A Diplomatic Mission, Part 5

The ready room door slid shut behind the wing commander, and Pellaeon gazed back at the map still on display. “Sounds like Obroa-skai is a dead end,” he said regretfully. “There’s no way we’ll be able to spare the manpower that much pacification would cost.”

“For now, perhaps,” Thrawn agreed. “But only for now.” —Heir to the Empire

----------------------------------------------------

Leia awoke with a start, and immediately wondered what had woken her. Her room lay dark and quiet: gazing up she could see the city lights dancing off her ceiling, but no sound came through the window outside. Dimly she could feel one of the twins stirring slightly in her belly, and she placed a calming hand on her stomach to soothe it. For a moment she was reminded of her room back on Rwookrrorro, high among the wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk; and immediately wondered what had made her think of that, too.

It turned out the memory was more fitting than she’d realized. “Lady Vader,” a voice meowed softly. “Are you awake?”

With a start Leia sat up in her bed, reaching a hand under her pillow for the blaster she kept there. “Ekhrikor,” she breathed at the sight of the Noghri, forcing her heartbeat to relax. Her relief gave way to anger. “How did you get in here?” she demanded. “And what do you want?”

“Forgive me, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor bowed from where he was standing near the door. He was still clad in his dark cowl and cloak; but this time the hood was already pushed back, and his face looked even more nightmarish in the shadows of the city lights. “But you are in grave danger here. We must leave at once.”

“It’s all right, Ekhrikor,” Leia tried to assure him. “I’ve taken care of Legate M’eung. Thanks to you.”

“It was nothing, for the pride of serving the Mal’ary’ush,” Ekhrikor assured her in turn. “But you do not understand. You are in even greater danger now. You must come with me. I have an airship waiting.”

“What do you mean?” Leia asked, but she was already sliding out of bed and putting on her clothes. The Noghri had earned at least some of her trust at this point. “What danger?”

Ekhrikor pointed at the ceiling. “The ship in the sky above,” he explained. “The Grand Admiral has commanded his captain to attack the planet. It will commence any minute now.”

“What?” Leia blurted. “With all due respect, Ekhrikor, you must be mistaken. Even Thrawn wouldn’t stoop that low.”

“You do not know the Grand Admiral as we do. Already the ship is arming its weapons.”

“Then we have to warn the Obroans,” Leia said, getting up from the bed…but even as she said it she knew how fruitless it would be. The Obroans were a people of knowledge, not battle, and she’d seen Ackbar’s estimate of their ground/space defenses.

“Then we will do that, if that is what you wish,” Ekhrikor said. “But first we must get you safely away from here.”

“Yes,” Leia agreed, suddenly remembering how desperately Thrawn seemed to want to get his hands on her. “You said you had a ship waiting?” she asked, scooping her lightsaber off her nightstand.

“On the roof,” Ekhrikor confirmed, indicating towards the door. “Come. We will retrieve your Wookiee companion and your droid machine, and then take you to your vessel.”

Leia nodded, clipping the lightsaber to her belt and then following him out the door. The main living area of their suite was as dark and quiet as her room had been, and Leia could tell from the lack of light under the door that Chewbacca was still asleep in his room. Asking Ekhrikor to wait, she started across to fetch Chewbacca.

She’d made it halfway when the deafening thunderclap suddenly rocked the room.

“I’m all right!” she shouted up to Ekhrikor, not even remembering him grabbing her and pulling her to the floor. At first she thought a bomb had gone off somewhere in the Palace. But as a second thunderclap echoed across the city, she belatedly realized what they were.

Turbolaser blasts.

A third blast shook the room, more distant this time. “Chewie!” she yelled over the sound.

Chewbacca was already up, appearing at the door with an alert if slightly disoriented look on his face. He glanced down at Leia and the Noghri on top of her… “It’s okay,” she assured him, even as Ekhrikor helped her back up. Out the window they could begin to see green flashes as the turbolaser fire lit up the night sky. “Chewie, the city’s under attack. Thrawn’s ordered Harbid to destroy the Obroan defenses and take the planet.”

Chewbacca’s eyes focused on Ekhrikor for a second. “Sorry,” Leia said, introducing him. “This is Ekhrikor. He’s the one who warned me about M’eung and Harbid.”

