CHAPTER THREE
The ice coated world of Mygeeto came into Wedge Antilles' view as his X-wing fighter jumped out of hyperspace, followed by the rest of Rogue Squadron, the Millennium Falcon, a fleet of Mon Calamari cruisers, and several other starfighters.
Surrounding Mygeeto were multiple fleets of Imperial Star Destroyers, with a swarm of TIE fighters ready to attack.
"All Rogues, report in!" Wedge called into his comlink as Rogue Squadron moved in to intercept the TIEs.
"Rogue Two, standing by," called the Mon Calamari pilot Ibtisam.
"Rogue Three, reporting," the Quarren Nrin Vakil responded.
"Rogue Four, on the double," said the Tunroth Xarcce Huwla.
"Rogue Five, ready!", the Taanab-native human Wes Janson said, enthusiastically.
"Rogue Six, standing by", said Derek Klivian, known better by his nickname 'Hobbie'.
"Rogue Seven, standing by," said the Commenor-native Feylis Ardele.
"All right, lock s-foils in attack position," Wedge commanded. The other fighters did so as TIE fighter squadrons swarmed in, green lasers firing at the Rogues.
"Rogue Six, you've got one on your tail!" Janson called. Hobbie narrowly avoided the TIE's blasters until one bolt went astray and hit his astromech partner. He flung his fighter around and rapidly fired at his pursuer, until the Imperial ship was destroyed.
Once the other TIEs had been taken care of, Wedge called out to the other pilots. "All right, let's take on those Star Destroyers. Rogues Three and Four, you're with me. Five, you take the others."
"Copy, Rogue Leader," Janson said as he, Ibtisam, Hobbie, and Ardele flew off.
-Dantooine-
Luke panted as he and R2-D2 came to a stop. "I...think we've lost them, Artoo," Luke said in response to R2's worried beep. "We should find some sort of refuge for tonight. We'll resume our search tomorrow, okay?"
R2-D2 spun his domed head, as if he was unsure about the idea. Luke sighed. "If you think of a better idea, let me know, all right?"
The astromech droid beeped worriedly again, but followed Luke nonetheless.
The two of them eventually found shelter in an abandoned Imperial outpost. While R2-D2 stood patiently in the corner, Luke searched the base for anything useful. He came across a computer-the only one that seemed to be in operating order-and decided to search its databanks.
Looking through the records, he found entries on an Imperial commander known as Titus Klev. According to the databanks, he had made quite a reputation during the Galactic Civil War, having conquered planets such as Rhen Var, as well as the Dantooine and Pyrshak systems, and even made a small resort on Manaan.
Other than that, Luke could find no other information in the computer's records. Deciding that it was getting late anyway, Luke climbed into one of the base's bunks and quickly fell asleep.
-Mygeeto system-
"General Solo, we have them distracted," Wedge's voice said through the Millennium Falcon's subspace radio. "You're clear to land."
"Copy that, Wedge," Han replied. "General Solo out."
The Millennium Falcon flew past the distracted Star Destroyers and towards the icy world of Mygeeto. A thick fog blocked the ship's viewport, frustrating Han.
"Chewie, are you picking up anything up on the scanner?" he asked his Wookiee co-pilot. Chewbacca responded with a series of growls.
Han frowned. "A dozen chicken walkers and five hundred stormtroopers. With Saber-class fighter tanks."
Chewbacca nodded, growling softly. "No, Chewie," Han replied. "I'm not sure if we'll survive this either..."
* * *
Wedge watched as the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer went down in flames.
"One down," Nrin Vakil muttered. "And just how many to go?"
"Three..." Xarcce replied. "Two more just came out of hyperspace."
"Well, if Wes and the others took care of that other destroyer, I'm sure we can use the same strategy."
"I don't think so, Nrin," Wedge said quietly. "I think these guys are a bit...bigger."
-Dantooine-
Luke woke up to find himself no longer on a bed, but chained to one of the outposts steel walls. Great, he thought, just great. How did I get chained up like this? I didn't sense anything...
Just then, the door opened to allow two men to walk in. One was a burly, armored brute with a bandaged head, while the other seemed to be a space pilot. The burly one gave a toothy grin.
"Good job stunnin' the Jedi, Kerran," he said to his partner. "But how'd ya' do it without 'im noticin'?"
"Guess I'm just lucky, Dengar," the space pilot named Kerran replied.
Luke smirked at the two men. "There's no such thing as luck..."
Dengar snorted. "That's what all Jedi say. No such this, no such that. It makes my brain melt like a wampa in a desert."
"It always was melted, you nerf herder," a garbled voice said. Luke recognized it instantly.
"Ah, shut up, Bane!" Dengar shouted. "At least I'm smart enough to shoot a blaster!"
"At least...." An aging Duros, wearing a cybernetic breathing apparatus attached to his blue face, along with a wide-brimmed hat, walked into the room. "Hello, Jedi," he said to Luke. "Luke Skywalker is your name, right?"
"Yes," Luke replied. "It is."
"Interesting," the Duros said. "I believe I've met your father before, yes..."
"I doubt it was a pleasant meeting," Luke said, bitterly.
The Duros chuckled. "No, it wasn't. Now, I think I should introduce myself." With a tip of his hat, the mercenary said, "The name is Cad Bane."
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