Mara Jade - Emperor's Hand

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A few hours later, Han, Wedge and Dack were back on the Falcon, waiting for Madine to accomplish his mission. The old man, Skarl, had come back with them, and they soon discovered that he hated the Empire bitterly.

"We spotted you from the moment you left the docking bay," he said as they sat around the game table. "I've seen what they do in the name of their New Order. Hardly anyone on the planet dares lift their head. You were different. You hadn't been beaten down by fear, and then you looked like fighter pilots." He glanced at Wedge and Dack. "Y-wing pilot and gunner?"

"X-wings," Wedge corrected, taken aback. "How did you know we were pilots?"

Skarl laughed. "It takes one to know one. I flew a Headhunter in the Clone Wars, similar to your X-wings. If I was younger, you wouldn't be able to keep me out of one."

Wedge smiled. "I was one of the pilots who attacked the Death Star. I gave my wingman Luke Skywalker cover while he tried to hit the thermal exhaust port."

Skarl stared at him for a moment, then slapped him on the back. "The famous Rogue Squadron, eh? Yes, even here on Ord Mantell we know of the Alliance's battles. It gives us some hope when we are almost devoid of it. You did a great deed there, Antilles. You struck a blow for all of us who live under the Empire's tyranny. I wish I had been there to humiliate the Empire," he said wistfully.

"It cost us dearly, though," Wedge commented. "We lost nearly all our pilots and almost failed until Han took the TIE fighters off Luke's back, and we had to flee across the galaxy to avoid the Emperor's retribution. Perhaps you may have a chance to do something to help the Alliance, though."

Skarl laughed again. "Maybe I will, if the Force is with me. This information you seek, why do you need it so much?"

"Luke is under suspicion of shooting down one our pilots. He is attempting to become a Jedi, and believes that she is an Imperial spy. We came here to learn if she is - was- an Imperial agent."

Skarl's eyes closed. "I remember seeing the Jedi stationed here. They were a force for good throughout the Old Republic, until the accursed Emperor hunted them down. We shall have to ensure that Skywalker can continue his training by obtaining the information you need."

Crix Madine came up to the security post at the entrance of the record facility, with Threepio following behind him. He began to understand why the Rebels had been so pleased to see the droid go with him, as he had spent the last hour listening to his complaints and small talk, and was almost tempted to stay with the Empire as a result. The stormtroopers at the checkpoint straightened as he approached. "Your identification," one demanded curtly. "What do you need this droid for?"

"THX-1138," Madine answered, stepping up to a laser identification reader to have his corneas checked. He gestured to Threepio, who was being scanned for espionage programming or hidden weapons. "The droid is here to help translate some documents written in Old Dreeite."

"All right, you can go," the stormtrooper said, as a light flashed green on the laser reader and Threepio was given the all-clear.

Madine entered the building, knowing that this would be the last time he ever did so, although he would certainly not miss it. His colleagues were a backstabbing, arrogant group of cowards who would happily sell their mothers to a Hutt if it earned them some reward, no matter how slight, from a senior official. He regretted that he could not tell them exactly what he thought of them. He entered his private office and accessed his computer terminal. He had planned what he would do for a long time, and he finally had the chance. Watched by Threepio, he searched through the records for Shira Brie and smiled as he found one file on her. He copied the file to a datacard he had brought with him, and then inserted another datacard. He ran the small program on it, and laughed quietly. In a few hours, the program would begin destroying the files on computers throughout the facility. They would certainly remember Colonel Crix Madine for a long time...

Skarl's comlink beeped, and he took it from his belt. "I have the information," Madine announced tersely. "Go and tell the others to get the Corvette ready. I'll meet Solo at the Millennium Falcon."

"No," Han said, instantly wary of a platoon of stormtroopers arriving at the hangar bay. "We'll meet you at the Thirsty Mynock cantina. "Come on, let's go," he said. "You stay here, Chewie."

Skarl shook his head. "It should be safe for the Wookiee to go with you this time. The Imperials will be in their barracks by now. They don't venture out after dark. There's a lot of resistance here. So many lone stormtroopers kept disappearing that they eventually stopped night patrols. The Imperials took severe reprisals for every dead stormtrooper, of course, but it only increased the number of attacks."

Han glanced at him, and then nodded. "Okay, come on, Chewie."

The four of them left the Falcon, followed by Skarl on his way to the Corvette. The walk to the cantina was uneventful, and they met Madine there with Threepio and the datacard.

The journey back was destined to be less uneventful, however. They were taking a shortcut down a narrow, dimly lit street on the way back to the Falcon when Chewbacca gave a loud roar. "Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about this too," Han said, easing his blaster out from under his cloak.

The words were barely out of his mouth when three shapes on speeder bikes appeared at the far end of the street. Wedge turned to see another two behind them. "They've got us surrounded," he warned.

Two of the figures dismounted and came towards them. "Ah, Solo," one said. "I won't bother saying this is an agreeable surprise." He gestured. "You know the drill, before I have to settle for the death fee."

"We're doomed," Threepio said nervously. "Captain Solo, I believe surrender would be the most prudent course at this point. You do have a responsibility for me. Someone has to keep an eye on Artoo."

Han ignored him. "You always were the pleasant one, Dengar," he said dryly as he dropped his blaster and kicked it away.

Dengar laughed as he stepped forward into the light to pick up the blaster. A scar ran down one side of his face, all the way to his black hair, the legacy of an old vibroblade fight. "Believe me, Solo, Jabba's going to be even less pleasant with you for not reimbursing him for his lost spice. You should have stayed with the Alliance. A source told us you were going to Shalyvane and we followed you there, and then here."

"Look, Dengar," Han said, "I've got the money to pay Jabba with. I was just going to pay him a visit when you turned up."

"I'm not as stupid as Greedo," Dengar growled. "Let me guess, you haven't got the money with you, not that it'll help you now. Jabba just wants your hide. Anyway, enough small talk." He looked at Wedge, Dack and Madine. "I don't know who you three are, and you're lucky I don't care. Start walking," he ordered, waving Han's blaster for emphasis.

"Yes, of course," Threepio said promptly, hurrying towards the entrance to the alley as quickly as possible. Wedge held his hands up in submission and the three of them turned away towards the alley entrance. As they approached the speeder bikes, Dack saw Wedge's hand twitch in a barely noticeable movement, which he recognised it as an Alliance hand signal code. The two of them moved to pass either side of the speeder bikes, which lifted up away from them slightly as they passed. Dack abruptly spun and crouched, kicking out at the foot throttles of the right hand bike, which shot forwards towards Dengar and his accomplices. Taking advantage of the surprise, Wedge grabbed the other rider, and yanked him off the speeder bike with one hand, slamming the other hard behind his ear, and the man crumpled. In a few seconds, he was on the bike and had its laser blaster pointed to cover the bounty hunters.

Han grinned as he stepped away from them. "Sorry, Dengar, maybe next time."

Dengar slowly drew himself to his full height. "Oh no, Solo," he said softly. The figure on his right abruptly lunged forward towards Han, the lizardlike hiss of rage revealing it to be Bossk, but stopped short as Chewbacca sent him sprawling with one blow. Behind them, the blaster on Wedge's speeder bike spat and the rider at the far end of the alley was thrown off his bike.

Han sprinted for Bossk's empty bike, and Dack jumped on behind Wedge. "Get back to the Falcon," Han yelled to Chewbacca and Madine as he leapt onto the bike and gunned it out of the alleyway, followed closely by Wedge and Dack's.

Behind them in the alley, Dengar jumped onto his own speeder bike. "Get them," he bellowed to the rider Dack had taken by surprise, determined not to lose his reward from Jabba. A few seconds later, they were in hot pursuit, with a shot from Chewbacca's bowcaster narrowly missing them.

Bossk picked himself up and lunged for Chewbacca, knocking the bowcaster away with a blow. Enraged, the Wookiee seized Bossk's wrists and threw him hard against a wall. Undaunted, the Trandoshan again lunged forward and sent Chewbacca reeling back with a powerful punch to the chest. Chewbacca bellowed in rage and grabbed Bossk, shoving him hard down the alley, and giving Madine, who had grabbed a blaster from the unconscious mercenary, a chance to hit the Trandoshan with a stunblast. Bossk collapsed, stunned.

Chewbacca glared at the Trandoshan, growling in rage, and prodded the still form with a foot. He bellowed angrily at Threepio, who was trying to flatten himself against the wall as much as possible. "Oh, do be quiet, you clumsy oaf," the droid snapped. "What was I meant to do? I am a protocol droid and not intended for combat situations."

Chewbacca gave a series of exasperated barks. He nodded to Madine, picking up his bowcaster, and led the way out of the alley, heading back to the Falcon.

Dack twisted his head around to see the two speeder bikes approaching. "Wedge, Han, they're still with us," he shouted over the slipstream, as laser bolts shot past them.

"OK, split up and see if we can lose them. We'll rendezvous at the Falcon," Han yelled back. His bike broke away from them and vanished down a wide thoroughfare to the right.