Chewbacca urfed a question. “Exactly,” Leia said. “Go grab your bowcaster and Threepio and then follow us. Ekhrikor has an airspeeder on the roof that can take us to the Falcon.”

Chewbacca nodded, his long legs taking him quickly across the room towards the closet where they were keeping Threepio. She noticed Ekhrikor had pulled out a comlink and was speaking to someone at the other end in hushed tones. “How long before they start launching drop ships, do you think?” she asked him, glancing out the window.

But Ekhrikor shook his head. “They have already begun.”

* * *

Wedge was in the middle of a very nice dream when the first thunderclap hit. Instinctively he rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a loud umph. The pain knocked the wind out of him for a second, and grimacing Wedge opened his eyes. It took him a couple more seconds to realize where he was: the makeshift bedroom they’d set up in one of the hangars off the landing field.

He didn’t have long to enjoy that realization before another thunderclap hit, followed by a third and a fourth. “Sounds like turbolaser blasts,” he said to himself, and wanted to dismiss the thought as soon as he’d had it. Not even the Empire would be that crazy.

This thought too was quickly dismissed as an alarm started sounding in the hangar. “Attention,” an Obroan voice boomed from the hangar speakers, occasionally lost among the sounds of the distant booms, “attention, all ships. Obroa-skai is under attack. Report to your battle stations.”

“Right,” Wedge muttered, pulling himself up and starting to get into his flight suit. He’d gotten it halfway on before a new thought suddenly hit him. Scrambling to his nightstand, he started searching for the comlink he’d left there.

But he could see Councilor Organa Solo was one step ahead of him. “Wedge?” her voice came dimly from the comlink, barely audible over the attack and the alarm. “Wedge, are you there?”

“I’m here, Councilor!” he called into it, practically shouting. “I think the Imperials are attacking the planet!”

“They are,” the other confirmed. “My source tells me Harbid is launching an all-out assault. The first of the drop ships should be landing any minute.”

Her source? But whatever it was, it would have to wait. “Copy that,” Wedge said. “I’m scrambling now. Do you want us to try and pick you up?”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve already got a ride to the landing field. Just get your fighters in the air and provide the Obroans with whatever support you can. I’ll ring you when we’re airborne. And try to leave your comm on this time.”

“Will do,” Wedge said, dropping the comlink into one of his chest pockets. He’d just finished zipping up the flight suit when there came a panicked knock at his door. “Wedge, open up!” Hobbie’s voice came from the other side.

Wedge was already at the door, sliding it open. “What’s the rush?” he asked dryly, even as another turbolaser blast shook the hangar. He slipped past Hobbie and hurried down the corridor that led to their X-wings. “How bad is it out there?”

“Depends on your definition of ‘bad,’” Hobbie reported, jogging behind him. “That Star Destroyer hasn‘t called for any help yet, but it has launched almost twenty drop ships so far.”

Wedge whistled. “Twenty? That’s an awful lot of manpower.”

“I’ll say,” Hobbie agreed. “I don’t think this is just another raid, Wedge. I think we’re looking at a full-blown invasion.”

Wedge nodded. He’d reached the same conclusion, too. “What about TIE fighters?”

“Janson’s checking on that. Gotta be a couple squadrons, at least.”

And the nearest Republic base was light-years away. “Then it sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Wedge said, thinking back to what he could remember of the Obroans’ ground/space weaponry. If memory served, it wasn’t much. “Get everyone to their fighters and airborne. We’re in it now.”

“I’m already on it,” Hobbie told him. He paused. “What about Councilor Organa Solo?”

They‘d come to the end of the corridor; and before them now sat the waiting shapes of twelve X-wing fighters. “She’s on her own for the time being,” Wedge said, grabbing his helmet off a nearby shelf and jogging to his X-wing. “We’ll just have to hope she can take care of herself.”

* * *

There were three more Noghri waiting for them in the hallway as Leia and Chewbacca followed Ekhrikor out the door. Threepio scuttled quickly behind. The rest of the hall was empty, though Leia knew that couldn’t last: already she could hear alarms hooting in the distance. “Come,” Ekhrikor beckoned. “This way.”

They’d made it halfway to the lift when the building was rocked by another explosion. “Uh-oh,” Leia said, looking up at the ceiling. “That didn’t sound like a turbolaser blast.” Chewbacca growled his agreement.

“It was not,” Ekhrikor confirmed, still listening to his comlink. “It appears two of the Imperial drop ships have landed upon the Palace roof.”

