CHAPTER EIGHT
Lando Calrissian had known Admiral Ackbar for long enough to be able to tell when he was upset.
The Mon Calamari’s holographic image stared at him, his bulbous eyes blinking as he processed what Lando had just said to him. When he finally spoke, his gravelly voice was barely even as he echoed back Lando’s own words.
“You’re resigning.”
Lando sighed as he hung his head. “Yes, Admiral. I am. Not right this moment, of course, but after we’ve finished our mission—”
“Then what, you’re going to leave it to us to pick up the pieces?” Ackbar sounded as if he was barely holding it together, and it was only military decorum that was keeping him from bursting out into a rage. “We’ve managed to push Delvardus back at Sullust, but the Eriadu Authority still remains a threat. As do Prentioch and Zsinj. And that’s not accounting for the Core Worlds still under Isard’s thumb. The fighting isn’t over, General Calrissian.”
“I’m aware of that, Admiral,” Lando replied. “But I feel that there are better-suited men and women out there than me for this kind of fighting. I can’t live this type of life forever.”
“Neither can I, but I don’t have much of a choice, do I?” Ackbar retorted. He shook his head. “First Skywalker, now you. Is this about Mindor as well?”
Lando raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t heard that Luke had resigned from his commission. He wondered if Han and Leia knew. “Partially,” he admitted. “I feel that if someone more capable than me had been in the commander’s seat back there, we could have avoided a lot of those casualties.”
“You think you’re the only one who wrestles with those kind of thoughts? I’ve asked myself that very question more times than I can count, General.”
Lando scowled. “Yeah, well, maybe that shows I’m not fit for this line of work. Look, I’m happy to serve the New Republic I can… but I don’t think it’s going to be on the battlefield.”
Ackbar stared at him, hard. “If that is your decision, then I cannot sway you from it,” the admiral conceded. “I implore you to reconsider however. Perhaps once you have completed your mission, you will change your mind.”
“Sure.” Lando knew it was a lie, but he gave a non-committal shrug to allay the admiral for now. “Guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
Ackbar gave a curt nod before giving a sign-off that was just as icy. Once his hologram had dissolved, Lando allowed his shoulders to slump before dropping himself into his office chair. He knew that Ackbar wasn’t going to take his resignation well, but he thought the Mon Calamari would have been disappointed yet understanding. Apparently Luke’s resignation not long beforehand made it particularly bad timing.
Mindor was certainly a factor that had played into his decision, but there were others as well. The most pressing one was the fact that he wasn’t sure how long his little ragtag team of commandos—aptly named “Lando’s Commandos”—were going to hold together. They had had plenty of successes while working with Admiral Nantz to deal with Eiattu pirates in the Yushan sector, and they had been able to liberate Cloud City from Imperial control. But Lando wasn’t sure the morale was there, at least not enough to carry them all the way through to the end of this war, which still wasn’t in sight.
A lot of people had joined, yes, but just as many had left. In fact, the people he had working with him now were completely different from the ones he had worked with at Radix and Abraxas. The only one who had stayed on in all that time was Isolde Siro, stubborn and fiery as she was. But while Siro had proven herself during their various missions, a lot of the others were too new and unpredictable for Lando to have the same level of confidence in. Many of them were smugglers and mercenaries who had only agreed to perform a certain amount of jobs before they cashed out. Lando had clung onto the hope that they would stick around for the sake of doing good, and some had. But others hadn’t, and Lando knew that this kind of dubious structure was not viable for working out in the long run. The only reason Lando hadn’t agreed to take command of an actual task force was because he knew he wasn’t going to be in this for the long run. Just like his commandos.
Their latest assignment was perhaps the most dangerous of them all and was probably going to make or break Lando’s Commandos as a legitimate unit. They were no longer dealing with pirates but were now on the edges of Imperial space (or rather, Pentastar space, but what was the difference, really?). Based from an unused rebel outpost on a forest moon in the Cademimu sector, they were supposed to help in the extraction of Ambassador Madurrin from Anx Space, which was dead in the center of Pentastar territory. It was the Provisional Council’s hope that they would be able to negotiate Anx Space’s separation from the Pentastar Alignment, which for the most part had left the New Republic alone so long as they were left alone in peace. In the hopes of avoiding incurring retribution from the Alignment, the Republic had chosen to task Lando’s Commandos with the extraction of the ambassador, figuring the types of ship they used would be less likely to trigger Pentastar sensors than something like a Mon Cal Star Cruiser.