"Solo's mine," Dengar shouted to his accomplice as he saw the bikes split up. "Take the others." He turned his bike after Han's.

Dack began shifting around as much as he dared on the speeder bike, trying to pull his blaster from the holster under his cloak. Eventually managing to draw it, he again twisted around and snapped off a hasty shot, which went wild as Wedge swerved to avoid a collision with an airspeeder, nearly throwing Dack off in the process. "Can't you keep this thing steady?" he yelled.

"It's not like flying an X-wing, you know," Wedge snapped as the bike heeled hard over to go around a corner.

Both of them instinctively ducked as a laser bolt shot over their heads. "Marvellous," Wedge muttered, taking a hasty look behind him to see another bike, doubtlessly Dengar's backup, join the other one pursuing them. He made a quick measurement of the width of the street they were flying down. "Hold on," he warned, and brought the bike around in a stomach wrenching circle, jamming the brakes on as he did so, only his pilot's skill keeping them from crashing into the buildings. The bike's laser cannon spat at the now oncoming thugs and hit one bike directly on the forward vanes, sending it careering into a building with a massive explosion. Dack fired several shots at the remaining bike as it flashed past, and managed to hit a glancing blow on the back of the bike, sending smoke pouring out. The rider decided that, with his bike damaged and the other destroyed, discretion was the better part of valour and raced off down the street.

Wedge let out a sigh as he saw the speeder bike vanish. "Come on, let's get back to the Falcon. I just hope Han's as lucky."

Laser bolts shot past Han as Dengar fired in an attempt to cripple his bike. In an attempt to avoid the shots, he jammed on the brakes for half a second. It was the oldest trick in the book, but Dengar fell for it, and his bike came alongside Han's before he could react.

"Give up, Solo," Dengar grated as the two bikes began banging into each other. "You haven't got a chance of escaping this time."

"Never tell me the odds," Han shot back, using one of his favourite ripostes.

"I used to be the best swoop rider on my home planet," Dengar warned as he began forcing Han's bike towards the closest buildings. "I'd be disappointed if you made me dig bits of you out of the wall."

"You're breaking my heart," Han muttered, watching the buildings anxiously as they came dangerously close. "Alright, I'll stop," he said, beginning to cut his speed.

"Very wise," Dengar said approvingly, matching Han's speed, and watching him carefully in case he tried any tricks, which was his mistake.

Abruptly, Han tilted the bike upwards and jammed the throttles down. Dengar immediately matched his action and looked forwards...and his eyes widened.

The building ahead had large pieces of ovoid ferrocrete ornamentation jutting out, and he realised in a flash that he was heading straight for the first one at full speed. Desperately, he hurled himself off the bike half a second before it hit and exploded. Bits of metal and ferrocrete sprayed out as the bike exploded, several pieces hitting Dengar in the side of the face and sending a spray of blood out. Dengar landed hard in the street, stunned by the impact.

Han's bike shot through the gap between the ferrocrete oval and the building, and then circled back.

He hovered over the dazed Dengar. "The best swoop rider on your planet, and you still forgot to look where you're going?" he commented, and raced off down the street.

Bossk staggered to his feet and hissed in rage at their failure to capture Solo and Chewbacca. He climbed on the remaining speeder bike and set off to find Dengar. A few streets later, he stopped as he saw Dengar limping down a street, blood streaming from a wound that ran down one side of his face. He glared at Bossk as the Trandoshan came alongside him. "That's the last time we work together. Trust you to turn this into bantha fodder."

Bossk hissed in anger at Dengar blaming him for the incompetence of his own hired mercenaries, and shot off down the street on the way back to the Hound's Tooth.

Dengar snorted as he watched him go, and then walked up to a reflective sheet of metal on one of the buildings. He wiped the drying blood away with a discarded white cloak that was lying in the street, ignoring the pain, and inspected the injury. He realised that it would leave a massive scar. He looked thoughtfully at the cloak, and then ripped the hood away, wrapping it around his head. He glanced at his reflection in the metal, and satisfied, strode off back to his ship. Solo would pay for this, he reflected.

Han pulled his speeder bike up outside the docking bay, and entered, relieved to see Wedge, Dack, Chewbacca and Madine waiting for him. "We're ready to go," Wedge said.

"Skarl says the Corvette is ready," Madine announced.

Han nodded. "Then let's get out of here before we get into any more trouble."

***

Followed by the Corellian Corvette, the Falcon climbed away from Ord Mantell, passing the Star Destroyers and XQ/6 platforms. Han let out a breath as they moved out of range of the platform turbolasers. "Piece of ryshcate," he commented, reaching for the hyperdrive controls.

Dack stared out of the cockpit. "I've got a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling..."

And at that moment, the Super Star Destroyer Executor came out of hyperspace directly ahead of them.

Chewbacca bellowed a warning. "Yes, I can see it. It's kind of hard to miss," Han retorted angrily, pulling the Falcon away as every starboard turbolaser on the Executor opened up in an immense broadside. He turned in the seat briefly to look at Dack. "You had to say that, didn't you?" he snapped.

The Falcon suddenly shook violently and stopped moving. Han didn't need to look at the controls to know that a tractor beam had them. He watched helplessly as the Falcon was pulled remorselessly towards the massive ship, and knew that he could never break free of the tractor beam.

On the bridge of the Executor, Darth Vader watched in satisfaction as the tiny freighter was drawn towards the Super Star Destroyer. Finally he would have his revenge on Solo for humiliating him.

The main docking bay on the Executor loomed steadily closer as the Falcon approached. Han had the quads firing away at the hull in a desperate attempt to knock out the tractor beam projectors. "They won't get me without a fight," he vowed, loosening his blaster in its holster. At that moment, the Corvette suddenly loomed in front of the Falcon, breaking the tractor beam lock. The Falcon shot backwards as though stung. "I don't believe it," Han muttered as he pulled the Falcon round and raced away from the Executor. The comm crackled and he recognized Skarl's voice.

"Get out of here, Solo," the old man said. "Make sure the information gets back to the Rebellion. Antilles, you said I might get to help the Alliance. It looks like this is it. Don't let the Empire win the war. May the Force be with you." The comm went dead.

"We won't let them win," Wedge promised as he stared out of the cockpit, amazed that they would sacrifice themselves for people that they had never met, in a struggle that they would never know the outcome of, on the mere word of a Rebel pilot that this information was important to the Alliance. The Falcon was flying parallel to the Executor and he could see red turbolaser blasts as the Corvette fired on the Executor.

Darth Vader gazed in mute rage as the Corvette suddenly appeared to put itself between the Falcon and Executor. Beyond it, he could see the Falcon turn sharply and drive hard away from the Super Star Destroyer. "Destroy the Corvette immediately, Admiral Ozzel," he ordered.

On the Corvette's bridge, Skarl held tightly to one of the crew chairs as the Corvette shook under the bombardment of the Executor's entire bank of starboard turbolasers. The Corvette was firing back, but it was caught in the tractor beam, and had no hope of matching the Executor's barrage. He knew he and the Corvette's crew would die here, but they had finally had their revenge on the Empire for enslaving them. He straightened up and made a ritual gesture of contempt towards the SSD as the final remnants of the shields collapsed and the hull was pounded by laser blasts. The last thing he saw was a white flash as the bridge imploded.

The explosion silenced the observers in the Falcon's cockpit momentarily, but they had other things to worry about.

"TIE fighters coming in," Wedge warned.

"Well, don't just stand there," Han snapped. "You and Dack get to the quads. Chewie, switch all power to the shields. If that Star Destroyer gets one lucky shot, we're done for. Get ready to jump to lightspeed." He banged the navicomputer angrily. "Come on!"

TIE fighters swarmed in, trying to drive the Falcon back into range of the Executor's tractor beams. Han thanked his stars that Wedge and Dack were experienced gunners, as blasts from the quads filled space around the Falcon, blowing TIEs apart.

And then the navicomputer gave a warbling. Han grabbed for the hyperdrive lever and pulled it, watching as the stars stretched and became lines. They had escaped.

Darth Vader watched impassively as the Millennium Falcon vanished into hyperspace. He had vowed to catch the Corellian freighter. Once again it had eluded him, but sooner or later he would have them, and when he did, he would take revenge for his failure at the Death Star.

An officer approached Admiral Ozzel. "Sir, we have been informed that the records facility on....

Ozzel glared at him and he fell silent. "Good or bad news?"

"Bad, sir."

Ozzel nodded, glancing at Vader, and decided not to risk his anger just yet. "It can wait, Lieutenant."

***

The Falcon raced through hyperspace on automatic pilot. Sitting around the game table, Han, Wedge, Dack and Madine examined the datacard that Madine had managed to smuggle out of the Imperial computers.

Wedge whistled. "Looks like we got just what we need. Look at this," he commented, scrolling through the contents.

Shira Brie (alias). Real name and background restricted. Appointed to Lord Darth Vader's staff. All previous and current operation details highly restricted.

Dack grimaced. "Standard Imperial secrecy. Give as little as possible away. Still, this should be more than enough to get Luke off the hook."

