're here and we'll get blasted the minute there's an opening. But more likely, it will set off every protocol alarm in the base and send the whole place in lockdown…" she trailed off, thoughtfully chewing on the flesh of her lower lip.
"They've herded us here…" Lando realized, slowly. "They didn't stop us because they wanted us to get caught up here." His head whipped back over his shoulder, the sudden feeling of a pincer closing around them.
"No one's coming," Luke said, almost distractedly. "At least not yet. I don't think they have the ability to track our exact movements…they'd rather we run into them."
"Great, so we're stuck here until they get bored of waiting," Lando spat and the silence that followed his words only served to validate the concern.
It certainly felt like that, Luke couldn't help but think, but even as he wondered if they were going to be forced to give up or fight their way through a whole garrison of imperial soldiers, the other half of his mind probed the Force for a solution. All about him, he felt the commotion of attack and counterattack, but more importantly, here, just outside the detention cell, he felt the minds of the dozen-something troopers within.
They flocked to him, guided by some unknown instinct to seek the peace with which he surrounded himself and Luke slipped, almost accidentally into their consciousness.
"Hang on," he whispered, eyes drifting close. "I have an idea." Without waiting for a response, Luke let himself fall into the enemy minds, searching through them for the mind within the block that felt the most in control. One that, even in the relative calm, was calculating variables, monitoring the others, running over procedures. He found it, settled in the middle of the group, a stoic presence in the Force, and melded himself to the commander's thoughts. The old Jedi mind trick wasn't something Luke really liked to use. It felt wrong, to manipulate another's mind to his bidding – too much like something from the dark side - but it was a necessary skill and while he wouldn't call himself a master at it, he felt confident enough in his skills to try this simple thing. Still, it was tricky, molding his own mind to the commander enough so the suggestion would stick and after a few attempts he knew it wouldn't work. The man was too alert, too laser focused on the task that no subtle prod would direct him away.
Then, he pulled away and allowed his mind to feel along the others until…there…one of many newly assigned soldiers, mind jumpy with fear. Poised at the front line – as his young, expendable status provided him - he was only a few steps away from the control panel, eyes already jumping to it at the slightest sound from the fighters outside. Perfect. It took nothing to imbed the order, open the door, and almost before he could snap back into his own mind, it was carried out much to the surprise of the gathered troopers.
Only a few seconds surprise, but enough for Lando's quick blaster to fire four well-aimed shots, clearing the entry way. Luke bolted forward, saber aglow and Forced the recovering troopers back away from any console or panel that would let them call for backup.
In the confines of the small control center, he had the upper hand, blade arcing and slicing faster than the troopers could aim or fire. Coupled with the fact that the imperial academy clearly did not prioritize close combat training, the troopers fell easily to his rapid strikes and Lando's cover fire.
It was over in moments.
"I'm glad we've got one of you on our side," Sheya muttered in awe as she finally stepped into the room, her eyes lingering on his glowing blade. Just under twenty still bodies littered the floor between the door and the first stretch of the block, some still smoldering where Luke's super-heated saber cut through the armor.
Luke only nodded, holstering the saber, and turned his attention to the room.
The detention block was small – one of many reasons why this particular base was the perfect one for their test – spanning no more than a long, single L-shaped hallway. Small, force-field-guarded holding cells lined the walls on each side, the red glow of the barrier giving the prisoners inside a sinister flush. Many were pressed as close to it as they dared, watching the commotion, and Luke already recognized a few faces.
"Lando - "
"Already on it," the other interrupted, hands working quickly at the control board. "They were smart and got this whole thing locked down. It will take a second to access the door controls." He ducked below the console helping Sheya unbolt the plating for a hardwire access. "Get them ready," he called up. "We won't have as much time as I'd like to get back out of here."
"Especially since they're expecting us," Sheya added in a bitter mutter.
