The Rebel Faction

It is time.

The droid took several steps forward, moving away from the viewport and into the center of the room. Even if the voice in his head hadn't spoken, the expressions of so many of the assembled beings would have been enough to compel him to call the meeting to order. "On behalf of the Cooperative of Systems and the Galactic Coalition, allow me to thank you all for coming. My name is Beta, and I will represent the Overseer for the duration of this meeting."

Beta turned immediately toward the delegation from Mon Calamari, and when he began speaking again, his tone had changed to the deeper, artificial voice of Smarts himself. "Representatives of the planet Dac, it is with our deepest sympathies that the Cooperative extends to you all of the aide that we are able, and assures you that we will not rest until your people are once again safe."

Beta swept his gaze across all those gathered, finally continuing. "As it stands, soldiers of the Coalition military are evacuating all consenting planetary citizens, but there are many who—for a number of reasons—refuse to leave. While the Dac Council is officially supporting the Coalition evacuation, many of its members are reluctant to leave their homeworld, and a few have been found among the groups of protestors.

"Military and governmental attempts to peaceably disband protestors have largely failed, and the fear of riots has prevented any attempts to forcibly disband the growing crowds. It is the collective hope of all involved Coalition parties that a neutral delegation, led by a respected and well-known third-party individual, might be able to calm these angry crowds, and dissolve this growing threat to the evacuation's success."

Beta's head swiveled to look directly at Leia, and a brief moment passed before he finally asked the inevitable question. "Jedi Master Leia Organa Solo, it is with some reluctance that I must ask: will you accept this burden of responsibility, and become the voice of reason in this hour of such confusion and despair?" Even as Beta spoke those carefully selected words on his behalf, Smarts couldn't help but wonder if, while boarding the Vigil however so long ago, somewhere within the quiet calm of the Commonwealth's borders, Leia had had any idea of what she would be getting herself into.

Sparks showered down from an overhead board in the Millennium Falcon cockpit, causing an angry Wookiee to raise an arm and let out a roar of annoyance. Chewbacca glowered at the panels in front of him, watching in earnest as the varying gauges shifted between red, orange and green. The Wook also had singed fur, thanks in full to the constant rain of electrical embers that insisted on spurting out of the computer boards as power cells were removed and replaced… it had been a long day.

“I know!” A shout came from down the corridor, Han’s voice matching Chewie’s own in irritation, as he hung into one of the many maintenance holes of the ship. “I’m workin’ on the couplings now. Tell me if that’s any better, ya big furball… and stop whining over singed hair, because right now I couldn’t care less!”

With a guttural murmur Chewie rechecked the hyperdrive levels, rolling his eyes as he saw they hadn’t changed, instead merely fluctuating between broken and broken – just on different panels. The Wookiee made sure Han knew that, with a bellow in reply.

Han let out a forced sigh, narrowing his eyes. He’d tried interchanging some of the power couplings, even replacing one or two as supplies allowed; but now it seemed he was stuck for ideas, save for removing them all and trying a complete hyperdrive restart, which was dangerous at the best of times, let alone while hanging in vacuum. Swinging back up into a sitting position, the smuggler grabbed his tools and placed them beside him, not wanting to lose the equipment down the deep end of the drive shaft.

“Chewie, can you bring me the charging kit?” Han bellowed, wishing for the umpteenth time he’d bothered with some form of personalized intercom. As it was, it didn’t help to have it all one way – especially not with an aggravated Wookiee using the microphone up front.

It could get really loud, really fast.

Within a moment or two, Chewbacca lumbered into the corridor, holding a black box with wires attached. Placing the charging kit beside Han with a thump, the Wookiee gave an inquisitive growl. Han, instead of deciding to answer, grabbed the wiring and leant back down into the hole. After a moment or three, he eased back out, turned to the box and flipped the pulse switch…

The Falcon shuddered; the internal glow panels dampening, flickering to life, dampening again, before returning to life.