"Hold on," Han said. "I just remembered, Luke said she had a sister."

Detail Shira Brie's family.

Background restricted.

"Wait a minute," Madine said. "I'm not cleared for the operation details but I should be able to access the background details. Here..."

Detail Shira Brie's family. Code clearance 3263827.

Shira Brie. Parental details ultra highly restricted. Cleared for Imperial Admirals, Grand Admirals, Lord Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine only.

Other family details: One sister. Further details ultra highly restricted. Cleared for Imperial Admirals, Grand Admirals, Lord Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine only.

No other information available.

Han's eyes narrowed. "Looks like Shira was really cosy with Vader and his friends. Unusual for information on someone to be so highly restricted. Obviously, there's a lot of secrets in her past. I wonder who her sister was."

"I don't suppose we'll ever know," Wedge observed. "Probably an Imperial official somewhere or perhaps even dead."

***

The Falcon touched down in the main hangar bay in the Rebel base on Vanis 6. Han grinned broadly as he strode down the ramp to an anxious Princess Leia, who had been waiting in the hangar since the Falcon entered the atmosphere. "We got it," he called. "Shira was an Imperial spy for Vader, no less." He gestured to Madine, who had come down the ramp behind him. "We even managed to pick up some defectors. Madine was one of the senior Imperial Intelligence staff on Ord Mantell."

Leia gave him a warm smile. "Perhaps you're not so bad after all, Solo," she said, unbending for a moment. "Go and tell Security to release Luke on my authority."

Han winked at her. "Don't I deserve a kiss for getting Luke off the hook?" he asked.

Leia didn't even bother dignifying his question with an answer. "Madine, come with me. No doubt General Rieekan will want to speak to you. We may even have a place for you in Alliance Intelligence."

Luke looked up as the door to his cell slid open. "You were right, kid," Han announced without any preamble. "Shira was working for the Empire. You're free to go."

Luke slapped him on the back. "Thanks, Han. That's another one I owe you."

"I'll just put it on the tab," Han said as they came out into the corridor. "Leia?" he said into his comlink. "We've got Luke."

"Good," Leia said. "Meet me in the briefing room. General Rieekan has requested all personnel to assemble there immediately."

A cheer went up as Luke Skywalker, cleared of all charges, strode into the briefing room with Han, Chewbacca, Wedge, and Dack. Princess Leia smiled at them, and General Rieekan nodded to them gravely. "Congratulations on recovering evidence that Shira Brie was an Imperial spy," he said, before turning to the main purpose of the meeting. "This may have given us a splendid opportunity to strike a powerful blow against the Empire. Captain Solo and the others were able to retrieve a complete copy of the files on Shira Brie from Ord Mantell, including all the Imperial authentication codewords and details needed to fool the Empire into believing that she is still sending information about us. We can use this to draw the Imperials out by giving them information that we are massing the fleet in the Corlane system."

Gold Leader spoke. "Excuse me, sir, but the Imperials will come down on us like a ton of ferrocrete if we send them that information, and we aren't strong enough to stand up to more than six Star Destroyers in a pitched battle."

Rieekan nodded. "Not with the ships we have currently, which is precisely why the Imperials will take the bait so eagerly. When they do, we will spring our trap. If all goes well, the Empire will suffer a defeat second only to that of the Death Star." He proceeded to explain the strategy...

Wedge and Dack came out of the briefing room to see General Rieekan striding down the corridor. "Excuse me, General," Wedge called after him, and he turned and waited for them. "Go on, tell him," he said to Dack as they caught up with the General.

Dack hesitated. "Sir, when we landed on Shalyvane, we found the people starving. Can't we help them by sending food?"

Rieekan looked at Wedge. "You told him that we can hardly feed our own people?"

"Yes, sir," Wedge answered.

Rieekan nodded. "I'm sorry, Dack. We can't send them any food."

"But-" Dack began, and stopped as Rieekan raised a hand.

"However," he continued, "we may be able to spare some ships to move them to another planet. I think High Command will be amenable to such a suggestion, particularly if it's to somewhere suitable for intensive food production, where we can get the surplus food they produce. And at the risk of sounding callous, it's also excellent propaganda for us."

Leia followed Luke out of the briefing room. He seemed deep in thought, striding quickly down the corridor, and she had to hurry to catch up with him. "Is something the matter, Luke?" she asked.

Luke glanced at her, and then seemed to come to a decision. "It's just Shira. I suddenly realised how easy I must have been for her to fool. She must have laughed at how naive I was. I mean, I told her I destroyed the Death Star, and made myself, Han, Chewie, and Wedge targets for Vader." He fell silent, not wanting to say anything else.

Leia took his arm, forcing him to stop, and kissed him on the cheek. "I don't think you're stupid, and neither does anyone else. You made a mistake, but everyone does. Even Ben Kenobi lost Vader to the Dark Side, and then there's all the people who were taken in by the Emperor before he showed his true nature."

She smiled at him. "Come on, flyboy, snap out of it. We've got a battle to get ready for."

Chewbacca entered the Falcon's cockpit to see Han staring out of the canopy at nothing in particular. He growled softly, placing a hand on Han's shoulder.

Han turned. "Yeah, I'm fine, Chewie. Just those bounty hunters. Perhaps we should pay Jabba a visit after all. I thought we'd be safe enough here, but if Dengar and Bossk could track us down, perhaps not."

Chewbacca roared a question.

"No, I'm not going back to Jabba for good," Han answered. "We'll just give him the money and leave. I don't think we'd last long there now. There'll be more bounty hunters after us. We might even get Boba Fett coming after us, and then we'll be bantha fodder alright."

He was silent for a few seconds. "Have you fixed the port motivators yet?"

***

Admiral Ozzel strode onto the bridge of the Executor to see Darth Vader standing by the viewports and gazing out into space. "What is it, Admiral?" Vader asked without turning as Ozzel approached.

Ozzel smiled, confident that his news would please Vader. "My lord, your agent Shira Brie has sent a top priority signal informing us that a large part of the Rebel fleet is massing in the Corlane system. Captain Ralhon of the Retaliator has taken a force of Star Destroyers to annihilate the Rebels with my permission. They should be engaging them in battle very soon now."

Vader turned slowly to face him and Ozzel felt a terrible fear rise inside him as he stared at the inscrutable mask. "Shira Brie has been nearly killed by the Rebels," the Dark Lord hissed. "She would find it difficult to send any information on the Rebels at this point. You are a fool, Admiral Ozzel. Prepare the Executor to hyperspace to the Corlane system immediately."

***

The Rebel fleet was massed and waiting over the second planet of the Corlane system.

Standing on the bridge of the frigate Freedom, the current flagship of the Rebel fleet, General Rieekan stared out at the void of space. "All ships to battle positions," he ordered. "Starfighter Command, assume defensive positions. Prepare to receive Star Destroyers."

Around the Rebel ships, X-wings and Y-wings moved into screening positions. "All wings report in," Luke Skywalker ordered. A flurry of acknowledgements followed.

"Green Leader standing by."

"Red Leader standing by."

"Blue Leader standing by."

"Gold Leader standing by."

"Rogue Leader standing by. Lock S-foils into attack position," Luke ordered. "Han, are you with me?"

"Right here, kid," Han Solo said, for once not quite able to hide his tension as he prepared to go into battle against a full scale Imperial force. "How did I get myself into this?"

"Stay sharp," Wedge ordered. "Star Destroyer ETA in 30 seconds."

"May the Force be with you," Luke said.

And suddenly there were multiple flickers of pseudomotion as the Imperial fleet arrived. "Twelve Star Destroyers and three Interdictor cruisers in sector 3-8," one of the tactical controllers announced. "Exiting hyperspace in encirclement onfiguration. TIE fighters launching now."

"Twelve ISDs!" one of the wing leaders muttered, mirroring the fear felt by nearly everyone in the Rebel fleet at the prospect of such an uneven battle. "We're going to be wiped out."

Ahead of him, Luke could see the distinctive H shapes of a swarm of TIE fighters against the hulls of the Star Destroyers. Already, ranging shots were flickering out from both sides.

"Rogue, Green and Red Squadrons, move to attack," Rieekan ordered. "Blue and Gold, remain in screening position. All ships, begin gradually pulling back towards the planet. Draw the Star Destroyers in."

"They're coming in fast," one of his aides pointed out.

Rieekan nodded. The Star Destroyers were approaching at their maximum sub-light speed, TIE fighters sweeping ahead of them to engage the X-wings and Y-wings. "They're overconfident. Good."

On board the Star Destroyer Retaliator, Captain Ralhon stared out at the Rebel fleet. "Two Loronar Strike Cruisers, five Dreadnaughts, four Nebulon-B frigates, and eleven Corellian Corvettes. Is this all the Rebels can offer?" he snorted. "We'll just make a head on attack and crush them ship to ship."

He smiled, imagining a glorious future for himself as the man who had succeeded in destroying the Rebellion where Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin and the Death Star had failed. He would be able to supplant Ozzel and become Admiral of the Imperial Navy. With an effort, he reluctantly turned his mind from such pleasant thoughts and back to the task at hand. "All ships, attack at will," he ordered. "Helm, set course for the Rebel flagship. We'll take it ourselves. It should at least provide some target practice."