With a nod that neither could see, Luke started down the hall, eyes and senses extended for familiarity. Prudently, the rebel prisoners were spread out, no more than two within visual distance of the other. Carefully, he memorized the cell numbers, saving Lando the effort of scrolling and tried to ignore the twisting in his gut as he passed the others he couldn't save. He had known it was a possibility, of course - that was how prisons worked - but it was much harder to accept, seeing the desperate faces staring back at him.
Suddenly, he felt the Force jerk - aggressively and intentionally - away from him as some other source grabbed hold of it and he flung out more attention, searching for the culprit and steeling himself for Vader's appearance. Who else could it be?
What answered him, instead, nearly stole his breath.
Rounding slowly in the direction it pulled, to the cell just beyond the L's curve, Luke stopped and stared at a face he never expected to see again.
Ariala was thin, edging on the verge of gaunt and old bruises shone purple on her neck and arms. Her hair, which he remembered as long and oft free-flowing was shorn even shorter than his, with jagged, hurriedly cut ends. The beige imperial prison jumper she wore was filthy with dried blood and mud mixed interchangeably throughout.
But it was her eyes that held him. Despite everything, they still shone with that something that he could only ever recognize as her.
"Hi, Luke," She finally said, her soft voice barely audible over the hum of the force field. "It's been a while…"
"Alright, were ready!"
Lando's voice, echoing down the hall, cut off any response Luke could make, and he shook himself back to focus. All the questions bombarding his mind for answers would have to wait. They weren't done here. "When this opens," he said thickly, "follow the others out." He placed his hand just apart from the barrier. "I'm not leaving you again…"
Jerking himself back toward the central command, Luke rattled off the list of cells, watching as each one opened in behind him. Sheya greeted the rescued pilots with a brief, unfamiliar hello and, more interesting to them, the dead troopers' blasters.
"Ten?" Lando asked, recounting the list. "I know I'm getting older, but my memory isn't going yet; I distinctly remember we were only getting out nine."
Luke tried not to cringe at the scolding tone, the words of his explanation thick on his tongue. "I found an old friend."
"Really?" He glanced behind the Jedi, to the gathering group and spotted, just off to the side, the thin woman. He did a quick double take at the semi-familiar features of her face and gave Luke another long look before asking, "Not just a pretty face?"
"No!" Luke answered with dead seriousness. His eyes bore into Lando's, everything he couldn't say written in their blue depths. "Trust me, I wouldn't do this if it wasn't important. I don't know how, but I've got a chance to save her after too long. I'm not throwing it away."
For a second, it seemed Lando was going to argue, his eyes darting between the pilots, the girl and Luke and narrowing in thought. Then, with a sigh, he shrugged. "It's on your head. Let's go." Grabbing his blaster, he led the way back into the main passage.
Luke followed, paused, and with a mind now doubly guilty about the faces left behind, swung his saber through the console, disabling the force fields. He didn't wait for them to exit, whispering only a brief 'good luck' into the smokey air behind them, and followed after the rebels.
The way out was far more complex than the way in. Their hack into the detention cell did not go as unnoticed as opening a few doors and Luke could sense a mess of troopers redirected from the battle outside to bear down on the intruders. It wasn't a surprise, but planning didn't make it easier to pull off, especially with hungry and weakened prisoners in tow.
It was why they had no intention of going back to the docking port. Instead, Lando was carefully leading them to a maintenance hatch which sat over a maintenance closet which sat over a very terrifying drop. R9 should have moved the shuttle there almost immediately after delivering them inside and was, they hoped, waiting to catch the group as they jumped.
Only problem – said point was several twisting passageways deeper into the base and every second spent getting there was another second the troopers closed in.
Sure enough, not more than a few minutes into their escape, Luke felt them approach. Nearly half a platoon spread out at the next passageway, waiting for the rebels to stumble right into their grip.
"Wait," Luke whispered, and Lando froze the others following in suit almost immediately. Up ahead, he gestured. At least two dozen.
Lando clenched the curse between his teeth. Got a plan? He gestured back.