“Just two? What about the others?”

“They have moved on to the Central Library building,” Ekhrikor said. Then we’re not their primary target, Leia realized. That was something, at least.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness,” Threepio spoke up. He’d been quiet as a womprat so far. “But with those drop ships, you don’t still intend for us to go to the roof, do you?”

A good question, actually. “Ekhrikor?”

Ekhrikor shook his head. “I will have our pilot meet us at a lower level. Back this way, Lady Vader.”

They turned around and started back towards the way they had come. And not a moment too soon: already Leia thought she could sense a cluster of distant presences above them, moving slowly but methodically down from level to level. She tried some quick calculations in her head. The average drop ship carried somewhere between thirty-five and forty troops, though some could carry as many as fifty. Between the two of them, that came out to almost a hundred stormtroopers on top of them—

“Wait,” she said suddenly, grabbing Chewbacca’s arm. “Stop.”

In front of her, the Noghri halted. “Lady Vader,” one of them started, “we must not delay…”

“I said wait,” she repeated. “Ekhrikor, how many drop ships did you say had landed on the roof?”

“Two, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor said, his dark face creasing in what Leia assumed was a Noghri version of a frown. “Why?”

“No,” Leia shook her head, doing a rough count of the minds above her. “That doesn‘t add up.” At most she could sense maybe three dozen troops above them. “Below,” she realized. “One of the drop ships landed below us.”

Ekhrikor shared a glance with one of his commandos. “You are certain?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, stretching out further with her Jedi senses. “In fact, I can sense a group of them coming up toward us now. They’re close,” she added.

One of the Noghri hissed. “What do you wish to do?” he asked Ekhrikor.

Ekhrikor glanced over his shoulder toward the lifts. “How close would you say they are, Lady Vader?”

“Maybe two floors,” Leia said, concentrating. “No, make that one,” she corrected. She pointed. “They’re coming up the south stairwell.”

“We’re trapped!” Threepio moaned pitifully.

Ekhrikor considered for another moment. “If we head to one of the service stairwells, we may be able to slip past them—”

“Look out!” one of the Noghri called, pushing Ekhrikor aside. Leia had sensed it too, and she let Chewbacca pull her behind a nearby column just as the lift at the far end of the hall slid open and a squad of stormtroopers came running out. It took them only a moment to spot the seven of them standing in the middle of the hall. “Blast them!” someone shouted, and there was a clash as both sides opened fire.

Leia felt Chewbacca pull her a little further back, even as his bowcaster sang with the sound of a returning salvo. On the other side of the hallway, the four Noghri had pulled out blasters from somewhere and were methodically laying down suppressing shots in conjunction with Chewbacca. “Any ideas, Chewie?” Leia shouted over the firefight.

The Wookiee roared a negative, moving to get a better grip on his bowcaster. Leia grimaced, knowing they had to do something soon. Their current cover left a lot to be desired, and it was only a matter of time before that other group of stormtroopers came up from behind them. She glanced over her shoulder, down the long corridor with the rows of unexceptional suite doors on either side… “Come on, Chewie,” she decided, slapping the control panel to the door nearest them. Whether it was luck or the Force, the suite was unlocked; the door slid open. “Ekhrikor, in here!”

The Noghri fired a final shot before leaping across the hallway and ducking inside. “The rest of you,” she added, “come on, get in!”

One by one they all jumped across the far side of the hall and slipped in. “You, too, Chewie,” she said, pulling on his bandolier. “Let’s go.”

With one last Wookiee roar, Chewbacca pulled up his bowcaster and rolled through the door. Leia slapped the controls again, and the door went sliding back into place. “Are we all in?” Leia asked, doing a quick headcount before locking the door. “Where’s Threepio?”

“I am here, Your Highness,” Threepio said, raising a hand. There was a dark mark on his shoulder where one of the blaster shots had bounced off, but other than that he looked unharmed.

But behind him Leia suddenly noticed one the Noghri was gripping his side, and appeared to be breathing heavily. She took a step towards him. “Are you all right?”

“I am not mortally wounded,” he waved her off. “What do we do now, Lady Vader?”

“We get your pilot here fast,” Leia said, giving him one last look before searching around the room. But fortunately this suite appeared to be unoccupied at the moment. “Ekhrikor, call him up and tell him to meet us at Suite 712.”