“See? I told you it’d work,” Han said, feeling a very real sense of relief as the hyperdrive couplings filled with the required energy to revert back to hyperspace. “Let’s get the charge kit back, then get this old girl on her way to Mon Cal… we’ve taken enough time as it is, and we’re running more than a little late after that short out. I just hope we managed to lose our pirate buddies, after all.”

Chewie nodded, lugging the kit and heading back to storage where it had come from. Han, on the other hand, ran back to the cockpit, sliding into his pilot chair. Reaching up he ran his hands over a series of switches, bringing the board back into the green. Turning to look down the cockpit neck, the smuggler waited for his furry friend to return, both of them strapping in, before he pointed to the navicomputer.

“Recalculate our course, Chewie,” Han said gruffly, checking the sensors as he heard a small bleep from the control panel. It seemed the Pirates they’d been attacked by had found them. “And make it quick… we’ve got company.”

And true to form, the Pirate Frigate that had been pursuing them released a contingent of Preybird fighters. The small craft were annoyingly good at flying circles around freighters, but that didn’t mean they had the smugglers out of the game just yet…

Han pushed the drives to full, listening with trepidation as the Falcon clanked in protest, threatening to burn out. Again. But, as always, the old freighter lurched forward, and within a second or two had gathered her legs and was reaching maximum speed.

Chewie growled something, informing Han of the closing fighters and the course set for Mon Calamari.

“No, no, no,” Han shouted, throwing the Falcon into an evasive roll as the first of the Preybirds opened fire on the aft shields. “We can’t jump to the planet now, set three micro-jumps, so we can throw them off our trail. I mean come on, Chewie, how long you been doing this now? We’re not going to lead the Pirates to our destination, fuzz-for-brains.”

The Wookiee bared his teeth, but he took the insult with a pinch of spice. His large hands moved over the navicomputer, furiously recalculating another course; one that would take the duo away from Mon Cal, toward another system, then double back on another vector, before heading on to the oceanic planet.

Han kept his hands loose on the flight sticks, judging by instinct when to weave and turn, evading the fighters on their tail as best he could. When Chewie gave the affirmative to being ready to jump, the smuggler let out a sigh of relief and reached for the hyperdrive lever, and pushed it forward…

“Come on, don’t die on us now…”

The stars stretched into lines, the Falcon launching into hyperspace with a burst of blue mottled space. Both of the crew eased back into their respective chairs, glancing to one another with clear relief evident on both expressions. Soon they would be on Mon Calamari, where they could deliver their shipment…



The Millennium Falcon flew low over the floating city of Foamwander. The ocean beyond was beautiful, something only appreciated when one saw it through their own eyes. Han remembered his brief jaunts on Mon Calamari well, but he always felt a sense of awe at the crystal blue waters of the planet; they were so fresh, as far as saltwater went, being untouched by most other planet’s typical pollutants…

<<“Transport Hard Luck, this is Foamwander Authority, please transmit your identification and manifest,”>> A gravely Mon Calamari voice said through the speakers of the Falcon, causing Han to come out of his reverie with a start.

Since entering the system, Han had activated one of his false transponders, which gave space port authority misleading information pertaining to his ship and what they were really here for. The space lanes above orbit were going through some kind of re-allocation effort, with ships being herded into proper lines for easy traffic conditions. Some of the large transports leaving the planet indicated some kind of evacuation, which made Han anxious.

Planetary evacuations didn’t happen every day, after all.

“Copy that, Foamwander Authority,” Han replied automatically, reaching over to the communications board, before flicking a small button. “Transmitted and awaiting landing orders.”

Chewie grunted a question, the Wookiee glancing to Han with concern in his eyes.