Luke nodded and pointed to himself and Lando then forward again. We'll go first, the movements said, and the smuggler cocked his head in doubt, once again wondering just how much the magic Jedi stuff could override youthful fearlessness.
But Luke looked confident enough without seeming arrogant and right now, Lando knew that was as good a reassurance as he was going to get. He gave a stiff nod then turned to the pilots. A stint in the Empire's grip hadn't done anything to their military preparedness and even before he gave them an order, they were squat low along the wall, blasters at the ready. Even Sheya and the Luke's old friend clung stiffly to the wall, eyes pinned on him.
Wait for our signal, he gestured to the pilot nearest him. No sooner.
The man nodded and passed the instructions down the line as Luke and Lando moved ahead.
The second Luke's foot entered the intersection, the troopers were ready. "Hold it right there!" came the unnecessary order; Luke and Lando were already paused, hands raised.
"Where's the rest of you?"
"What rest?" Lando asked, his skillful sabacc face falling into place.
The trooper didn't bite. Jerking his head – and instructions – to the soldier nearest him he said, "Cuff these two, the rest of you find those escapees."
What happened next happened all at once.
As the majority of the troopers moved forward, three rapid shots were fired from the back of the platoon and three corresponding troopers fell to the ground. At the same time, Luke dropped low, sweeping his saber in a smooth strike at the unprotected leg joints of the imperial armor. Two more troopers dropped to their knees, a second arc from his blade felling them. And still, all at once and without missing a beat, Lando whipped his own blaster from his side and shot down two more.
Then the chaos erupted. Down nearly a third their number in the span of a few breaths, the troopers fired wildly at the rebels and – for a moment – each other as they shook with uncertainty over which look-alike amongst them had fired. From around the corner, the rest of the rebels came, adding their own bolts to the mix. Wedge – for it was Wedge in shiny new armor back there – grappled with a duo who finally realized he was the traitor, their weapons discarded in the scuffle. At the head, Luke pressed and fell with the wave of the attackers, drawing them into the swing of his blade or the bolt of an ally, while deftly deflecting the shots aimed at him. The corridor was wide enough to give both sides enough room to work but too much to cross.
Most of the pilots fanned against the intersecting passage, laying down cover fire for the Jedi. Lando and a few others took more daring positions just behind Luke, firing more precise shots into the fray, striking armor more often than not, and stunning the trooper within.
It was a maddening dance with neither side giving enough ground to bring it to an end and felt, to Luke, like the seconds dragged on forever. They didn't have time!
He reached out to the Force, searching its swells for a solution, when he felt it again. That nearby, sharp tug. Only this time it wasn't to get his attention; someone was using the Force. His eyes flickered toward the direction and in his periphery, he could make out the Ariala squatting behind Green-B's leader. Her eyes were pinched closed, hand outstretched and Wedge, subdued at the rear of the platoon, abruptly came speeding toward them.
The sight of the de-helmed man invisibly jerked through their formation with a terrified yelp and flung into the rebel mass was enough to pause the firefight. And the ground Luke needed. He darted forward, blade dancing, and before the troopers could reorient on his new position, struck down four. Behind him, Lando and half the pilots resumed their blasting, but it was clear they had the upper hand now. In moments, the hall went silent, Luke standing over the last fallen body.
With a sigh, he shut down the blade, eyes already seeking her out. And his weren't the only ones. The squadron leader, Wedge, and at least a couple other pilots were staring at her and Luke did not miss the way their fingers twitched beside the blasters trigger. He felt their confusion, their need for an explanation. But he couldn't give it here. So, Luke quelled their worries, sending pulses of calm and trust through their presences in the Force, just enough that they listened when he called them back to task.
Just beyond the disabled troopers was their access and fortunately it was a door Sheya could open with ease. The group piled into the dark room, their only light once the door close, the glow of Luke's reignited saber which he plunged into the base plates, carving out a person-sized hole.
Then, verifying that the room below was empty, he dropped down and started at a second one. The others followed him carefully and by the time the last rebel was down, there was another opening in this floor and below that, the docking port of the shuttle, open and waiting.
xxxx
"So, you ready to explain all that?"