A solid wall of turbolaser fire erupted as the Imperial fleet came into firing range of the Rebel ships and both sides opened up with all batteries. Between the capital ships, a swarm of X-wings and Y-wings, with the Millennium Falcon in the vanguard of the attack, headed towards the incoming TIE fighters. In the cockpit, Chewbacca barked. "OK, shields at full," Han muttered. "Lets see how good these gunners we've got are." He patted the controls fondly. "Right, let's show Rogue Squadron what a real ship can do."

Chewbacca bellowed in agreement and the Falcon's sublight drive flared as it accelerated to maximum speed, rapidly overtaking the Y-wings and leaving the X-wings struggling to keep up. TIE fighters came at them in close formation, making themselves an ideal target. "Not bad," Han said approvingly, as the Falcon's quad lasers opened up and half a dozen TIEs disintegrated.

X-wings and Y-wings swept past the Falcon on all sides to engage the TIEs and space filled with red and green bolts.

A flurry of green bolts shot past Dack's fighter, and he glanced around to see two TIE fighters behind him. He pulled his X-wing into a climb, but the TIEs managed to stay with him, and kept firing. He grimaced as one bolt seared his canopy. These TIEs were too good.

"Stay sharp, Six," Zev warned. "I'm on them."

"Get a move on," Dack growled, weaving his X-wing around to avoid the laser bolts streaking past his fighter. He broke hard towards a Dreadnaught. Turbolaser batteries on the Dreadnaught began spitting fire at the TIEs. Both stayed on Dack's tail, although they stopped shooting to concentrate on avoiding the laser fire. A stream of red bolts shot past his canopy as an X-wing came in, firing at the TIEs.

"Got one," Zev reported, watching the survivor break away to find easier prey.

Wedge pulled his X-wing into a hard turn to avoid a pair of TIEs that tried to catch him in a fore and aft attack. Both TIEs veered to follow him, and promptly made themselves easy targets for the Falcon as it came in, quad lasers blazing. "Thanks, Han," he said as the twin clouds of debris dissipated behind him. "You've got three on you, though.

"No problem," Han commented. The top quad cannon opened up with several bursts and two of the TIEs exploded. A second burst from the lower blew the last apart a few seconds later.

Luke turned a TIE into space dust and took a quick look at the overall battle. In the distance, he could see a Star Destroyer exchanging fire with a hopelessly overmatched trio of Corellian Corvettes.

"Dack, Zev, Hobbie, and Blue Squadron, close up," he ordered. "Let's see if we can give the Blockade Runners a hand." He watched as the Y-wings from Blue Squadron formed up around him. "Blue Squadron, use proton torpedoes on the ISD. "Target the starboard shields. We'll cover you."

"I copy, Rogue Leader," Blue Leader acknowledged. "Okay boys, here we go."

Escorted by the X-wings, the Y-wings dove to pick up speed as they started their attack run. Turbolasers blasted up at them as they headed in on the Star Destroyer. "Stay evasive," Blue Leader advised. "They'll have trouble hitting us if we keep manoeuvring."

Luke was splitting his attention between his displays and the laser bolts that curved around through space as the gunners attempted to track his X-wing. Fortunately, there seemed to be no TIEs in the immediate vicinity and as with the Death Star attack, the ISD turbolaser batteries, designed to work against capital ships, were ineffective against starfighters.

And then they were in range and a hail of proton torpedoes emerged from the Y-wing launching tubes. Luke watched as, one by one, the torpedoes impacted against the Star Destroyer's shields and the starboard section of the blue shell on his display almost vanished. The attack gave the Corvettes a breathing space and renewed energy. All three opened up with a vengeance and on the Star Destroyer, turbolasers exploded, missile clusters were blasted away, and sections of hull breached. Desperately, the wounded Star Destroyer began to move away, trying to keep its starboard side out of the line of fire.

"Yes!" Dack yelled exuberantly as he saw it retreat.

"I see it," Luke acknowledged. "Good work, everyone."

"Rogue and Blue Squadron, this is the Corvette Ranger," a voice said over the comm. "Thanks for the assistance."

Captain Ralhon examined the battle situation. So far the Rebels were fighting well and holding their own, but eventually they would crumple under the attack of a score of Star Destroyers and waves of TIE fighters. The Rebels were doomed.

General Rieekan studied the tactical display. "Frigate Lathan, watch your portside," he warned. "You've got an ISD and TIEs coming your way. Green Squadron, give Lathan cover." So far they were holding their own, he noted as the image of the frigate on the tactical turned to meet the Star Destroyer. They had managed to lure the Imperials in by showing a numerical weakness, and it was now time to spring their trap. With the two fleets in the gravity well of Corlane II, the Imperials would be unable to escape.

"General, we've got the fleet command ship, Retaliator, approaching," an aide called.

Rieekan nodded and glanced at his chrono. Nearly time...

He turned to the viewports to see the Star Destroyer approaching amid a storm of laser fire from its turbolasers. "All batteries target it but hold fire for my command," he ordered. "Torpedo clusters, likewise."

Captain Ralhon stared at the frigate, which lay silent before him despite being raked by laser fire. "Why aren't they firing back?" he wondered aloud. "Establish an all frequencies comm link with the command ship," he ordered his communications officer. "The Emperor will be pleased if we can capture the Rebel leaders alive."

The Freedom's bridge comm crackled. "Rebel commander, you have one minute to surrender or be destroyed," a cold Imperial voice said. "You will not have a second chance."

Rieekan ignored the voice and drew himself up, keeping an eye on his chrono. It was time.

"General, we have multiple starfighter squadrons exiting hyperspace in sector 3-6," an aide warned. "Class and identity unknown." He paused. "Also ten heavy capital ships. Shall I order a retreat?"

Rieekan gazed out at the ships that had come out of lightspeed behind the Star Destroyers. "Negative." He smiled. "We are about to witness the first battle test of Mon Calamari Star Cruisers and the new A-wing and B-wing fighters."

He turned. "All weapon emplacements, fire on the Retaliator now."

Captain Ralhon whirled, sudden consternation filling him. "Identify the ships in sector 3-6 immediately!" He knew every class of Rebel and Imperial ships, even the prototype Imperial ones, but he had never seen the strange ships that had just appeared before.

"The capital ships are modified Mon Calamari Star Cruisers, sir," his second in command advised. "The others...we do not know what they are."

Ralhon glared at him but said nothing. He examined the tactical display. The strange fighters had split into two groups, one moving towards them extremely rapidly, faster even than X-wings. He remembered the rumours that had been floating around Intelligence for several months. "A-wings and B-wings!" he exclaimed.

His officers blinked. "Sir?" one asked.

"A-wings and B-wings," Ralhon repeated. "The new fighters being developed by the Rebels. Interceptors and heavy bombers respectively." He suddenly realised that his fleet was in grave danger. With the new arrivals, the Rebels now considerably outnumbered them. "Order the Interdictors to lower their gravity wells. Prepare to make the jump to lightspeed."

His officers hesitated. "Sir, we can't," one said nervously. "We've moved too close to Corlane II to jump to lightspeed."

Ralhon went ashen. In a flash, he realised how comprehensively he had been fooled and trapped by the Rebels, and that his fleet was doomed. At that moment, as if to confirm his realisation, the turbolaser and torpedo fire from the Freedom smashed into the Retaliator's shields.

A strange gravelly voice spoke on the Freedom's bridge comm. "General Rieekan, this is Admiral Ackbar on board the Star Cruiser Home One. Do you need assistance?"

Rieekan smiled. "Yes, Admiral. We have the Star Destroyer Retaliator attacking us as it believes we aren't much of a challenge."

A thick chuckle answered him. "The Imperials once thought the same of us. Shall we teach them otherwise?"

"Be my guest, Admiral," Rieekan replied.

The Mon Calamari Star Cruisers were already moving to engage the Star Destroyers, leaving two to eliminate the Interdictor Cruisers, which found themselves suddenly in the thick of the battle, fighting much more heavily armed ships.

Ahead of them, the A-wings had entered the battle and were turning the tide of the starfighter contest in the Rebels' favour, as the TIEs suddenly found themselves outnumbered and left standing by the speed of the A-wings. The B-wings, by contrast, were unable to match even the slow TIE bombers for speed but punched a hole through both them and the TIE fighters by dint of their overwhelming weaponry and shields.

"All right!" Wedge yelled triumphantly as he saw the havoc that the two new types of starfighter were wreaking on the Imperials. TIE fighters and bombers were being wiped out wholesale, and the Star Destroyers were coming under ever mounting attack as the Rebels, buoyed by the sudden reversal of the battle, went to the offensive. B-wings and Y-wings mounted heavy torpedo attacks on the Imperials and the Rebel capital ships, led by the Star Cruisers, smothered the Star Destroyers in a devastating ion and laser barrage.

