Chapter 8: The Trace

While Luke and Leia had been negotiating with Rotta, Han had gone into Mos Eisley with Chewbacca and the droids. He led the group through the streets while doing his best to keep a low profile, though that proved difficult with the stares and whispers Chewbacca was drawing, for most of the people currently living in Mos Eisley had only heard of Wookiees, but had never seen one. Han did manage to find another cantina in the vicinity, only it was smaller than the spaceport cantina and patrons were sheltered from the twin suns by a very old and faded tarp. Han and Chewbacca found seats in the most shaded area and were met by a male Talz who happened to be the bartender.

"Anything to drink, outlanders?" the four-eyed being inquired in his garbled language.

Han decided to satisfy the bartender and purchased a particularly rich drink that came from his homeworld of Corellia. Chewbacca selected a dish consisting of a roasted worrt, which the Wookiee found appetizing despite its rubbery skin texture. While waiting for a message from Luke or Leia, Han and his party were uninterrupted despite a few curious looks, although Han did have to keep an eye on C-3PO and R2-D2 when the two droids were nearly accosted by a small group of Jawas.

"Thank you, General Solo. I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is being surrounded by those… droid thieves," C-3PO said with a tone of surprising disgust.

"Careful, Threepio. You know that if it wasn't for them catching you and Artoo, the Empire would still be around and you'd both probably be melted down by now," Han said with an edge to his voice.

C-3PO went quietly immediately at that, though inside his electronic brain, the golden droid still maintained the idea that Jawas only lived to abduct droids and sell them to any poor buyer whether they were in good order or not. He had never gotten over the experience he had when he first visited Tatooine, but he was glad that he had come into Luke's possession.

Han's holoprojector suddenly beeped in his pocket. He pulled it out and cracked a grin as the image of Luke materialized in his palm. Luke said to his friend, "All right, Han. Here's the story. Rotta the Hutt has agreed to let the Republic drive the First Order from Tatooine on the condition that we don't send a full military force to do it. He hasn't agreed to a solid bargain yet, so we have to earn his trust."

"That's gonna be difficult if we don't have reinforcements to help us when these First Order goons show up," said Han doubtfully.

"No fear of that, Han," assured Luke. "We mustn't look like an invading force ourselves, but we can bring down any ground forces they sent while sending for aid from some vessels in the Armada. Once we finish negotiations here, Leia and I will rendezvous with you at Anchorhead and send a signal to the Republic for reinforcements."

Han was about to agree with Luke when he and the others heard the throaty roar of a ship passing overhead. When Han, Chewbacca, and the droids looked up, they saw five ships pass overhead that were designed like the old stealth vessels known as "Wraiths".

"Huh. I had no idea they were still making those," mused Han. But his curiosity came to a screeching halt when he saw one vessel pass close enough for him to catch a glimpse of the ship's symbol: a redesign of the Empire's crest. He said to Luke, "I think I'll have to call you back, buddy. We've got a few ships coming in, and I'll bet you a fire emerald they're First Order ships."

"Understood," replied Luke. "Leia and I will meet up with you in a while and see what the First Order is up to."

"Roger that. Solo out."

...

Back at Rotta's palace, Luke and Leia had nearly concluded negotiating with Rotta, and they informed the Chancellor's office that Rotta had agreed to let them stop the First Order's raids on Tatooine. They were unaware that the mysterious individual who had been constantly disappearing from the throne room was there now and drawing a blaster from his belt. However, Boba Fett had been watching the stranger while Luke and Leia had been speaking with Rotta, and he recognized the blaster as an NN-14 model which could be easily kept out of sight until the target was at point-blank range.

The mysterious man raised his blaster at Rotta and primed it. But the crimson beam never found its mark, for Boba threw himself in front of the Hutt and took the blast, which sent him reeling from the dais and onto the floor stunned. The dancing girls screamed and jumped to the floor with their hands over their heads, as did many of Rotta's goons. The braver ones drew their own blasters and aimed at the wall where the would-be assassin stood.

The assassin fired two more laser bolts, but he had forgotten that Luke and Leia were not weaponless. Luke's lightsaber was blazing to life in an instant and was soon accompanied by Leia's sea-blue blade. The two Jedi deflected the racing beams with fluid motion until Luke raised his left hand and ripped the blaster from its owner's hand with the Force. Then Leia used her Jedi powers to hold the assassin against the wall like an insect mounted on wood.

Luke approached the pinioned villain and pulled off his cloak, revealing that the man was clad in a black uniform bearing a strange symbol; a hexagon encompassing a twelve-pointed star. Luke guessed correctly that this man was a spy for the First Order, and he said, "Who sent you to do this?"

The spy struggled in the grip of the Force and replied, "I don't talk to Jedi scum!"

Feeling very affronted, Leia relinquished her Force grip and allowed the assassin to slump to the floor. Then Luke had an idea. It was possible that the superiors of the First Order were either on Tatooine or elsewhere in the Outer Rim, and that they could easily be found if a trace was established. Deactivating his lightsaber, Luke gave a casual wave of his hand and said in a soft but commanding voice, "You will contact your leader now."

"I will contact my leader now," the man repeated in a voice that sounded as if he was in a dream. So saying, he activated his comlink and said into it, "Lord Snoke, come in. The Hutt is dead. Awaiting further orders, sir."

Once the assassin had done this, Luke activated his holoprojector and told Han what was happening at Rotta's palace. He said, "There's been an attempt on Rotta the Hutt's life made by the First Order, Han. I've convinced the assassin to contact his superiors. You'll have to return to the Falcon and retransmit the signal to the task force so they can locate the focal point."

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid," Han's voice replied with a hint of uncertainty.

"I hope so too," admitted Luke.

…

Han, Chewbacca, and the droids returned to the Millennium Falcon and retransmitted the signal of the First Order assassin to their task force. It took a half-hour to establish the trace, and Luke and Leia received the report as they were leaving Rotta's palace.

"Luke, we've managed to locate the point of origin of the assassin's transmission," said Ahsoka in a manner that suggested the report had something ruefully disconcerting to tell. "It's in the Nevarro system."

Even Luke shuddered at the mention of that planet's name; he had heard stories of the planet Nevarro and its inhospitable climate, and he was uncertain of how the New Republic could send a task force to handle the First Order without major casualties. But he felt that the only way to destabilize the First Order before it came to all-out war was to strike at their hidden base while he and the task force stayed to handle the emergency on Tatooine.

"Ahsoka, contact Chancellor Mothma and inform her of the situation. Ask for reinforcements to come to help Leia and me and our group on Tatooine. Then go with the task force to Nevarro. Find the First Order's fortress and take them down."

"Me?" asked Ahsoka. "I haven't led a task force this big for years."

"Making this a perfect opportunity to get your feet wet as a Jedi again," encouraged Luke.

Ahsoka took Luke's words into consideration, and then followed through with his orders. She contacted the Chancellor and requested reinforcements before ordering the task force to set their course for the Nevarro system. Now all Luke and his company could do was await the arrival of fresh troops to help them drive the First Order's agents from Tatooine.

A/N: I hope this chapter was good to read. Next chapter, we'll see the beginnings of Ahsoka's first mission as a field leader for the New Republic. Plus, the secret origin of Supreme Leader Snoke, as told by yours truly! Enjoy!