A loud clanging started on the other side of the door. “Come on, move it,” Leia said as Ekhrikor got to work, indicating one of the bedrooms. “All of you, in here.”

It took them only a minute to get settled in. “He is on his way,” Ekhrikor reported, returning the comlink to his belt.

“Good,” Leia said. Chewbacca and another one of the Noghri had started piling the bedroom furniture against the door, but she knew that wouldn’t buy them more than a couple extra seconds. It was a race now between Ekhrikor’s pilot and the troopers outside. “How far out is he?”

“Not far,” Ekhrikor told her; but she could see he’d reached the same conclusion.

From the living area came a sudden crash. “They have breached the first door,” one of the Noghri observed.

“Let us hope this second lasts us longer,” the Noghri helping Chewbacca said, casting a look around the room for more furniture. He noticed Leia standing near the bedroom window. “Lady Vader, I think it would be best if you found for yourself some cover.”

But Leia wasn’t listening. She’d just noticed a pair of flickering headlights outside, coming up toward them from the planet surface. “Ekhrikor—”

“I see it also,” Ekhrikor confirmed, gazing out the window himself. “Our air craft has arrived.”

Leia breathed a sigh of relief. The last time she’d seen a Noghri airspeeder had been on Kashyyyk: strapped to Chewbacca’s chest and dangling beneath Rwookrrorro as their Noghri pursuers trailed close behind, it had been the last thing she’d wanted to see. This time around, it was a far more welcome sight.

The sound of renewed clanging on the door outside brought her back to the matter at hand. “We need to remove this window,” she said, grabbing the lightsaber from her belt. She moved to switch it on—

“Please, Lady Vader,” Ekhrikor said, pulling her away. “Our pilot will take care of it. Stand back at a safe distance, if you would.”

“Are you sure?” Leia said doubtfully. “I don’t think he’ll be able to shoot through without hitting us—”

“Trust me, Ilkhaim is most precise. Now come.”

She let him lead her into the corner, where Chewbacca was already huddled behind the bed. “Ilkhaim,” Ekhrikor hissed into his comlink. “Now.”

There came a flash of laser fire from the airspeeder’s front cannons, and then an explosion and a whoosh of air as the window shattered into a million pieces. “Let us go,” Ekhrikor said, getting up from behind the bed and tossing something onto the floor with a metallic thunk. “Lady Vader, you shall go first.”

Leia moved towards the opening and leaned out. Beneath them she could see the bright lights of the city, several stories below. “Come, Lady Vader!” the Noghri pilot called from the airspeeder’s open door.

Leia measured the distance from the opening to the airspeeder and tried not to think too much about it. Taking a deep breath, letting the Force flow into her muscles, she took a running start and jumped.

She made it easily, landing into the airspeeder and sliding into one of the back seats. Ekhrikor was right behind her, followed a second later by the wounded Noghri. Leia glanced back towards the opening, saw the nervous figure of Threepio looking rather lost standing there. “What about Threepio?” she realized suddenly.

“The Wookiee will see to your droid,” Ekhrikor said, even as Chewbacca came suddenly behind Threepio and picked him up with the same strength and ease he had Legate M’eung. With an effortless leap he crossed the distance to the airspeeder, dropping the protesting droid in the seat beside Leia.

“That is all of us,” Ekhrikor told his pilot as the remaining two Noghri jumped inside. “Let us be gone.”

Even at that moment there came flash from the building, and the bedroom door suddenly burst open. “Look out!” Threepio exclaimed as a line of stormtroopers came running through.

Ekhrikor pressed a button on his comlink, and another explosion lit up the room as the charges he had dropped detonated. “Ilkhaim,” he tapped the pilot on the shoulder, “now we go.”

* * *

Harbid stood on the Death’s Head bridge, staring down at the green-and-white orb below him. Even from this distance he could see a few fires had broken out in Obroa-skai’s capital city from the ship’s turbolaser blasts, but Harbid didn’t care. “You have something to report, Lieutenant?” he asked as the comm officer approached.

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant nodded. “We just got word from the drop ship commander: we have secured the Central Library building.”

Harbid let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Excellent,” he said. “Well done. What about Drop Ships Seven and Eight?”

“Nothing to report yet,” the other informed him. “They’re still searching the Royal Palace. The last message indicated they may have located Organa Solo on Level Seven. Would you like me to get an update?”

