CHAPTER TWELVE
By the time Tarr-Nar-Mal’s ship dropped out of hyperspace, Luke had already managed to take control of the Starlight-class light freighter, guiding it past the Star Destroyers in Naboo’s orbit using the Imperial clearance codes that Tarr had access to, likely provided to him by Lady Greejatus. Once they were past the Imperial blockade, he set the wing-shaped ship on a course for a secluded place in Naboo’s jungle, a good distance away from the city of Theed which was sure to be overrun with Imperials that would recognize him and Leia on sight.
As they made their descent, Leia stepped into the cockpit, leaving Shara to watch over the confined Tarr. She still had the Cerean’s lightsaber in her hand, unsure what to do with it; she had little if any training with wielding a lightsaber and the last time she recalled using one was three years ago on Mimban, although that moment came back as a blur in her mind, feeling like an out-of-body experience.
“So what’s the plan now?” Luke asked her from the pilot’s seat.
“We seek an audience with Queen Kylantha,” Leia replied. “I might be able to get in touch with Naboo’s former senator; I still have the private encrypted communication codes we set up years ago.”
“And you’re sure we can trust them?”
“Of course. I was good friends with Pooja during our time in the Imperial Senate, and she is one of the leaders of Naboo’s local resistance. I haven’t heard much from her group since Endor, likely because Panaka has tightened his control over the planet.”
Luke nodded. Once the ship had touched down onto the green plains, he got up from his seat. “Would they be far from here?”
“Hard to say. Again, I haven’t received many updates, so they could be operating in Theed or way out here for all I know.”
They stepped back out into the main hold, where Shara was waiting with Tarr. The Cerean bounty hunter had his eyes closed, not once opening them to acknowledge their presence.
Shara frowned as she looked from him to Leia. “What are we going to do with him?”
Before either of them could answer her, there was a loud thud against the hold of the ship, followed by the distant sound of some sort of war cry. Grimacing, Luke motioned for caution and had a hand on his lightsaber as he hit the control panel to lower the ramp. As soon as it touched the ground, a fist-sized rock was hurled at the ship and nearly caught Luke in the shin. The cry that followed sounded a lot clearer now, and Leia instantly recognized what it was.
“It’s the Gungans,” she whispered. “I think we’ve already found the resistance.”
“Are you sure?” Luke asked. “Could be a different group.”
Leia shook her head and hurried down the ramp, ignoring Luke’s attempts to stop her. She held her hands up as stepped out onto the grassy plains, holding her hands up as high as she could in the hopes of being seen.
“My name is Princess Leia Organa!” she called out. “I am a member of the New Republic Provisional Council! I come in peace!”
Silence at first. Then, another rock flew out from the forest and shot over her head, bouncing off of the freighter’s hold. Leia winced slightly but maintained her composure as she spoke again.
“I am friends with Pooja Naberrie! She and I served together in the Rebellion! I would like to speak with her!”
Silence again. Then, movement came from the forest. Emerging from the trees were a herd of reptavian kaadus, ridden by armored Gungan warriors armed with spears and shields. Accompanying them were several humans, dressed in tactical uniforms and armed with blaster rifles. They regarded Leia warily as they approached, until one of them—a brown-haired woman about seven years older than Leia—stepped out from the group and, upon seeing Leia, broke out into a grin.
“Leia? By the stars!”
Leia allowed herself to smile as well as she walked over to meet Pooja Naberrie halfway, bracing each others arms. Her former senatorial colleague looked a lot different in tactical gear; Leia was used to seeing her in stylish backless golden dresses. Clearly the situation on Naboo had progressed to the point that the once-senator now took arms with the people she led.
“I am glad to see you alive and well, my friend,” Pooja said.
“Likewise,” Leia replied. “I haven’t heard from you in close to a year now.”
Pooja nodded. “The Empire has blocked most outgoing communications. Even our encrypted transmissions can’t get out anymore. Moff Panaka has been ruthless since news of the Emperor’s death came.”
Leia grimaced. “I fear that it’s about to get worse. I need to speak with Queen Kylantha as soon as possible.”
