Hope Reborn - Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Naked and with a towel over his head was not how he wanted to be questioned. Especially not at blaster point. Alas, things did not always work the way people wanted.

"We were on a run to Alderaan with Han." Luke decided to go with the truth, mostly. "When we got there it was gone."

"Gone?" Qi'ra pressed the barrel into his ribs harder. "What do you mean?"

"It was gone." He repeated. "Blown to pieces."

"Impossible." She whispered.

"The Empire built a space station capable of destroying planets." Luke kept his voice even. "They call it the Death Star. They caught the Falcon in a tractor beam, and they took the ship. We hid in the compartments under the floor. The plan was to split up, I'd take out the controls while they tried to spring a prisoner."

"Who?" Qi'ra asked in a firm tone.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi." Luke answered. "He was a Jedi and a general in the Clone Wars. We met him on Tatooine. He hired the Falcon to take him to Alderaan and avoid Imperial patrols, no questions asked. They took him prisoner when they stormed the ship. He said there was no way he could hide. Something about a presence in the force."

"And Han just decided to rescue him?" Qi'ra scoffed. "He's not that big of a fool."

"The old man was the only shot we had at getting paid." Luke shrugged.

The motion dislodged the towel and it dropped to the floor. In the brief time they were separated she had managed to get dressed in a simple outfit while he still stood there naked.

"You expect me to believe that?" She glared at him.

"It was the best option we had." Luke crossed his arms tight against his chest. "At best, the Empire was going to lock us up for the rest of our lives. Rescuing the old man for a payday and getting out of there seemed like a great plan."

Qi'ra looked hard into his eyes. She sighed.

"Then what happened?" She asked.

"We ambushed the group guarding the Falcon, took their armor, and pretended to be Stormtroopers. Han and Leia took Chewy to the detention level while I went for the tractor beam." Luke had to clear his throat to get the lump that had formed to allow words to pass. "When I got back to the hangar Leia was trying to get the cannons back online and the old man was fighting Stormtroopers. Han and Chewy didn't make it."

"And you brought a tracker here." Qi'ra stated.

"You found it?" Luke asked.

"Snug in the landing gear." Qi'ra gave a single nod. "Classic Empire. It's hitching a ride to Ilos Cluster as we speak."

The stood in silence for a long moment. She still had the blaster against his ribs. Her eyes moved rapidly side-to-side in thought. This close he didn't think he would be able to move quick enough to get out of the way. A Mind Trick worked best on those with weak will or were not expecting it. Those with more mental fortitude could feel something brush against their consciousness. Thankfully, there were only a few species out in the galaxy that seemed to be immune. Even then, it was usually only when done by certain species weren't compatible. For example, Toydarians couldn't be influenced by Human Jedi. They were just too different. A Nautolan, however, had no such issue.

"You're telling the truth." She finally took a step back.

She didn't want to believe it. The Empire with the power to destroy a planet. It made sense with the news about Scarif and the smugglers reports. This wasn't the first ship to say something about was off about the Alderaan System. Missing ships, strange readings, and rumors of increased Imperial patrols were the most common.

"Thank you." Luke nodded. "Can I get dressed now?"

"Get your clothes on and get off my station." She strode purposefully from the room.

He got dressed as quick as he could. Luke was more than glad to get back on their way. They needed to get to the Rebellion to start to get a plan together. With luck, the Death Star would chase the signal for a while before they realized it was a trick. He was happy that it was being led out beyond the Outer Rim, but that did create another problem. They had no idea what it would do next.

Luke reached out in the force in search of Leia. He followed it to find her in a cantina area. Unlike the one on Tatooine, this one served food as well as drinks. The clientele was better armed and armored as well. There were still a few drunk thugs, but they looked to be the exception rather than the rule.

He found Leia leaning against the bar as she nursed a glowing blue drink. She slowly turned around as he stepped into the room. It was funny now how easy it was to see the signs of her power in the force. She had stopped her training once she found she was pregnant in his last life. Before that, she had been amazing. He learned just as much as he did teaching her. Her connection was different than his, but close enough to understand. It made it easier for him to see how some jedi were focused solely on studying the force.

"Took you long enough." Leia teased.

Luke smiled at her.

"We should go." He said low enough so she could hear. "It wasn't as fun as you'd think."

Leia raised her eyebrows at that but didn't say anything. She tossed a couple of credits on the bar and started to walk away. Luke stayed beside her as they walked. They didn't speak until they were in the ship and the engines were primed.

"What happened?" Leia asked from the co-pilot's chair.

"She knew Han." Luke sighed. "I told her what happened."

"YOU WHAT?" Leia yelled.

"It's kind of hard not to answer questions when you have a blaster jammed in your ribs." Luke grumbled. "I didn't tell her everything. Just what I could. People need to know about the Death Star. I didn't say who you were, but she'll probably know soon enough."

"The tracker?" Leia sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"Heading out beyond the Outer Rim." Luke replied. "I'll have R2 run a scan of the ship and compare it to previous ones for any fluctuations."

"Why didn't you do that in the first place?" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We didn't have the time." Luke shrugged.

"Did you think that maybe she didn't remove the tracker?" Leia asked.

"There's no reason for her not to." Luke turned his attention to the controls. "You tell me, how does the Empire treat pirates and smugglers?"

"Harshly." Leia let out a long breath. "We'll set course once the scan is complete."

"Got it." Luke kept the ship in sub-light travel for the next hour.

R2 rolled into the cockpit chirping. The readout began to play along the little screen on the control panel. Luke studied the scrolling text.

"Utyc palon." He muttered.

"What?" Leia chuckled.

"Sorry. Something I heard in Mos Eisley." Luke blushed.

His travels in his last life had led him to some rough places. They always had the best selection when it came to cursing. The drunk nearby said it was Old Mandalorian. A fact he repeated loudly.

"Is something wrong?" She asked.

"Yes. No." Luke shook his head. "There aren't any trackers. Just." He waved a hand at the screen. "I'm going to need to do a lot of work on this ship."

"Should I be worried?" Leia gave an uneasy look to the cockpit around her.

"Not yet." Luke shook his head. "Where to?"

"Yavin." Leia replied. "The rebel base is on Yavin."