“Just reiterate that they are to use nonlethal force only,” Harbid said, “and that includes stun weapons.” The things were notorious for sparking miscarriages, and Grand Admiral Thrawn wanted Organa Solo’s two children as well.

“I’ll remind them of that, sir,” the lieutenant promised, giving a salute before walking off. Harbid let him go, studying the scene out the viewport more closely. The battle was proceeding well—surprisingly well, in fact. They’d taken out the Obroans’ main ion emplacements within their first ten salvos, followed quickly by a strafe of the landing field itself. Other than a handful of Obroan fighters and that X-wing squadron Organa Solo had brought along, the Death’s Head hadn’t encountered much yet in the way of resistance.

The X-wing squadron. Harbid shifted his gaze towards the tiny silhouettes zipping above the city, feeling a flicker of irritation. They’d done nothing but cause problems since the battle had begun, taking out his first wave of fighters and currently putting a serious dent in the second. It was time to put at end to it. “Starfighter Control,” he called toward the starboard crew pit, “prepare Squadron Three for launch. Instruct them to concentrate on that group of X-wings.”

He waited for an acknowledgment before moving away from the viewport. The X-wing was a resilient little starfighter, and those pilots seemed particularly skilled; but Squadron Three was comprised of the Death’s Head's TIE interceptors, and would make quick work of them.

He heard the sound of bootsteps as the comm officer approached again. “Yes, Lieutenant?” he asked. “Did you relay my instructions?”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said, looking a little nervous. “The stormtroopers have been reminded to use nonlethal force only.”

“Excellent,” Harbid said, even as the man just stood there. “Well?” Harbid demanded. “What is it, then?”

The other took a breath, no doubt reflecting on how often in the Imperial fleet the messenger could be shot. Sometimes literally. “Sir, we just received an update from Team Seven. It appears Organa Solo was able to escape.”

Escape, Harbid repeated, feeling a sudden rush of frustration rise up in him. No. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t have escaped. Not that easily. “What do you mean, she escaped?”

“Not without help,” the lieutenant added quickly. “Our troops had cornered her in a suite on the seventh floor, but an unidentified airspeeder arrived and took her away before they could stop it.”

“Were they able to track—no, it doesn’t matter,” Harbid corrected himself. There was only one logical place the airspeeder would take her: the landing field.

“Unfortunately, no,” the lieutenant answered anyway. “But the commander also reports that a group of aliens was seen helping her.”

That piqued Harbid’s interest. Aliens. And Organa Solo had mentioned something about a mysterious visitor the night before. “Did anyone recognize these aliens?” he asked. But the lieutenant shook his head.

No matter, Harbid told himself. They would find out soon enough. “Instruct the stormtroopers to return to their drop ships,” he said. “We’ll simply have to take Organa Solo with the Death’s Head. Starfighter Control!”

“Yes, Captain?” the officer manning the station said.

“Has Squadron Three been launched yet?”

“We’re about to launch them now, sir,” the officer told him. “Do you have any additional orders?”

Harbid smiled. “As a matter of fact, I do. Belay my last instruction. Tell the wing commander to concentrate on the Millennium Falcon. We‘ll move to provide support.”

And as the officer relayed Harbid’s newest order, Harbid felt his smile widen. Yes, they’d find out who these mysterious aliens were soon enough. Thrawn may want Organa Solo brought to him alive, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t interrogate her first.

* * *

Ekhrikor’s pilot set them down across from where the Falcon was parked on the landing field, coming to a halt a couple feet above the ground. “Here is your craft,” Ekhrikor said as one of his commandos popped open the airspeeder door, and Leia was surprised at how good it felt to see the familiar sight of the ship again. “We can do no more to assist you. This is where we must part.”

“Chewie, take Threepio and get the ship ready,” Leia instructed, her eyes on Ekhikor. “I’ll meet you in a second.”

Chewbacca barked an affirmative. “Really, Your Highness, I don’t think—” Threepio started, just as a hairy arm wrapped around his torso. His words turned into a wail as Chewbacca dropped them both to the ground, releasing the droid before sprinting across the landing field and scrambling up the gangway.

“You have been a great help to us, Ekhrikor,” Leia said once they were gone. “What will you do now?”