Rieekan watched the battle from the bridge of the Freedom as it and Home One pummelled the Retaliator's defences. Further away, other Star Cruisers were exchanging fire with Star Destroyers. Two Star Cruisers were making an attack on a Star Destroyer identified as the Turbulence. They came past it on both sides, pelting it with turbolaser and ion blasts, and ignoring the return fire.

"Sir, a second Mon Calamari cruiser is approaching," an aide announced to Ralhon. "They have us surrounded. The Interdictor cruisers have been destroyed, and seven Star Destroyers have been critically damaged."

Ralhon ignored him, gazing out at the scene that marked the death knell of his ambition. Home One and Freedom were slamming laser bolts into the weakening shields and increasingly hitting the hull. The bright flash and shockwave that marked the death of a Star Destroyer caught his eye as it exploded under an unremitting bombardment from two Star Cruisers. Another pair of Star Destroyers had been surrounded by a group of Rebel ships and been crippled by attacks that had removed their shields and destroyed their weapons. Even as he watched, the Rebels ceased fire as dozens of escape pods began shooting away from the doomed Star Destroyers. Two minutes later, they resumed firing on the Star Destroyers, intent on permanently denying them to the Empire.

"Captain, we have multiple hull breaches in decks 15, 16, 18, 21 and 29," one of his officers reported. "Shall we evacuate?"

Ralhon nodded silently, not really caring what they did and thinking only of his disgrace. He turned and strode off the bridge, heading for his private docking bay. The Retaliator and its task force might die, but he would not. Behind him, two more Star Destroyers blew apart in massive explosions.

Admiral Ackbar gazed out at the battle, which was gradually dying out as the Star Destroyers were eliminated. Only four were left in any shape to keep fighting. The Retaliator was still firing from its remaining turbolaser batteries, despite the futility of further resistance. The other three had formed into a loose three pointed star formation, generating a deadly hail of fire in a desperate last stand. A group of B-wings formed up for a torpedo run on the ships, but the Imperials were determined to extract the maximum price for their defeat. Even as the B-wings began their attack run, several ion batteries spat fire from the Star Destroyer Dominance. The bolts smashed into the starfighters, overwhelming their shields and overloading their control systems, to leave them dead in space. Proton torpedoes were fired from the Star Destroyers in a deliberately sadistic attack, as the missiles, unlike lasers, were slow enough to let the B-wing pilots see their death approaching and know that they could do nothing to prevent it.

Wedge hissed in anger, his fingers tightening on his control stick, as he saw the B-wings being cold-bloodedly destroyed. He hadn't believed that even the Imperials would stoop so low as to destroy helpless ships. "Rogue Squadron, form up. We're going to make the Imps pay for that, all right."

Grim acknowledgements came over the comm from the other Rogues and several other pilots, who were equally determined to avenge their friends.

"Okay, we're going in," Luke ordered. "Rogues, we'll make an torpedo attack run on the bridge of the Dominance. The rest of you, follow us in and take the laser batteries out. Wedge, Zev, Hobbie, we'll make the first run. Dack, Janson, Merek, you can lead the rest in. Here we go..."

His X-wing tipped over and dived towards the Star Destroyer, closely followed by three other X-wings, all of them moving at maximum speed, but even they were overtaken by the Millennium Falcon as it shot past them, its quad lasers blazing. An indignant Wookiee roar from the comm nearly deafened Luke. "You don't think we're going to let you have all the glory, do you?" Han demanded, and Luke smiled. Behind them, the second group began their own attack run, and still more began firing on the ISD defences.

The four X-wings and the Falcon raced over the hull of the Dominance, turbolasers spitting fire at them from all directions. "Switch to torpedoes," Wedge ordered, watching the command tower looming over them as they approached. There was an sudden scream over the comm, which cut off abruptly, and his astromech whistled mournfully. "They got Merek," Janson announced. Wedge's lips thinned briefly but his targeting box suddenly went red as the command tower came in range, and he pressed the trigger three times to send six torpedoes towards it. Around him, more torpedoes shot away from the other X-wings. Ahead, the Falcon was heading straight at the command viewports.

"Give me an all frequency comm link with the Dominance," Han ordered Chewbacca in the Falcon's cockpit, as the X-wing torpedos exploded against the bridge armour, sending chunks of debris hurtling out into space. He armed the Falcon's Arakyd missiles and acquired a lock on the viewports. "Here's a gift from the Alliance," he shouted, launching concussion missiles at the viewports. The missiles smashed through the transparisteel viewport and impacted against the back wall of the bridge. The force of their explosion was enough to blast a gaping hole clear through to the back of the command tower. Systems began to overload from the damage, generating a chain reaction.

"Han, pull up," Luke warned in alarm, too late. The Dominance's command superstructure exploded, and the Falcon vanished into the fireball. Other explosions blossomed from the main one, and for a second, Luke thought the Falcon had been destroyed. A moment later, though, the freighter shot out of the fireball. "Han, are you all right?" Luke demanded.

"Fine, kid," Han replied. "The sensors and shields are down, but apart from that, we're OK."

Behind the Falcon, the Dominance lay dead in space. Ahead, the other two Star Destroyers had been crippled by a group of Rebel capital ships, which were blowing them apart with torpedoes. "We've won!" Wedge yelled exultantly. The Retaliator had been disabled by the Freedom, and was beginning to drift towards Corlane II as the planet's gravity began pulling it in. Escape pods were shooting away from the ship in all directions.

General Rieekan surveyed the scene of triumph. Most of the surviving TIE fighters and bombers had surrendered, although a few were fleeing in all directions. He watched as the Retaliator entered the atmosphere of Corlane II, acquiring momentum in the gravity well. As it crashed into the planet, the Star Destroyer vanished in an immense ball of fire. Huge pieces of debris were visible as they were flung high into the atmosphere by the force of the explosion. "All fighters, return to your ships," he ordered, knowing that the Imperials would not be slow to respond to such a defeat. "Prepare to jump to hyperspace on your marks. Assemble at the rendezvous point." He turned to the newly appointed General Madine, who had watched the battle. "What is this planet you suggest as a suitable base like?"

"It's the sixth planet of the Hoth system," Madine replied, as the Freedom jumped to hyperspace. "An ice world. It's completely uninhabited and should be the last place the Empire would think of looking. The below freezing temperatures, although brutal, should mask any lifeform or equipment heat emissions from detection."

Rieekan nodded. "It sounds promising. We will have to investigate its suitability as a last ditch base in case it proves necessary to hide there. By the way, can you start putting together enough transports to ferry the inhabitants of Shalyvane to their new world. You'll need to move about 2 million people, all that's left on Shalyvane after the Empire finished with it," he said grimly.

***

The Executor dropped out of hyperspace in the Corlane system. Standing in his customary area at the forward viewports, Darth Vader gazed silently at the wreckage floating in space around Corlane II which marked the graveyard of a mighty Imperial force. Admiral Ozzel stepped forward a few paces, fearing Vader's reaction to such a humiliating defeat, but the Dark Lord remained still and silent.

There was an abrupt flare of engines near one of the larger pieces of wreckage and a small shuttle moved away from it towards the Executor. Admiral Ozzel's comm officer beckoned him. "We're receiving a transmission from the shuttle, sir," he reported. "It has identified itself as Captain Ralhon's shuttle."

At the far end of the bridge, Vader turned and strode slowly towards them. The crewmembers in the crew pits below him quickly occupied themselves with their tasks, not wishing to draw the Dark Lord's attention. Ozzel stepped forward. "We have a datalink with Captain Ralhon, my Lord," he announced to Vader, who ignored him and strode past him to the hologram.

"Report, Captain Ralhon," he ordered.

Ralhon took a breath, controlling his fear. "My Lord, I moved to intercept the Rebels as ordered," he began. "Unfortunately, they led me into a trap. My entire command was wiped out in an underhand and overwhelming ambush."

"So you failed to destroy the Rebels," Vader observed.

Ralhon swallowed. "Yes, my Lord. I apologise for my failure."

Vader studied him for a few seconds. "Your apology is accepted, Captain," he said at last. A look of amazement and then relief spread over Captain Ralhon's face as Vader's words sank in. He opened his mouth to thank Vader, but before he could do so, the Dark Lord spoke again. "Tell me, Captain, what is the thermal resistance limit of standard starship armour?"

Ralhon hesitated for a second, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I don't know, my Lord," he admitted. "I will find out when my shuttle docks."

"You will certainly find out, Captain," Vader replied. "I do not wish to wait until your shuttle lands to find out, though." He turned from the hologram to look out at the shuttle, stretching out with the Force. The image of Captain Ralhon abruptly stumbled as the shuttle's engines died. It did not stop moving, but merely found a new course as the gravity of the star Corlane began pulling it in.

Sudden absolute terror filled Captain Ralhon's face as he realised what was happening. "Please, my Lord," he begged. "I have apologised for my failure. It was not my fault. The Rebels tricked me. Please..."

Vader gestured and the sound shut off. "You are about to find out the thermal resistance of starship armour, Captain," he said, his voice turning terrifying low and sibilant. "Acceptance of your apology does not mean that you will escape punishment for failure. You have failed me, Captain. You know what the price of failure is."