“I dunno’ what’s happening,” Han shrugged easily, watching as a transport began to lift off from the main spaceport. “All I know is we have a bunch of supplies for a group planetside, and that we need to make contact with one of their representatives… I just hope this evacuation isn’t leading up to something that will try to grab us as well. But I dunno’…”

As the transport lumbered past the port side, both Han and Chewie watched on their sensors after they’d lost visual.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

The Falcon was given landing coordinates, and the old freighter descended to the spaceport docking bay assigned to it. It touched down without a bump, the landing struts working as they should, being about the only thing that did consistently; and in a matter of moments Han had the ship powering down, releasing the ramp control.

Pushing to his feet, Han walked toward the aft of the ship. On the way out of the cockpit he grabbed for his blaster, having put it in a side panel for safety reasons while working around potentially explosive equipment. Sliding the customized BlasTech DL-44 into his thigh holster, the smuggler and his Wookiee companion walked down the ramp way and out into the fresh Mon Calamari air…

Across the bay a security team were making their way toward the pair, the Mon Cal’s moving quickly but not appearing to be overly alarmed at the smuggler’s presence. From the uninterested, somewhat rigid expression on the lead security officier’s mandibles, it looked as though the false transponder had worked – just like the slicer had said it would, especially considering how much Han had paid for it.

“Captain Resprin?” The official asked, speaking heavily accented Basic, as the small team of three coming to a stop before Han and Chewie.

“That’s me,” Han replied, giving a lop-sided grin. “Guess you’ll want to check out what’s on board?”

“Yes,” The Mon Cal grunted, seemingly not wanting to make small talk, before he motioned for his team to move up inside the ship. “This won’t take a moment, Captain.”

“No problem,” Han muttered, stepping to his right, raising his arm to lean against the Falcon’s hull. He hated all the standard procedures Spaceport Authority insisted on doing; but if they didn't, then Han wouldn't have been in the line of work he was presently. “Take your time…”

Foamwander City, Mon Calamari


Ross Maklo sat alone in the darkness of night, smoking a cigar and sipping brandy from a small hip flask. His stomach rumbled hungrily, demanding dinner... but brandy and a cigar would have to do, his resistance cell was short on rations.


They weren't supposed to be. A smuggled shipment had been due to arrive earlier that afternoon, but the smuggler who was delivering it had apparently run into trouble. A rather disappointing setback... especially coming from a smuggler who was rumored to be the best money could buy, it had certainly taken enough credits to secure his services.


If the damned smuggler ever got around the delivering the shipment, his fees were going to be re-negotiated. Tonight, the entire resistance cell was going hungry because of him.


Ross sighed. At least the datapad in front of him offered some distraction from his griping stomach. Leia Organa Solo's background profile... delivered just as his Calamarian runner/aid had promised. The woman's file was ridiculously long, covering her achievements from Princess, to Senator, to Rebellion leader, to Chief of State of the New Republic, to Jedi Master. It had clearly been pulled from some Coalition database...


At the end of the file, Ross was surprised to find an encrypted message from Kalbrac.


The big meeting was over, tomorrow things would change.


Ross pocketed the datapad along with his hip flask, and turned to head back into the abandoned warehouse his cell had set up camp in. Regardless of what tomorrow would bring, there was a long night of work ahead and empty stomachs would put everyone on edge.

Aboard Smarts, Mon Calamari Orbit




Even with the added manpower of the Cooperative Defense Force to work with, it took Leia's group hours to agree on a plan of action. Night had fallen on the planet below them when staring tiredly at her datapad, Leia read back the meeting's deliberations for the final time.

"Ok... we'll send a sizeable force to Morjanssik to try and keep the riots under control..."

The Quarren nodded their assent.

"...a couple units to the other big cities to scout for more information..."

The Coalition officers nodded their assent.

"...and I'll take the remainder of the troops to Foamwander. The rest of the cities will just have to make due with what they have until we can get to them."

The Calamarians nodded their assent, and Kalbrac moved to stand beside Leia. "… and I will go with you to Foamwander, as mentioned my teams have several leads you might like to investigate there."