“We will resume our original mission,” Ekhrikor told her. “Traveling the galaxy and warning other commandos of the Empire’s treachery.”

“That may be difficult, if one of those stormtroopers back there got a good look at you,” Leia pointed out. “Why don’t you come with us?”

“To continue serving the Lady Vader would be a great honor,” Ekhrikor admitted, “yet we must continue the mission given to us, and warn our people of the great deceit perpetrated upon them. To fail in this task may cause more Noghri to come to harm. Do not worry, Lady Vader; perhaps one day we shall be given the opportunity to aid you again.”

Outside came a rising whine as Chewbacca started up the Falcon’s repulsorlifts, and looking across the way Leia could spy him moving about the cockpit canopy. “You have done the Noghri proud, Ekhrikor clan Bahk’tor,” she said over the noise. “All of you have. May the Force be with you.”

Five Noghri heads bowed. “Thank you, Lady Vader,” Ekrhikor said for all of them. “It has been our pleasure to protect and serve the Mal’ary’ush. This is a day that shall be long celebrated among our clan.”

Leia caught Chewbacca gesturing at her impatiently. “Take care of yourselves,” she said, and then taking a breath she hopped out of the airspeeder and landed gently onto the ground. She looked up as the airspeeder began rising back into the sky, switching direction and then rocketing off toward the mountains. “And good luck,” she added softly; then with a turn she hurried up the Falcon’s gangway after Chewbacca and Threepio.

* * *

“Wedge?” a long-awaited voice finally crackled in his ear. “It’s Leia. We’re back at the ship and on our way to meet you.”

“Finally,” Wedge muttered, switching on the comm. “Copy that, Falcon,” he said, glancing out his cockpit canopy. There they were: he could see the oval shape of the Millennium Falcon rising up from the landing field now. “Rogues Eleven and Twelve, move to escort position. The rest of you, form up.”

The X-wings moved into position around the Falcon. “Ah, Wedge,” Rogue Five spoke up, “I’m picking up a new group of signals from the Death‘s Head. Looks like more fighters.”

Wedge checked his own scope and felt his heart drop a little in his chest. Those weren’t just fighters, he realized, they were TIE interceptors; and if his screen was even close to being accurate, they would be on them in a matter of seconds. “They’re heading for the Falcon,” he said, studying his display more closely. “Councilor?”

“We see them,” came the quick response. “I don’t suppose running for it is an option at this point?”

“We can try,” Wedge said. But the TIE interceptor was one of the fastest ships in the Imperial fleet, and Wedge doubted the Falcon would even make it out of the higher atmosphere before they were on top of it. “All right. Rogue Squadron, switch deflectors to double-front and move into attack formation.”

The Rogues confirmed, and Wedge kicked his throttle up to full. On his screen he could see those interceptors getting closer now as they angled in on the left. Getting much closer. Just a couple more seconds and they would be in range of his laser cannons. “Here we go—”

A blinding burst of green light flashed across his cockpit. “Evasive maneuvers!” he barked, even as he threw his stick hard right. Another one of the Death’s Head’s turbolaser blasts flickered past, and Wedge felt his entire fighter shudder as this one made contact… and then he was out and through. “R2,” he called back, “damage report.”

A list started running across his display, a couple of the items in red; but Wedge knew how lucky he’d been. Most fighters would be space dust after taking a direct hit from a turbolaser, but his double deflectors had been able to absorb most of the blast. “Rogue Squadron, report. Anybody hit?”

“We’re all okay, Wedge,” Rogue Nine assured him. “But it looks like we lost our targets.”

Wedge swore. Nine was right. Distracted by the Death’s Head’s fire, the Rogues had indeed allowed the TIE interceptors to slip past. Already he could see them closing in on the Falcon, coming into position directly above it. “Falcon…”

“We see them, Wedge.” He watched as Chewbacca threw the Millennium Falcon into a tight spin in an attempt to lose their pursuers. It didn’t even slow them down. “We could use some help here!”

Even as she said it, the sky started flashing as the interceptors opened fire. “Let’s go, Rogues,” Wedge ordered, swinging his X-wing back around. By now they were too far away for lasers, but maybe… “Switch to proton torpedoes. Fire on my command—”

“We’re hit!” came a sudden cry, and Wedge watched helplessly as one of the interceptors’ laser blasts sputtered against the Falcon‘s hull, sending it spinning out of control. The interceptor moved in for another shot…

There was a sudden spattering of red laser fire, and the interceptor was swallowed by a fiery explosion. “Good shooting, Rogue Eleven!” Nine exclaimed, just as Rogue Eleven zoomed past.