So far, the Marauder-class corvette designated Fortune’s Son had yet to arise any suspicion. Even so, Lando knew they were playing with a powdered keg, and the second it went off, then the New Republic would have one more warlord to deal with.
All the more reason to get out of this business as soon as I can, he said to himself.
He heard a chime at his door and he let the visitor without a second thought. He needed some sort of distraction from his ruminations, even if it was just a mission update. The doors to his office parted open and Nien Nunb stepped in. Lando allowed a relieved smile to cross his face as he regarded his trusted Sullustan friend, who had had his back since the Battle of Endor. Nien had been just about ready to leave New Republic service after a mission to Vandelhelm where he had butted heads with Han, but Lando had managed to convince him to stick around for the remainder of his own stint with the military, having already made up his mind back then to resign. Mindor had simply expedited that decision.
Nien seemed to pick up on Lando’s frustration based on how he was sitting at his desk. “Meeting with Ackbar didn’t go well?” the Sullustan asked, speaking in his native tongue which Lando understood even if he had a hard time speaking it.
“Let’s just say he didn’t give me a warm congratulations,” Lando replied bitterly. “Apparently Luke had just turned his resignation in well, so I guess that’s put him in a bad mood.”
“You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
Lando shook his head. “Nah. After we rescue this ambassador, it’s off to other ventures for me. I’ve still got unresolved business on Cloud City to clean up—I am technically still supposed to be Baron Administrator, but Lobot’s filling in for me there until my resignation. He just needs to hold out for another month at most, if even that.”
“Are you going to stay at Cloud City?”
Lando held up his hands, smiling. “Who knows, pal? It’s a whole galaxy out there. There’s nothing you can’t do.”
“You can’t be a Hutt,” Nien remarked.
“True. But who really wants to?”
Nien shook his head, and opened his mouth to say something else when he was cut off by another chime from Lando’s desk, coming from his intercom.
“What is it?” Lando answered.
“General, we’ve got an X-wing fighter requesting permission to land,” came the voice of Shriv Suurgav, a Duros commando. “I talked with the pilot, but he doesn’t sound like… I mean, he sounds like a kid. Young adult, at best. Probably has never flown an X-wing before. I think the astromech is piloting it.”
Lando frowned in confusion. “What did he say?”
“I dunno, he spoke kinda fast. Said something about a star-walker or some silly thing like that. Sky-walker?”
Lando ran a hand over his face. “Shriv, you know who Luke Skywalker is, don’t you?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course I do. Kid who blew up the Death Star, right? And the second one, too? No, wait, that was you. And Wedge.”
“Come on, Shriv. Get to the point. What did he say about Luke?”
“Oh, I think he said he was captured by bounty hunters. Again, I had a hard time following.”
Lando looked up at Nien and the pair exchanged grave looks. “Bring him into the hangar bay,” he then said. “I want to have a talk with him.”
* * *
Luke’s eyes opened as a familiar presence touched his mind just as the Justifier exited hyperspace, approaching the planet of Chommell Minor.
Leia was here. He did not know why, and he could not quite tell if she was in any immediate danger, although he could sense that she was under great duress. This complicated things, as he now had more than just himself to worry about. His lightsaber was still in the hands of the Cerean bounty hunter, who was probably on one of the other ships jumping out of hyperspace at the same time as the Justifier. Left without his weapon, he had only one other trick up his sleeve. It was probably a long shot, but it was worth a try.
Do or do not, the words of Master Yoda echoed in his mind. There is no try.
Taking a breath, Luke focused his gaze on Cad Bane and spoke in an even tone. “You will release me from these stun cuffs.”
Cad Bane spun around in his chair and unholstered one of his blaster pistols, pointing it at Luke’s forehead. “Don’t even think,” the Duros growled, “about trying to get into my head. You may be worth more alive than dead, but if you try that again—”
“You’ll kill me,” Luke finished for him. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Bane continued to glare at him before turning back around to pilot his ship towards the planet. “Maybe I should ask for a higher wage for all of this work….”
The Justifier proceeded to make its way down towards the planet, entering the city of New Renatasia. Once they had landed at a spaceport close to an Imperial base that looked more like a palace than a military installation, Bane got up from his chair and motioned with his blaster for Luke to stand up. He then led the Jedi Knight down the ship’s ramp; waiting for them outside was an Imperial officer and a contingent of stormtroopers.
“This is the Jedi, then?” the officer asked, eying Luke up and down.