“Good luck with that,” grunted a tall man with a bushy black beard. “No one can get in or out of Theed without being shot down by stormtroopers. The entire city is on lockdown and under strict military surveillance. The Queen’s been practically locked within her palace.”
Leia frowned. “Surely there has to be a way in.”
The man shrugged. “If you have any ideas, we’d love to heard ‘em. We’ve tried pretty much everything.”
Pooja nodded solemnly before glancing over at the Starlight-class freighter. “How did you manage to find us? I thought we had picked a pretty well-hidden location.”
Leia smiled sheepishly. “It was somewhat by chance. Or perhaps the will of the Force, as Luke would say.”
She gestured to her brother, who had begun to approach now that he saw that the situation was under control. Upon seeing him, Pooja’s eyes widened and she let out a tiny gasp.
“Are you…?” she started to say.
“Luke Skywalker, at your service,” he introduced himself, bowing his head to the former senator.
The crowd of Naboo rebels stirred, murmuring to each other in awe. One of the kaadu-riding Gungans pointed at the lightsaber from his belt. “Yousa Jedi?” the rider asked.
Luke nodded. “Yes, I am a Jedi Knight. The Jedi Knight, as it stands right now.”
The other Gungan rider pointed to the lightsaber that Leia had since attached to her own belt. “Yousa Jedi as well?”
“What?” Leia looked down at the hilt and shook her head. “Oh, no. We confiscated this from the bounty hunter who was kind enough to lend us his ship. He’s being held on board and watched over by our other companion.”
Luke put a hand on her shoulder. “She might very well become a Jedi someday. She certainly has the potential.”
Leia smiled weakly before looking back at Pooja, who still appeared to be lost in thought. “Is everything all right?” Leia asked.
Pooja waved a hand. “It’s nothing. It can wait.” Recomposing herself, she then said, “We can take you back to our base. Maybe we can plan something out to get you into Theed. Our odds have certainly improved with a Jedi Knight on our side.”
“That would be great,” Leia said. “Let me get Shara and—”
She was interrupted when one of the Gungans let out a wailing cry. They all looked up in time to see the distant yet distinct outline of another Star Destroyer appear in the sky, joining the one already in orbit. Leia frowned as she felt a great sense of dread fall over her, and she could tell that Luke was having similar thoughts.
“It’s the Torment, isn’t it?” she said quietly to him. “It has to be.”
“Panaka’s ship?” Pooja asked. “You’ve seen it before?”
Leia was unable to answer her as she was distracted by the sight of the looming Star Destroyer. She continued to watch as tiny shapes flew out of its hangar bay, sure to be TIE fighters screeching down towards the planet. Had the Empire followed them here? Had she and Luke led them straight to Pooja’s resistance?
No. As she watched them, she realized that they were not headed for them… but rather in the direction of Theed, to the northwest. Straining her ears, she managed to hear the distinct shriek of their engines… which was quickly followed by the sound of laser fire.
“They’re firing upon the city,” Pooja breathed in horror. “Why would they do that?”
Suddenly, the sky began to darkened as black clouds began to roll over the sky, appearing almost out of nowhere. Lightning struck on the horizon, heralding the sound of thunder.
“That’s strange,” muttered the tall man. “We don’t usually get this kind of weather this time of year.”
“That’s because this isn’t natural weather,” Luke said ominously.
“What are you talking about?”
Lightning struck again, this time closer to where they were. Powerful winds began to pick up, blowing leaves and dirt everywhere. Some of the Gungans on their kaadu began to retreat back into the forest while Luke started for the ship, pushing against the wind.
“Get on our ship!” he called to Pooja and the others over the roaring storm. “There should be enough room for us all!”
The Naboo and their Gungan allies did not argue and followed Luke and Leia towards the Starlight-class ship. As soon as they were all aboard, Luke hit the control panel to close the ramp while Leia led Pooja and the others into the main hold, where Shara was still waiting.
“What’s going out there?” the A-wing pilot asked. “Sounds like a storm brewing out there.”
“That’s because there is,” Leia replied. “We need to get to Theed, regardless of whether the Imperials like it or not. Maybe the bounty hunter’s clearance codes will get us in.”