“Consider it a make-up for the Skiprays,” Wedge said, returning his attention to the Falcon. “Councilor, are you okay? Falcon, do you copy?”

“We’re okay,” the other replied; and even as he watched the Falcon seemed to get back under control, swinging back along its previous vector. Wedge took a deep breath. So far they’d been real lucky. By rights that interceptor’s shot should have put a hole in their hull. “We’re coming in to cover you,” Wedge said, banking his X-wing into a position behind the Falcon. “Move to vector one-six-eight…”

“Hold on,” Leia said, her voice taught with concentration; and a moment later she came back sounding grim. “Wedge, we’ve got a new problem. Chewie says that blast knocked out our hyperdrive regulator. We can’t make the jump to lightspeed.”

Wedge swore even harder this time, the last piece falling into place. They hadn’t been lucky, after all. That interceptor hadn’t been trying to destroy the Falcon; he’d been trying to disable it. “What do you want to do, Wedge?” Rogue Three asked softly.

Wedge glanced out his canopy at the beleaguered planet below. “We’ll have to head back to Obroa-skai,” he decided. Without a hyperdrive regulator, the Falcon wasn’t going anywhere for a while. “Find someplace to hole up, see if we can get their regulator repaired.”

“No,” Leia corrected. “We’ll head back to Obroa-skai. You and the rest of Rogue Squadron will get out of here.”

Wedge bit his lip. “Sorry, Councilor, but that’s not the way it works. I have orders to escort you safely to and from Obroa-skai, and that’s what I intend to do. We should be able to find someplace in the mountains to hide until—”

He was interrupted by a flicker of pseudomotion above the planet; and a Dreadnaught suddenly emerged out of lightspeed directly behind the Death’s Head. “What in space?” Rogue Seven blurted. “Wedge, looks like we’ve got another ship inbound…”

“Attention, Obroan forces,” a new voice announced over the comm channel. “This is General Bel Iblis aboard the warship Peregrine. Do you require assistance?”

* * *

Leia stared at the comm, her emotions a mixture between relief and surprise: relief to see Bel Iblis, and the Peregrine along with him; and surprise that he was here in the first place. She leaned forward for a better view of the Dreadnaught, coming in a couple kilometers behind the Star Destroyer. She felt a sense of déjà vu as she thought back to Bel Iblis’s similarly fortuitous arrival during the Katana battle. “Garm,” she breathed into the comm, “I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am to see you.”

“Likewise, Leia,” Bel Iblis said…but his voice was starting to sound strange. Probably something to do with the battle taking place in front of him. “What’s going on here, exactly?”

“The Imperials are attacking the planet,” Leia explained, somewhat unnecessarily . “I don’t have much in the way of intel, but from what I can gather they’ve already taken out most of the Obroans’ ground-to-space weaponry.”

“So it would seem. I thought this was supposed to be a diplomatic negotiation.”

“It was,” Leia confirmed grimly. “Things took a bit of a bad turn. We’ll just be glad to have your help.” Even as she said it, the Star Destroyer began turning its superstructure toward the incoming Dreadnaught. “Incidentally, what are you doing out here?”

“You asked me to come,” he reminded her, and she could hear if not imagine the frown on his face. “That ‘personal appearance’ that would go a long way towards convincing the Obroans to join the Republic. Remember?”

Ah, yes; she had asked him to come. It seemed Mon Mothma hadn’t informed him of her settlement earlier. It was just as well. “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. Think you can lend the Obroans a hand?”

There was a pause at the other end. “I only brought the Peregrine, Leia. The rest of my task force is still at Elom.”

Leia swallowed, feeling her relief turning back into despair. Yes, she could indeed see the lone silhouette of the Dreadnaught moving toward them. And there wasn’t a whole lot a single Dreadnaught could do against the coordinated firepower of an Imperial Star Destroyer—Bel Iblis’s legendary reputation notwithstanding.

But not everyone seemed to share her doubts. “Senator Bel Iblis!” a new voice chimed in over the comm. “Welcome to Obroa-skai.”