Behind Vader, Ozzel took a step back, fearing a similarly brutal death for giving the effectively deceased Captain Ralhon permission to attack the Rebels, but Vader merely gestured again to end the transmission, then strode back to the viewports to watch the fate of Ralhon's shuttle. He remained there until the shuttle vanished from sight in the glow of Corlane, then turned and paced down towards Ozzel once again. "The Rebels will flee deep into the Outer Rim to avoid my anger," he said. "No doubt they hope to use hit and fade attacks to wear the fleet down if we inevitably have to break it up to locate their base. Probe droids will therefore be used instead. Admiral, begin assembling enough probe droids to search every uninhabited system in the Outer Rim territories."

Ozzel coughed. "My Lord, a probe droid search of such proportions will be prohibitively costly and time-consuming, with no guarantee of success. Imperial Intelligence can have the location of the Rebel base in a week."

"Excuses are the one thing I will not tolerate," Vader warned. "Assign one Star Destroyer each to release probe droids in every sector of the Outer Rim once you have enough. Do not disappoint me, Admiral Ozzel." He turned and left the bridge.

Ozzel stared after him. He tried to serve Vader to the best of his ability, but his best was never good enough. Vader frequently ignored important objectives in favour of trivial ones. The attack on the Rebel base at Asola was one example. Vader had ordered the Executor to pursue the Millennium Falcon. If the Executor had remained in its assigned position in the demarcation line, it could have put an end to the Rebellion as an organised movement right there and then. There were countless other stories of Vader giving other similar commands to achieve something that could be done much more effectively another way. His insistence on using probe droids to find the Rebels was merely the latest such example. And then there was the high turnover rate in the Executor's crew. He wondered briefly how long he would survive under the Dark Lord's command...

***

An Alliance transport came out of lightspeed over Hoth. Standing at a viewport on board the transport, Han, Luke, Wedge and Dack gazed down at the blue-white planet below them. The destruction of the Imperial forces at Corlane had redoubled the Imperial pursuit of the Alliance. It had not been long before the Alliance had been forced to follow Madine's advice that Hoth would make a good last-ditch base.

"Makes me feel cold just looking at it," Wedge commented.

"Well, at least I won't be here for long," Han said smugly. "I'll be out of here as soon as the base is set up." He glared at Luke. "That precious princess of yours has already kept me around here for long enough." He scowled as he remembered the eight months since the battle of Corlane. He had intended to leave and pay off Jabba immediately after the battle, but somehow Leia had consistently found reasons why he should stay a little longer, starting with helping relocate the inhabitants of Shalyvane, and then mundane tasks like bringing back shipments of weapons and food. This time, he vowed, she was not going to stop him from going.

"At least you'll be able to leave," Dack said as he gazed at Hoth, an odd feeling of foreboding filling him. "If the Empire finds us here, a lot us won't be."

"Come on, snap out of it," Luke said, slapping him on the back. "Let's start getting the base set up. We'll just have to make sure the Empire doesn't find us."

***

Darth Vader strode off the bridge of the Executor, a feeling of satisfaction filling him at the discovery of the Rebel base on Hoth. It had taken nearly twelve months since the battle of Corlane for the probe droids to locate the Alliance. This time, the Rebels would not escape, and Skywalker, Solo and the Millennium Falcon would be his. He entered his private chambers and knelt before the hologram projector. A giant image of the Emperor appeared in front of him.

"I have located the Rebel base, Master," Vader announced. "The Alliance will soon be destroyed, and Skywalker will pay for destroying the Death Star."

The Emperor nodded. "You may deal with Skywalker as you see fit, Lord Vader. However, I wish to learn more about him. The disturbance in the Force he causes has grown stronger."

"Shall I select a team of commandos to infiltrate the Rebel base, Master?" Vader asked.

"No," the Emperor said curtly. "This calls for more skill and finesse than the average commando has. I have already selected a suitable agent. The Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade, is already on her way to join you."

Vader hid his anger at the mention of Mara Jade. Once again, the Emperor had foisted his pet Force-sensitive assassin upon him, but he knew that refusal would be futile and incur the Emperor's wrath. "Is that wise, Master?" he asked. "Jade is not a Dark Jedi, and if she learns that Skywalker is strong in the Force, she may join him. She is, after all, more powerful than we have led her to believe, and if Skywalker is able to break her memory barrier, she would be our mortal enemy. I have meditated on Skywalker, and the Force has shown me a vision of him and Jade as allies."

The Emperor's yellow eyes narrowed. "Interesting," he mused, then shook his head. "They will be allies with us, rather than against us. Jade will not turn." He smiled coldly. "She believes I was her saviour from her 'pitiful existence', with the false memories I have given her, and Skywalker does not have the skill in the Force to reveal her true memories to her. Give her the assistance she needs, and ensure that Skywalker and the Rebellion are wiped out once and for all."

Vader bowed his head obediently. "Yes, my Master."

The Imperial fleet came out of hyperspace in the Hoth system. Star Destroyers moved into escort formation around the Executor, and the entire force began moving towards the sixth planet of the system.

Mara Jade strode through the passageways of the Executor, passing dozens of officers who were scrambling to prepare the attack on the Rebel base. She stopped outside the entrance to Darth Vader's meditation chamber and pressed the entry panel. With a hiss, the doors slid open and she stepped inside. Vader was sitting in his meditation pod, with his back to her. "You have failed me for the last time, Admiral," he said to a screen showing Ozzel, who was gasping for air as Vader choked him. "Captain Piett?"

"Yes, my lord?"

"Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy field and deploy the fleet so that nothing gets off the system. You are in command now, Admiral Piett," Vader said as Ozzel collapsed.

Piett swallowed. "Thank you, Lord Vader." The display went blank.

Vader turned to face Mara. "I have been ordered to report to you, Lord Vader," she said.

Vader nodded. "The Emperor has instructed me to obtain further information on Luke Skywalker, the pilot who destroyed the Death Star. You are to enter the Rebel base during the attack and obtain this information. Report to General Veers. He will provide you with the necessary equipment."

***

Mara raced over the surface of Hoth on a speeder bike, cursing whoever had the bright idea of giving the bike to her. Hoth was bone chilling at the best of times. Travelling at speeder bike velocities meant that even the normally excellent Fleet cold weather gear was absolutely useless, as the cold and wind went straight through her protective clothing.

In the distance, she could see continuous laser blasts, as the Rebels and Imperials fought outside Echo Base, punctuated every so often by shots from the heavy ion cannon outside the base. Pulling her bike to the right, she headed for Echo Base, looking for an entrance, and smiled as she saw one. Bringing the bike to a halt behind a large snowdrift, she dismounted, drew her blaster and ran towards the Rebel base. She stopped to one side of the entrance and carefully eased her head around the corner, alert for any noise or movement, but the corridor seemed empty. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the corridor, blaster held ready, and moved noiselessly down the passage.

A few corridors later, she peered around another corner, and promptly ducked back. A guard was standing in front of a door, holding a laser rifle ready. So far she had seen no personnel, and presumed they had mostly been evacuated, with those who were left busy fighting the Imperials. This was where the operation became risky. She dared not use her blaster, since a shot would inevitably draw other Rebels, and she had no other weapons.

Bracing herself, she pushed her blaster into her jacket and stepped around the corner, grateful that her cold weather gear was similar to the guard's. The guard was alert enough. As soon as she appeared, the rifle whipped up to point up at her and then lowered, as it became apparent she wasn't an Imperial snowtrooper. Walking casually down the corridor towards the guard, she tensed in preparation, every muscle going taut.

Her opportunity was perfect. As she reached the guard, the base shook from the shock of the attack, and several chunks of ice fell from the ceiling. The guard ducked slightly to avoid the ice, and for half a second, his attention was distracted. Mara seized the opening. She whirled 90 degrees to face him. Grabbing his wrist with one hand and the rifle with the other, she tore it out of his grip. Barely pausing, she reversed the rifle and slammed the muzzle hard behind the guard's ear, and he collapsed without a sound.

She looked up and down the corridor, listening carefully for any noise. Hearing nothing, she glanced at the door panel, and smiled. It looked like she had been lucky enough to find the exact room she wanted. She pressed the door entry and entered the room. Four techs looked up as she entered, and froze as the saw the two guns Mara was holding. One began frantically stabbing buttons on a keyboard, and she aimed and fired a shot just over his head. The tech gave a strangled gasp and went rigid.

"Are you married?" Mara asked.

The man blinked, taken aback by the question. "Yes," he eventually managed to say.

"Get away from that console then, unless you want your wife to become a widow."

The man nearly leapt from his seat, stopping just in time as her finger tightened on the trigger. Slowly and carefully, he stood up and backed away from the desk.

Mara nodded. "That's better. On the floor, all of you."