Luke let his gaze drift away from the rushing white lines of hyperspace to settle on Lando in the shuttle's co-pilot seat, then, back, to the sealed door. He supposed Lando had been patient long enough, though that did nothing to ease his own trepidation. There was a part of him that still doubted any of this was real, and it was only the girl's steady presence in the Force that kept him from visibly confirming her existence every five minutes. If he was still struggling to make sense of it all…
He shook his head. "Not really," and brought his eyes back to Lando feeling the intensity of the other's gaze like a knife. "But I'll do my best," he added recognizing he had no out.
"Let's start with who she is."
"Her name is Ari – Ariala, but I've almost never called her that. We grew up in the same settlement on Tatooine, spent a decent amount of time together." He paused. "And she was raised by the man who first trained me."
Lando leaned closer. "So, she's like you, then?" He wiggled his fingers. "Can do all that Jedi stuff?"
"I think so," Luke sighed. "Honestly, I never saw her do anything until today, but Leia once mentioned she was -"
"Leia?" Lando interrupted. "How does General Organa fit into this?"
Luke paled with realization. Not at what he'd said. Leia. He hadn't thought about Leia. He was so caught up in his own swirling mess of emotions it hadn't even crossed his mind what to do about Ari and Leia. Now that he thought about it, he realized it never seemed real, the idea that they knew each other. He had only heard about it after the fact, in passing, and the (apparently alleged) death of their mutual friend was too sore a topic to be brought up again.
But it was real, now. Sitting in a corner of the shuttle trying to pretend she wasn't aware of the eyes constantly watching her.
"Luke?"
The boy snapped himself out of his thoughts and shook his head. "From what I heard," he started in answer, "Ari left Tatooine a few years before I did and went to Alderaan. She ended up serving in the Organa's royal guard, to Leia specifically."
"So, she was probably with the princess on all her missions? Including the one to get the plans…?"
Luke could see Lando's mind working, putting together the pieces and examining the blank spaces. And he felt when the gambler came to the same questions Luke had been asking himself. "I don't know," he answered before the other got the chance to ask. "I don't know how she's here…but I promise you I will find out." He glanced back, internally reaching out with Force again to brush over Ari and finding solace in the small wave she sent back. "I just couldn't leave her with them, again."
"I want Captain Solo back, too, Leia," Mon Mothma said, failing to temper the exasperation in her voice. "We need him. But we're at the precipice of one of the most crucial moments in the alliance's history. I simply cannot so easily risk so many of my top people on a side quest without the best assurances." She held up a hand to stem off the tsunami of Leia's retort. "I am not saying 'no'. I am asking that you wait just a little longer. General Calrissian's team will be back in a couple of hours and I will make it my priority to debrief them immediately. If all goes well, it will only be a few days more."
Leia sighed, trying not to slump in defeat. Mothma had a point, of course, and Leia respected their leader's careful thinking. But she had also been buzzing with impatience and anxiousness since this whole ploy started; waiting even just another hour – let alone some days – made her feel she was going to lose her mind.
Breathing deeply, the girl nodded, letting a small smile of concession twitch unto her lips. One small thing at a time. That was how she'd made it this long. Just one. small. thing…at a time.
xxxxx
The noisy, cheerful crowd in the hanger was already a rows deep by the time Leia made her way down. Word had spread fast and there was jovial atmosphere in the bay at idea that some of their own were returning. It didn't surprise her - most lost to the Empire remained lost in one way or another - and in fact made her heart swell with warmth that this little tester mission was going to do offer more to the team than just intel.
What did surprise her, were the five security officers waiting on the landing pad proper.
"What's going on?" she asked, sidling up to the captain.
He shot to attention at her voice, back pulling straighter. "General Calrissian's transmission mentioned they picked up a stray on their way out, ma'am." Leia frowned. She hadn't heard that.