Premier K’cheng. Leia had almost forgotten about him. “Thank you,” Bel Iblis said. “Can I assume I am speaking with Premier K’cheng?”

“Yes, Senator,” K’cheng’s voice came back, “I am most honored to speak with you. And not a moment too soon. As you can see, we have come under attack from an Imperial Star Destroyer.”

“I see that,” Bel Iblis agreed. “Have you begun evacuating the planet?”

“Evacuate?” K’cheng repeated, as if it were a word he’d encountered only for the first time. “I don’t understand.”

“Premier, this is Councilor Organa Solo,” Leia interjected. “You have to get to one of your ships immediately.”

“Councilor,” K‘cheng greeted, but Leia could hear more confusion in his voice. “I am relieved to hear you are well. When we heard about the attack on your suite…”

“Don’t worry about that, Premier,” Leia interrupted quickly. “Can you get yourself to the landing field?”

“I am afraid that will be impossible. The Imperials have already cordoned it off.”

Leia bit back a curse, taking another look at the planet below. Chewbacca wasn‘t going to like this. “Then give us your current location,” she said. They were still in the upper atmosphere, and if she squinted closely Leia thought she could still make out the rising tops of the Royal Palace. “We’ll pick you up in the Falcon.”

Chewbacca didn’t like it, all right, and he was very vocal about it. “We can’t just leave him to the Imperials, Chewie,” she pointed out. “We have to go back.”

But K’cheng didn’t appear to have any interest in being rescued. “I’m afraid I still don’t understand,” he said. “Now that Senator Bel Iblis is here, surely they will be chased away?”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, Premier,” Bel Iblis said. “My ship doesn’t have nearly the firepower to take out that Star Destroyer without assistance.”

There was a long silence on the other end. “I see,” K’cheng said, and his voice was filled with a new determination Leia couldn’t recall hearing before. “Then I will stay with my people.”

“Premier…” Leia started

“I thank you for your concern, Councilor,” K’cheng cut her off, politely but firmly. “For everything. But I will remain with my people, and accept what comes.”

Leia sighed. “I understand,” she said. “I promise your sacrifice won’t be vain. As soon as I return to Coruscant I’ll get the Council to send a task force to assist you.”

“I’m sure you will do your best,” K’cheng said, the defeat palpable in his voice; and even as she’d said it Leia had wondered how willing the Council would be to divert a sufficient number of ships to Obroa-skai. “It was a pleasure meeting you. And you as well, Senator Bel Iblis. Farewell.” There came a click from the speaker as he switched off his comm.

Leia closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and doing another run through her Force exercises. When she opened them again, Chewbacca was tapping at the sensor display pointedly. “Garm, we better get going,” she said, straightening in her seat. “We’ve got more TIE fighters on the way.”

“I agree,” Bel Iblis said, even as the Star Destroyer finally completed its turn. “We’ll hold them off long enough for you and your team to make the jump to lightspeed.”

Beside her, Chewbacca growled a reminder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” Bel Iblis said.

“Chewie says we can’t make the jump to lightspeed,” Leia told him. “Our hyperdrive regulator’s been damaged. Can you give us a ride?”

“I think so,” Bel Iblis said. “We’ll clear you a path.”

The sky was lit up anew as the Peregrine began firing its ion cannons across their current escape vector. “Looks like that’s our exit,” Leia told Chewbacca, even as the Wookiee started driving hard toward the Dreadnaught and the hangar bay located along its midsection. “You get all that, Wedge?”

“Copy that, Falcon,” Wedge said, drifting into position on their right. “I’ll just be glad to finally get out of here. Rogue Squadron, let’s lend a hand.”

The X-wings suddenly swooped away, diving after the nearest batch of TIE fighters. And as Chewbacca brought them alongside the Peregrine and up toward its hangar Leia cast a final look at her sensor display, and the diminishing planet in their rear. How generous, she wondered, would Grand Admiral Thrawn be with Premier K’cheng and the Obroans? If her experience with the Empire was any indication, not very.

In front of them the flashing lights and bright rectangle of the Dreadnaught’s hangar bay beckoned welcomingly. Meanwhile, on the far side of the TIE fighters came the first flashes of pseudomotion as Wedge’s X-wings began entering hyperspace. “Come on, Chewie,” Leia said, leaning back. There was nothing more she could do for K’cheng at this point, anyway. He had chosen his own destiny. “Let’s go home.”