“Who else would it be?” Bane snarled.
The officer gave him a warning look before saying, “Do you have his lightsaber?”
“It’s with one of my partners. We kept it on a separate ship so he wouldn’t use it against us.”
The officer nodded stiffly. “Very well. Follow me.”
He led them into the base and through a series of corridors, before taking a turbolift that took them straight up to the top of the palace. As the doors opened in front of him, Luke was momentarily brought back to the Emperor’s throne room aboard the second Death Star. The circular window was almost the exact same design, modeled after the Imperial insignia, and a chair was situated in front of it with its back turned. As Luke and his captor stepped off the turbolift, the chair swiveled to reveal a woman with narrow features, wearing robes that were customary of Imperial dignitaries.
“There’s the one,” the woman said with a wicked grin. “Inquisitor Rarnok should be here with the other soon.”
Luke frowned. “The other?”
“I don’t care,” Bane grunted. “Just give me my credits so I can go.”
The woman gave him a withering look, her nose wrinkling slightly with thinly-veiled disgust. “Not one for pleasantries, I take it. Very well.” She shifted her gaze to the officer that had brought Bane and Luke to her. “Go ahead and transmit the funds.”
The officer nodded and input a few commands on a datapad. He then looked back up at the woman. “The funds have been transmitted.”
The woman nodded back and returned her gaze to Bane. “You have your payment, bounty hunter. Now leave my sight.”
Bane tipped his hat. “With pleasure,” he said sardonically as he turned on his heel and left, spurs clicking with each step. Luke heard the turbolift open again and he looked over his shoulder to see not only the bounty hunter getting on the lift, but two others getting off as well. His eyes quickly went from the tall, red-skinned Zabrak to the short, dark-haired woman in a white jumpsuit that he was escorting.
“Leia,” he breathed.
Leia’s eyes found his and she gasped in surprise. “Luke?”
The woman at the window let out a cold laugh, her cackle reverberating against the walls. “And now we have the last Jedi and his sister, together again at last!”
Luke’s brow furrowed and a shadow fell over Leia’s face. They had not told anyone of their blood relation besides Han and select close friends. They both turned to face the woman, who seemed to already know what they were thinking.
“Relax, your secret is safe with me. My position on the Ruling Council has allowed me to be privy to certain knowledge that others aren’t. And really, it’s not hard to put two and two together when you know your history and are able to connect the dots.”
“Who are you?” Leia asked. “What do you want with us?”
The woman grinned as she touched her chest with her dainty fingers. “I am Lady Dulcea of House Greejatus. You may have heard of my father, Lord Janus.”
Leia frowned. “He was a member of the Imperial Ruling Council. He perished on the second Death Star, didn’t he?”
“Yes, and I have graciously been granted his place.” She sighed theatrically. “However, even in my position—or perhaps because of it—I cannot deny that the Empire is faltering without its Emperor. Pestage tried to rule through succession but failed. Isard is trying to rule through fear, but many of the warlords reject her. Without proper leadership, the Empire is doomed for failure so long as it stays on the course it is on.”
“Let me guess,” Leia said. “You see yourself as that leader.”
Lady Greejatus laughed again. “Oh, how I wish I was. But no, I am not that blinded by ego. No, a true ruler of the Empire needs to be strong in both mind and power.” She grinned slyly. “A power that those such as myself don’t have… but you do.”
“I know where this is going,” Luke said. “It’s not going to work. Vader tried to turn me. So did the Emperor. I rejected them both. You’re not going to succeed where they failed.”
“I don’t need to. Besides, it’s not me you need to listen to.” She leaned forward and pressed a button on her desk. “You may come in now.”
A door off to the side opened and another woman—younger than Greejatus and far more striking—stepped in. She was average height, maybe a couple of inches taller than Leia, with long brown hair done up in a braid trailing down her back. She wore a black dress that left her shoulders bare and had a metallic sheen to its skirt. A silver band wrapped around her forehead, and the necklace around her neck was embroidered with the emblem of the Empire. Her brown eyes found Luke’s and Leia’s and a warm smile graced her lips.
“Luke. Leia.” She spoke their names lovingly and there was a strange familiarity to it. She spread her arms as if to embrace them but remained where she stood. “You’ve both grown up so much.”
The twins gawked at the woman. Leia was at a complete loss of words and only Luke could bring voice to the question on both their minds. “Who are you?”
The woman beamed at them. “My name is Padme Amidala. And I am your mother.”
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