They were quick to obey her, and she went to the door, keeping one eye on them. Grabbing the guard by a leg, she dragged him into the room and closed the door. Seating herself at a desk, and switching her attention between the techs and the computer, she began downloading all the information to an ultra high capacity datapad that she had brought with her. When she finished, she rose and went to the door. Several shots wrecked the internal lock mechanism. She left the room and sealed the door, leaving the occupants stuck inside the room.

Outside the base, Rebel troops were beginning to retreat as the AT-ATs approached. Imperial snowtroopers advanced past the remains of the defences and began entering the base.

Mara hurried down a corridor, pushing the datacard into a pocket of her jumpsuit, which left her momentarily distracted and having to hold both guns in one hand. She turned into another corridor and ran straight into a pair of Rebel soldiers. One of the soldiers pushed past her, but the other stopped and stared at her carefully. "I haven't seen you around here before," he said suspiciously.

Mara scowled. "We're in the middle of a battle with the Empire and you start asking who I am?" she snapped. "Besides, it's a big base. How can you remember everyone's face?"

The soldier laughed as his blaster came up to cover her. "I don't need to. That red-gold hair's very distinctive. I know I've never seen it around here before." His voice hardened. "A spy, eh? Drop the guns. Hands up now. Jattor, get her weapons."

Mara obeyed, smiling inwardly as Jattor came forward to pick up her weapons. So they thought she was some sort of ordinary spy, did they? They would find out exactly how well the Emperor's Hand had been trained. Jattor crouched to pick up the guns and she lashed out with a foot, catching him hard on the side of the jaw. He collapsed and Mara stepped to one side to avoid the instant blaster bolt. Taking two steps forward, she kicked up to send the blaster flying down the corridor. Unfazed by the loss of his blaster, the man produced a vibroblade from a sleeve sheath and held it ready in an attack position. Mara merely smiled icily. She had been trained extensively in such combat situations. As he lunged forward, stabbing the knife towards her, she spun aside and seized his wrist with one hand, controlling his knife hand. Twisting his wrist, she forced him to drop the vibroblade. She gave one hard blow to the throat and a powerful knee kick to the stomach, and he doubled over, gasping for air. It was a simple matter to deliver one blow to the back of the neck and he joined Jattor on the floor.

Mara stepped over the two unconscious bodies to pick up her blaster and hurried down the corridor in the direction the snowtroopers would be coming from, hoping there would be no other complications. She had to get this to the Emperor as quickly as possible.

There was to be a further delay before she could report, however. Two corridors further, Mara scowled as she turned a corner and found herself in a dead end. She stepped back into the corridor she had just left and froze. At the far end, a figure wearing a distinctive orange jumpsuit had appeared. She instantly ducked back and thought quickly. She would not be able to get to the next corridor before she was spotted, and she was not going to let herself be caught in a dead end, which left only one choice.

She peered round the corner and took careful aim at the approaching Rebel...

Luke Skywalker limped through Echo Base, his leg hurting from the fall from the AT-AT, with his blaster held ready in case any Imperial snowtroopers suddenly appeared. He was still shaken from Dack's death, although he had at least paid the Imperials back for his death. "This is for Dack," he had thought as he used his lightsabre to cut open an access panel on one of the AT-ATs and toss a concussion grenade inside.

He turned into a long corridor, and was halfway down it when a shot slammed into the wall barely a centimetre from his head. He ducked behind a small outcropping of ice just as a second bolt came down the corridor.

Mara squeezed the trigger gently, knowing that she could not miss the Rebel. As she did so, another shock rocked the base, and several chunks of ice fell from the ceiling, one striking her wrist and throwing her aim off. She swore violently as she saw her shot miss, and fired again, but the Rebel had managed to take cover.

Luke risked a look around the outcrop, and jumped back just in time to dodge another shot. Whoever was shooting was good. They had him pinned down. He glanced back down the corridor, wondering whether to find another route. He had been only a couple of minutes ahead of the Imperials and he did not relish being shot at from two directions. Once the snowtroopers arrived, he would have to surrender. He looked around, seeking inspiration, and found it. A piece of metal was lying on the floor near him. Edging down the corridor, he crouched and managed to grab the object before yet another shot smacked into the floor. Moving back to the outcrop, he carefully extended the piece of metal past it. In the metal, he could see an opening in the wall, where the shots were presumably coming from. He grimaced. He had little chance of hitting the other person if they had that kind of cover.

And then he noticed the ceiling immediately over the two corridors. It was almost ready to fall in. He looked back down the corridor and stiffened. The first snowtroopers had appeared in the corridor. It was now or never. He closed his eyes for a second, and then leapt out from behind the outcrop, his blaster firing at the ceiling.

Mara peered around the corner and instinctively flinched as she saw a volley of shots coming down the corridor, all going high for some reason. She aimed at the Rebel who was running down the corridor, knowing that she would not miss this time. The next second, she threw herself backwards as the ceiling caved in. Dozens of chunks of ice fell from the ceiling, completely blocking the corridor she was in. She hissed but could not help feeling grudging admiration for the Rebel. By the time she dug her way out, he would be long gone.

She climbed to her feet and began throwing pieces of ice aside.

Luke sprinted past the blocked corridor as shots from the snowtroopers smacked into the walls and floor of the corridor. A few seconds later, he reached the next corridor. At the far end, he could see daylight. He reached the end and emerged into sunlight. As he struggled over a snowdrift, a familiar engine roar caught his attention. A few seconds later, the Millennium Falcon burst out of the hangar bay and climbed rapidly into the atmosphere of Hoth.

Not far away, he could see the last transport and a group of X-wings, and he made his way towards them.

"Good luck, Luke," Wedge called as he approached. "See you at the rendezvous."

***

Three days after the duel at Bespin Cloud City, Mara Jade and Darth Vader knelt in the Emperor's throne room in the Imperial Palace. "Rise, my Hand," the Emperor ordered. "You have done well indeed. The information you obtained has proved very useful. It confirmed my suspicions that Skywalker poses a threat to us. He has developed his innate ability in the Force. No doubt that is how he was able to discover that Shira Brie was your agent, Lord Vader." He gestured to Mara. "You may go. Lord Vader and I have other matters to discuss."

He waited until she had left before continuing. "Lord Vader, you have not been as successful. I am gravely disappointed. You failed to bring Skywalker to me."

"He has grown strong in the Force, my Master," Vader replied. "His unmasking of Shira Brie was what might be expected of a largely untrained Force-sensitive, but his skills have developed considerably since then. He has learnt the art of lightsabre combat and advanced Jedi abilities."

The Emperor nodded. "The information Mara Jade brought back showed his growing Jedi powers, which is why I warned you that we have a new enemy, and was persuaded to let him join us, but I am troubled by the skills you attribute to him. He has clearly been taught by a Jedi."

"Obi-wan is gone, Master," Vader said.

The Emperor's voice grew dangerous. "Do not insult my intelligence, Lord Vader. I do not refer to Kenobi. Skywalker has clearly been trained by no less than a Jedi Master. If Kenobi managed to elude us, then it is possible for a Master to do so. I will consider this matter carefully. If Skywalker is to be turned, we will have to work together to do so. Meanwhile, I have another task for you. You will oversee the construction of the new Death Star which is orbiting the moon of Endor."

Vader bowed his head, rose and left.

When he had gone, the Emperor turned his throne away from the doors and closed his eyes, reaching out to Mara Jade. He had been more disturbed by Skywalker's sudden improvement in Jedi abilities and his failure to turn to the Dark Side than he had revealed to Vader. On top of that, Vader had beaten Skywalker, which showed that he was not as strong as the Emperor had first thought.

"Yes, my Master?" he sensed Mara ask.

"You, my Hand, will go to the planet of Tatooine and infiltrate the palace of Jabba the Hutt. Skywalker will eventually arrive to free Han Solo and when he does, you will kill him. Lord Vader must not know of this."

He paused. "There is one other thing. Lord Vader told Skywalker during their battle that they could join together as allies and take my place." He knew that Vader had merely said this to persuade Skywalker to join them, but it would generate a killing rage in Mara, who served him devotedly.

It worked perfectly. "Rest assured I will kill Skywalker, Master," Mara answered grimly. "As for Lord Vader, he has committed treason in plotting against you."

The Emperor smiled at Mara's tone of voice. "Lord Vader will not betray me while he has no allies. You must destroy Skywalker to quell Vader's feelings of rebellion."

"I will not fail you, Master," Mara replied. "Skywalker will die."

***

Far across the galaxy, Luke and Leia stood with R2-D2 and C-3PO at a viewport on board the Rebel medical frigate, watching the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca, vanish into the distance of space. Rebel X-wings and Y-wings cruised past the ship before leaving the fleet and heading out into the far reaches of the galaxy in the search for Han Solo.

Luke gazed out into space, thinking how badly he had failed Yoda, Ben and the Alliance. The two Jedi had warned him not to confront Vader before he was ready, advice that he had ignored, and in consequence paid dearly for. In addition, the revelation that Vader was his father filled his mind like a Tatooine sandstorm. Deep down, he knew that Vader had not lied, but he could not comprehend why Ben Kenobi had hidden the truth from him.