Leia nodded her own assent, and looked around the group. "Last call... objections?"

Her query was met with silence. It was the best they were going to be able to do with such limited resources... but it wasn't near enough. Leia shut down her datapad and pulled the datachip out.

"That's it then, we'll have Smarts relay the orders and everything will be ready to roll first thing in the morning."

The meeting disbanded, and Leia turned the datachip over to Beta as the others filed out of the room.

"These orders need to be sent out right away..." She frowned. "I wish there was more I could do."

As Beta acknowledged her, a Calamarian appeared at her elbow; the male she had embraced before the meeting. She offered him a weak smile.

”I’ve got a while before I have to leave, I’m hitching a ride to Foamwander with representative Kalbrac. This may be our only chance to talk…”

The Calamarian merely nodded, and Leia allowed him to take her arm and guide her out of the meeting room. They wove their way through several corridors full of mingling diplomats until they found an empty one that afforded a bit of privacy.

"How is Ackbar doing?" Leia asked quietly as soon as they were alone, wasting no time in getting right to the point.

The Calamarian shook his head sadly. "Nobody knows, the family hasn't heard from him in some time."

"I'm sure he'll turn up soon" Leia offered, knowing even as she said it how empty the words sounded. "He’s always been a fighter-"

"Organa Solo! There you are..." Leia visibly flinched as Kalbrac's voice called from the end of the hall, effectively cutting her off. Had he followed them?

"You must come with me, our transport to Foamwander is leaving very shortly...” he urged.

Leia suppressed a sigh, and stubbornly held her ground. All she wanted was five minutes to talk… not even!

"I doubt they're about to leave without us Kalbrac, keep your little snorkel on" she replied a little too harshly.

Kalbrac did not seem phased. “The Overseer was hard pressed to find an open berth in Foamwander for us. We must land while we can before we lose it to one of the other thousands of ships in orbit requesting landing clearance.

This time she did sigh… he was right. She returned her attention to her quiet Calamarian friend.

"Don't worry, we'll talk soon. I promise... if I hear any word, I’ll find you."



***

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The transport shuttle took off not long after Kalbrac boarded with Leia in tow. Tired and aggravated, Leia stretched out across a double seat and tried to settle in for a nap. Kalbrac had chosen a seat nearby, and she was very much aware that his watchful gaze was centered on her as she drifted off to sleep.



***



The transport touched down at Foamwander spaceport shortly after <st1:time minute="0" hour="0">midnight</st1:time> local time, and a security team entered the ship to perform a customs check. Leia woke to the sound of Kalbrac's voice as he argued with the security team over whether or not she needed to be disturbed.

"I have her papers right here... there's no reason to disturb the poor woman, she has a long day ahead of her"

"Sir, we have orders to ID everyone who enters this port... we need to run her identification card and we can only take the originals. There have been recent problems with slavers passing their ships off as refugee transports, and then bolting with holds stuffed full of innocent civilians..."

"That's disgusting!" Leia exclaimed groggily, suprising both Kalbrac and the security team as she sat up and made her presence known. The security team quickly moved to collect her ID card and run it through their scanners.

The security team kept her occupied for several minutes, but not so much that she failed to notice Kalbrac slip out the door.

That damn fish was up to something.

When security was finished with her, Leia settled back into her seat and watched the shuttle's boarding ramp carefully, waiting for Kalbrac to return. When he got back, he had some explaining to do...

Unfortunately her weariness got the better of her, and it wasn't long before she fell back asleep. The next thing she knew, Kalbrac was shaking her in an attempt to rouse her... it was morning.