Misunderstanding her expression as one of concern, the captain added, "It wasn't anything they couldn't handle, from what I gather, but…well protocol…" he trailed off at her distracted nod.
She had been one of the people who insisted on said protocol. It wasn't uncommon on any alliance mission that natives or asylum seekers would stow away on or with rebel ships, seeking help from the people battling the Empire. Most times, they were harmless, if not a bit indignant once they realized the trip had been futile - the rebellion was not in a position to safely protect or rehouse citizens, no matter how much they may have wanted to - but not always. More than a couple times, they had been spies, or thieves, greedy creatures looking to get a few quick credits by selling the alliance's secrets to the highest bidder.
Taking the 'stray' into custody as soon as possible was the safest bet.
But something about this that she couldn't quite put her finger on tickled at the back of her mind and as much as she tried to brush it away with excuses, it left a lingering pit of unease in her stomach. A pit which solidified into a rock when, finally, the shuttle popped in from hyperspace and began its laboriously slow crawl into the bay.
It felt like a millennium that she and the others gathered watched it pull in in utter silence, but finally, the landing gear touched down with a hissing exhale and the cheer that went up could have shattered the hull.
Bodies raced to be the first at the lowering ramp and quickly, as the mass crowded the way, Leia lost direct view of the shuttle's exit ramp but by the swell of cheers that rose every few seconds, she could tell the passengers were unloading. After a few moments, she spotted Luke pressing through the crowd, making a beeline for her. She didn't question how he knew where to find her in the mess of people – it was something she had gotten use to since he came back from Tatooine – and instead was simply grateful he wasn't going to make her wait.
"Leia - "
"Luke! I heard something happened - "
"Yeah, I need to talk to you - "
"Was it bad?"
"Leia!" Luke shouted, cutting off their overlapping greetings with a nervous, exasperated sigh. "Leia, I need to tell you something."
Her questions died in her throat as he caught her eyes and she saw, really saw, them. There was frantic panic in them that was worming its way around that stone in her gut. "Luke…what is it?"
He swallowed thickly, gripped her hand, opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out and she frowned. "What happened? You know you can tell me…" her voice trailed off eyes drawn toward the crowd behind Luke. They were parting, quite formally all things considered, and she could just make out the head of the security team leading the others in tight formation back through the crowds. Lando was just beside them signing off the official transfer, no doubt…
She felt Luke's hands tighten but she couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away. That tickle was back and growing stronger by the second. She could barely hear her own thoughts around its wordless warning. "Luke…what happened?" Why did she sound so afraid?
"Leia…we…we found someone."
"Someone…" she repeated almost distractedly. The warning was drumming all about her now – or maybe that just the sound of her heart thudding wildly for no reason. She could see a sixth pair of legs in the center of the pentagonal formation and occasional glimpses of the small girl in the center. They were edging closer to the duo and Leia wasn't sure she wanted to be standing here when they passed.
She tore her gaze back to Luke. "Someone…?"
He was as stiff as carbonite and diligent in his efforts not to turn around. "Leia…I can't explain how or why or any of the things that matter…but I want you to hear it from me…you deserve to know before…we – I - found – "
"Ari."
The guards slipped by and Leia saw her, and the world suddenly felt as though someone turned the artificial gravity to 100 times normal. Her knees gave out and it was only Luke's quick hold that kept her from crashing to the floor.
"How? Luke is that – but she – where -" Her tongue was struggling to keep up with her mind resulting in an embarrassing stammer she was glad she was muttering too softly for anyone else to hear.
"I think, Your Highness," came Lando's voice on Luke's other side, "those are questions better answered in a much less crowded room." His sabaac face was back on, a casual lean to his posture and even a bit of a relaxed smirk, but they had been around him enough in the last year to hear the note of warning in his voice and see the seriousness in his eyes.
Leia pulled herself together, wrapping her shattering pieces tightly in a political tourniquet, and pushed away from Luke. "Of course," She nodded toward another exit, the one that lead more directly to the residential area of the cruiser and added, "I want to hear everything."
To be continued…