He was disturbed from his thoughts as the doors hissed open. A Rebel officer entered. "Commander Skywalker, you are required to report to the briefing room on Home 1 immediately," he said.

The doors slid open and a guard motioned Luke into the briefing room. As he entered, Luke stopped, seeing the white clad figure and wondering how Leia had managed to be in two places at once.

His confusion only lasted for a second. Like Leia, she wore the elegant white robes of an Imperial Senator, but there the resemblance ended. Luke had often seen holovids of her in the Senate before Palpatine disbanded it and she was forced to flee for her life, but they had not shown the dignity and wisdom that she wore like a cloak.

Mon Mothma, Supreme Leader of the Rebel Alliance, inclined her head in greeting to him. "Welcome, Commander Skywalker," she said in a grave but soft voice. She stared into his eyes for a minute, assessing him thoroughly. She smiled gently. "I have heard much about you from Princess Leia, not all of it complimentary, and still less so about Captain Solo."

Luke coughed in embarrassment, not knowing what to say, but Mon Mothma gestured to the officers standing around her. "You of course know General Rieekan. General Crix Madine is the head of Rebel Intelligence. Admiral Ackbar is the High Admiral of the Mon Calamari race."

General Madine stepped forward. "Our sources indicate that the Emperor has conceived the plan of building a new Death Star. It will be larger than the original, have a more powerful and quickly fired superlaser, and be protected by a shield. Obviously, once it is complete, the Alliance will effectively have lost the war. To stop this, it is vital we find out where the Death Star is being built, and launch a pre-emptive strike before it is operational. Our cells on the planet Bothawui have indicated that they may be able to obtain the location of the station. If we obtain these plans and mount a successful attack, it would be a powerful blow to the Empire."

Mon Mothma nodded. "Thank you, General. I understand from Princess Leia, Commander Skywalker, that you have been undergoing Jedi training."

Luke nodded. "I'm not sure if I'm worthy to continue the training, though. I was beaten by Vader and nearly fell to the Dark Side, as well as putting Han and Leia in danger. I was warned not to confront Vader before I was ready, but I was too reckless to listen. The Jedi Master who taught me-"

General Rieekan's face hardened. "A surviving Jedi Master!" he barked. "Why the Sith isn't he here? You know what we're up against, Skywalker. A Master would be a great asset to the Alliance. Instead, he decides to sit and watch us fight Vader, Palpatine and his entire Empire by ourselves."

Luke hesitated. He himself had wondered more than once why Yoda would hide on Dagobah instead of helping the Alliance. "I don't know," he admitted. "All I can say is that he may think he is too old."

Rieekan snorted at the excuse, but Mon Mothma raised her hand. "No doubt Master Yoda has perfectly valid reasons for remaining hidden. The Jedi often act in ways that seem strange to those not guided by the Force." She smiled at the expression of amazement on Luke's face. "How did I know Yoda trained you? You told me, or at least gave me enough hints to make an intelligent guess. You already told me he was very old, and there were never any claims of Yoda having being destroyed in the Jedi Purge. Fitting the two together seemed obvious enough." She was silent for a minute, remembering. "I met Yoda a few times. He was considered one of the greatest Masters in history, and certainly the wisest and most skilled alive."

She looked straight into Luke's eyes. "You have been beaten by the Dark Lord. That is not an excuse for giving into despair, however. The Alliance needs everyone it has. A Jedi would be invaluable to us. Without them, we ultimately cannot hope to conquer Vader and his Emperor. Blasters and starships cannot win some battles. Learn from your failure and grow stronger from it."

Luke nodded, feeling the wisdom of her advice pierce the despair and confusion he felt like the sun through mist, and giving hm new determination. He would never again act in haste or impatience, he vowed. "Thank you, Mon Mothma," he said. "May the Force be with you."

"May it be with us all," Mon Mothma answered. "Our greatest test approaches. If we locate the Death Star, our entire fleet will be necessary to destroy it. Such a battle could bring us a final victory, or utter defeat. We will need all our strength and courage in the days ahead. I hope that you and your friends are able to rescue Captain Solo from Jabba the Hutt."

***

Mara Jade stood in her small one man skiff, with a bitter sense of failure, as she gazed at the smoking ruins of Jabba the Hutt's sail barge following the showdown with Skywalker and his friends. She had not been able to kill Skywalker in Jabba's palace, and had come too late to catch him here. She closed her eyes, stretching out across the galaxy to the Emperor. "I have failed you, my master. Skywalker has defeated Jabba the Hutt and his organisation."

"How?" the Emperor demanded icily.

"Skywalker was thrown to Jabba's pet rancor when he arrived," Mara answered. "I attempted to ensure his death at this point, but was stopped by one of Jabba's guards. When I sought to accompany Jabba to the Pit of Carkoon where he intended to execute Skywalker and his friends, he refused. By the time I arrived, it was too late and they had escaped."

She hesitated. "There is one more matter. The survivors report that Skywalker had a lightsabre."

The Emperor was silent for a minute. "Very well, my Hand. You will return to Imperial Centre and report to me fully. I am gravely disappointed in you."

"I can track down and finish Skywalker, my master," Mara urged, not wanting to fail him.

"No," came the reply. "Perhaps I made an error in attempting to have Skywalker killed. If he has constructed a new lightsabre and accepted the truth of his parentage, I may have underestimated him. Lord Vader and I will deal with him on the Death Star."

Mara hesitated. "Master, is that wise? If Skywalker is powerful in the Force, and Lord Vader has thoughts of treason, they could be a threat." And suddenly her throat went dry as a sudden horrible premonition swept over her. She knew that the Emperor and Vader could see glimpses of the future, but her skills were too undeveloped for her to do likewise. Nevertheless, she had heard the Emperor describe them well enough to know that this was one. It was more sensations than an actual vision, and only lasted a second, but in that second she felt betrayal, anger, and consuming fear.

It vanished, and she realised the Emperor was speaking. "Lord Vader will not betray me," he said. "The Dark Side is too strong in him. Together, we will turn Skywalker. In the meantime, my Hand, I have another task for you..."

A short time later, a JV-7 Escort Shuttle, similar to a Lambda shuttle, but more heavily armed and shielded, and with forward angled wings and a camouflaged hull, climbed away from Tatooine. Mara sat in the cockpit as the planet receded behind her, wondering if the Emperor was right to trust Vader and Skywalker together. He was more powerful than both of them, she reflected, and seemed confident enough, but she knew from long experience that overconfidence often proved fatal. She wondered if she should have told him what she had sensed. For a moment, she thought about that. The Emperor had told her that only strong Jedi could see or sense the future. She wondered briefly if he could he have underestimated her powers. Her mind turned back to the Emperor. She had tried to change his mind repeatedly about Skywalker and Vader, but in the end he had curtly ordered her silent.

She shook her head. She was getting too jumpy. The Emperor knew what he was doing.

Or did he...?

***

EPILOGUE:
Six months after the battle of Endor...

A figure sat in the shadows filling the Emperor's throne room in the Imperial Palace, musing on the events of the past half-year. Darth Vader and the Emperor had perished on the Death Star, which had been destroyed in a climatic battle with the Rebel Alliance. The cream of the Imperial Fleet had been destroyed or scattered in that battle. The Alliance had renamed itself the New Republic and begun establishing a new Galactic Senate and Council modelled on that of the Old Republic. The remnants of the Empire were led by a group of Imperial grandees, such as the Emperor's Grand Vizier, Sate Pestage, and the Head of Imperial Intelligence, Ysanne Isard, although some warlords had declared themselves.

Such squabbling did not impress the person who sat in the throne room.

Feeble rays of light glistened off metal as the woman who had been Shira Brie rose to her feet. A triangular mask hid most of her face, showing only the eyes, and concealing the terrible scars. A black cloak flowed around her, but only partially hid the wires and metal frame of a cyborg. A control panel like that of Darth Vader's lay at her waist, and served a similar purpose of keeping her alive. She lived now merely for revenge on Luke Skywalker, who had inflicted this living death on her. After her cyborg reconstruction, Darth Vader had taught her advanced skills in the Dark Side. His giving her a semblance of life and giving her the means to obtain revenge on Skywalker meant that the Imperial reports of Skywalker murdering him and the Emperor fuelled her hate of Skywalker. Vader had warned her explicitly of the consequences if she attempted to confront his son, but his death meant that she was now unrestrained by fear of the Dark Lord.

Two weapons hung from her waist, one a lightsabre and the other an ancient and deadly Sith weapon - the lightwhip. It had been feared greatly by the Jedi of old, and for good reason, for its dual energy and metal strands, under the control of a Sith Lord, could strike like serpents to overwhelm all but the best lightsabre users. She drew and ignited her lightsabre, its orange glow lighting up a small area of the room, and touched it carefully to a finger that was not covered in metal or wires, watching as a few drops of blood dripped from the wound.

She spoke clearly into the empty room.

"Luke Skywalker, I swear revenge on you for what you have done to my master and I, no matter how long it takes or what it takes. I, Lady Lumiya of the Sith, pledge this with my blood."

To Be Continued...

Commander Antilles