[font=Franklin Gothic Medium]Hyperspace[/font]
[font=Franklin Gothic Medium]En route to Mon Calamari[/font]

[font=Georgia]The Force... He'd always looked on it with contempt, ever since he'd been able to understand that it existed. It was like some nefarious disease, twisting through the mind and spirit, corrupting people and putting them in a state of being that was far more sinister than their normal, untouched selves. It was this energy field, this 'divine' power that disturbed Lance to no end, as he knew it could only lead him on a road of trouble, danger, and worse antagonism than everything he'd previously dealt with throughout his entire life...put together.[/font]

[font=Georgia]Still, the trip through space to Mon Calamari seemed to ease him closer and closer to the Force, though he couldn't tell why. As the two X-Wings continued on their course to the water world, Lance could feel the very last of his consciousness slide away, just after toggling the computer's very limited auto-pilot systems online. However, what he got on the other side of the consciousness barrier wasn't the kind of rest he was expecting for his trip... Instead, it seemed to be a world constructed from the Force itself; a world of sights and feelings the major had thought were eternally buried beneath the wall of hatred he'd built for himself as the years wore on.[/font]

[font=Georgia]Stretching out with his subconscious mind into the vast realm before him, Lance began to feel a familiar presence. It couldn't have possibly been there in the real world with him...no, that wouldn't have made any sense. Still, there was someone near him...someone he'd known before...[/font]

[font=Georgia]Inside himself, Lance could feel the burning question swell up within him, and he knew that he had to ask. If only he knew how, though, to keep his worries in check. What was going on before him couldn't possibly be real...how could it be? Even more than that, how could he even begin to understand it? "Kathryn?" His voice seemed distant, as if the haze of this vision had clouded it up, trying to restrict it to its home in the conscious mortal realm.[/font]

[font=Georgia]A face began to coalesce out of the shadows at the mere mention of that name, offering the commando the first true feeling of relief he'd had in a longer stretch of time than he could remember. "It's been a while," the face said, the voice a clear and distinct sound that exactly matched the voice Lance had longed to hear for so many months. It even looked like her...for all intents and purposes, the image was her.[/font]

[font=Georgia]And in this realization, Lance felt overjoyed. It had indeed been a long while, but he finally felt as though he'd been reunited with the woman he loved. More importantly, she remembered him, which lifted his spirits even more. "Are you alright? Alysha...is she safe?"[/font]

[font=Georgia]The expression on the ethereal face changed into a soft smile. "Yes. It's safe now where we are." Within seconds, the expression saddened. "You're hurting inside. Why?"[/font]

[font=Georgia]"I've been lost without you," he said sullenly, his pain starting to seep through the cracks and into his words. "It's been a lonely life, ever since..." The major trailed off just then, not even capable of finishing the thought, due to the sheer amount of pain it brought to his spirit.[/font]

[font=Georgia]"Lance, you have to believe in yourself. Moping around over the past won't accomplish anything; if you want to make a difference in this galaxy, you have to do something." Another calm smile appeared on her face. "Trust me...and trust yourself."[/font]

[font=Georgia]Lance's expression was one of confusion as he tried to make sense of the words, coming up short as he tried to grasp at them. "What exactly are you saying?"[/font]

[font=Georgia]"You will know..." At this, the face and voice both vanished, the image before him fading to black.[/font]

[font=Georgia]The next noise Lance heard was a small chime from the X-Wing's autopilot, warning him that the ship was coming out of lightspeed. Ahead, sitting in his view as the star-lines faded, was Mon Calamari; to his left, also coming out of hyperspace, was Jalyne's X-Wing. Without much effort, the major snapped out of his stupor and became fully alert, his heart beating with newfound strength, and an eerily familiar power.[/font]

[font=Georgia]...It was a power he hadn't felt since that one day on Corellia, when he'd just barely managed to avoid death.[/font]

[font=Georgia]Putting the haunting memory to the side for now, Lance turned his comm-link on, addressing Jalyne. "Prepare to head for the largest city on the planet; we shouldn't have too much trouble getting down there, but be ready, just in case." If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that his voice was twinged with perhaps just a little more confidence than it usually had.[/font]