The ship started to tremble under the pressure of the winds. “Sounds like to me they’re gonna have more to worry about than just some freighter,” remarked the bearded man.
Luke hurried into the cockpit and started up the engines. “Buckle in, everyone. This is going to be a bumpy ride.”
* * *
Han had always found it strange flying the Millennium Falcon without his trusted Wookiee co-pilot. But he did not want to disturb Chewbacca from spending time with his family, seeing as he hadn’t seen Malla or their son since Kashyyyk had been liberated from the Empire several months ago. It was the least he could do given everything Chewie had done for him during their many, many years together. Especially since Han didn’t have a family of his own to be there for. Not yet, anyway.
Right now, however, he was really wishing that he had Chewie at his side.
He had brought the Falcon right into the Naboo system, coming in from behind one of its moons to evade the Imperial ships he knew to be in the system. While C-3PO’s information hadn’t specified that Leia had gone to Naboo specifically, Han couldn’t think of anywhere else in the sector she could have or would have gone to; he knew that Naboo had a formidable resistance cell on the planet that had been with the Alliance for some time, and that Leia had recently been on a mission to bring Naboo into the New Republic. So, it had seemed like the most logical choice to him.
But now he was hoping that Leia wasn’t on Naboo, as the Empire was bringing down hell onto the beautiful planet.
At least two Star Destroyers were in the planet’s orbit, surrounded by a multitude of satellites that appeared to be disrupting the climate, conjuring storm clouds to appear all over the planet’s surface. TIE fighters and troop carriers flew out from the hangar bay and headed down, while turbolasers fire intermittently from the Star Destroyers’ underside and down onto the planet.
As fast and great as a ship the Falcon was, Han knew that he stood no chance against two Star Destroyers, let alone whatever else the Empire was unleashing down below. He needed to call for help; he only prayed that the Empire wasn’t blocking communications yet.
To his relief, he managed to get a connection back to Lando’s ship and the familiar voice of his old friend chimed in. “Han?”
“Lando, we’ve got a situation. The Empire is attacking Naboo.”
“Naboo? Isn’t it still under their control?”
“Either it’s one of the warlords or they’re trying to blow it up so that no one else can have it. You need to get here now.”
“We’re a bit a ways away; we just managed to pick up our ambassador from the edge of the Cademimu sector. We’ll try to get there as fast as we can.”
Han grimaced. “I don’t think you’re gonna get here in time. What about Ackbar? Can he send one of the fleets?”
“Closest one I think is Nantz’s. They just pushed back Delvardus at Sullust. They might be able to get there sooner.”
“Give them a call, now,” Han said urgently. “I’m going to try to slip past them and get down to the surface and find Leia.”
It was borderline suicide, he knew, but there was nothing else he could do. Lando, for his part, knew better than to try and dissuade him. “Good luck, ol’ buddy. Be careful, and hopefully I’ll see you soon.”
“Sure.” Han abruptly ended the call and wasted no time with firing up the Falcon’s engines and punching the ship forward, gritting his teeth as came around the dark side of the moon and shot towards the planet it orbited. Without a co-pilot, he had to multitask to make sure the Star Destroyers didn’t detect them; or, if they did, he would be ready to start evading their turbolasers.
To his surprise, none of the ships paid him any heed. Apparently they were so wrapped up in the destruction they were wreaking that one lonely Corellian freighter was of little significance to them. Perhaps they had already caused so much damage that they knew no one, let alone a lonely smuggler, would be able to help anyone.
Han shook the dark thoughts out of his head and pressed forward, accelerating towards the planet and praying that Leia was still somewhere down there, safe and alive.
A turbolaser shot down past him, missing him entirely and instead aiming for a settlement somewhere down below.
Or just plain alive, Han grimly amended to himself.
* * *
“First Skywalker, now Calrissian. I just don’t understand it, Firmus.”
Admiral Firmus Nantz, commander of the New Republic First Fleet, furrowed his thick gray eyebrows as he studied the hologram of Admiral Ackbar in front of him. “They were both at Mindor, weren’t they?”
“Yes,” Ackbar said irritably. “And they both cited that battle as the reason for their resignation. One of the reasons, at least.”
Nantz had his hands clasped behind his back as he stood on the bridge of the Restoration. Their conversation had started out as a report of their victory at Sullust but had quickly turned into an opportunity for Ackbar to rant at him about the recent resignation of Luke Skywalker and the apparently incoming resignation of Lando Calrissian. Nantz knew Ackbar well enough to simply let the Mon Calamari vent and get his emotions out of the way. He wondered how proper a conversation like this was on the bridge of a military ship, but he decided not to say anything about it. His crew, at least, were disciplined enough to not pay it any mind and instead focus on their duties.
“I wasn’t there at Mindor,” Nantz said carefully. “But from what I’ve heard, we were lucky to get any victory out of it. I know we lost Admiral Kalback there….”
“I am aware of that,” Ackbar said solemnly. “But if every high-ranking officer resigned after a harrowing battle, then the Rebellion would have failed before it had a chance to even start.”
“I agree,” Nantz said. “But from what I’ve read on Skywalker, I can’t say I’m surprised he’s throwing in the towel. He was only just recently made a general after Milagro; maybe he decided he wasn’t fit for the role. And besides, he is a Jedi. Maybe he wants to focus on rebuilding the Jedi Order.”
“Maybe,” Ackbar said bitterly. “And Calrissian?”
“I’ve worked with him and his Commandos before, at Abraxas. If he isn’t decided yet, then maybe I can talk him into reconsidering.”
Ackbar made a sound equivalent to a human snort. “Good luck with that. When it comes to smugglers like him, I can only hope for the best and expect the worse.”
Nantz raised an eyebrow. “It’s because of smugglers like him that we even have a New Republic.”
“Yes, and for that I respect him. But that doesn’t mean I have to respect all of his decisions.”
Nantz opened his mouth to offer his old friend some words of wisdom only to be interrupted when a Twi’lek officer called from their station.
“Admiral! We’re picking up an urgent transmission from the Fortune’s Son!”
Nantz glanced at Ackbar, smirking as he raised his eyebrow again. “Speak of the roguish devil…” he murmured. To the officer, he said, “Put him on.”
Ackbar’s hologram shifted to the side as Lando Calrissian’s materialized right next to it. Nantz had expected to see the younger man offer him with one of his charming smiles, but instead Lando’s face was all business.
“Admiral Nantz, we have a situation unfolding at Naboo.”
“Naboo?” Nantz blinked at him in surprise. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Ajan Kloss?”
“We’re leaving the system as we speak. We just picked up Ambassador Madurrin. General Solo just contacted me and told me that the Empire is attacking Naboo. Your fleet is the closest to the system. Can you get there in time?”
“Watch me,” Nantz growled. To the bridge, he shouted, “All hands! Set a course for Naboo, asap!”
The crew chimed back in unison and within moments the hyperdrive was humming to life. As the Restoration realigned to its new course, Ackbar was shaking his head.
“That doesn’t make sense. Naboo is under Imperial jurisdiction. Why would they….”
He trailed off as someone spoke to him out of sight of the projector. Nantz was no expert on Mon Calamari facial expressions, but he could tell that the admiral’s heart was sinking.
“What is it?” Nantz asked.
“We are receiving distress calls from other planets. Several, in fact,” Ackbar added grimly. “Abednedo, Candovant, Burnin Konn. Even Vardos.”
“Vardos?” Nantz shook his head in disbelief. “That’s in the Core. Why is the Empire striking at its own worlds?”
“To send a message, perhaps,” Lando suggested. “Or because they know they’re losing, so they’re making a last ditch effort to prevent us from making any more gains. Although I thought we had already liberated the Anoat sector….”
Ackbar waved a hand. “Speculation can wait. I will mobilize the rest of the fleet. Nantz, stay on course for Naboo. General Calrissian, I trust you are headed there as well?”
Lando nodded. “You know it, Admiral.”
“Good. We have no time to waste. May the Force be with us all.”
With that, Ackbar’s hologram dissolved. Lando followed him shortly after. Taking a deep breath, Nantz focused his attention on the viewport as the stars stretched and the Restoration launched itself into hyperspace.
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