Star Wars: 30 Years Later The Real Story - Chapter 25

– “I don’t care!”- shouted Han through the radio- “you’re just sending us to death!”

– “We will die anyway if they destroy the Resistance fleet!”- shouted Maz who was at the brink of desperation when she noticed the size of the enemy reinforcements- “we need to send everything we have now! So hurry up!”

– “I can’t even reach the Falcon under all this rubble!”- said Han who was removing the remnants of what used to be the access to the hangar along with many other Takodana forces- “so send us whoever with strong hands here!”

– “Oh!”- said Maz with a surprised tone.

– “What now?”- said Han with an impatient tone. He was already angry and in turmoil for Leia and now he was in the middle of a losing battle without means of escape so he had reached his limit long go- “Don’t tell me the First Order has brought his new Death Star to finish us off!”

– “I received a transmission from the Resistance fleet…”- replied Maz and her voice sounded hopeful and cheerful- “I think you’ll find it interesting…”

– “This is not the time for games, Maz…”- started Han but then he shut his mouth when he listened to the most beautiful voice he could hear.

– “This is Senator Leia Organa”- said the voice of the only woman capable of move every fiber and emotion within Han even after so many years of being together. She was safe… and then Han felt his spirit rise once again along with revitalized energy- “we are under attack and in need of ȧssistance. Please send reinforces from Takodana… I repeat we are…”

The transmission suddenly was cut off and Han felt his heart tremble and an unusual fury filled his ċhėst.

– “Prepare your forces, Maz…”- said Han and his voice was so cold and sharp that even Maz who had faced many deadly things felt threatened- “give me all the detonators you have and bring me a droid with a scanner!”

– “Yes, Sir!”- responded all the people around him who seemed to be intimidated by him.

– “Hang on there, Leia”- he said mentally- “I’ll be there very soon…”

(…)

The battle on the orbit of Takodana had turned extremely ferocious with heavy casualties in both sides. One could only see explosions caused by lasers, missiles and bombs which were flying all over. The TIE fighters filled the space like an angry hive of bees and used their numbers and maneuvering to shave off the enemy forces and open the way for their bombers to attack the Mon Calamari Cruisers. Even though their defensive capabilities were top notch they were still heavily affected by these attacks.

– “Delta Squadron informs of a heavy defense on the sector 87, 456, General”- informed an officer.

– “Two Mon Calamari Cruisers are about to collapse.”

– “Heavy losses on the sector 94, 123 and asking for reinforcements”

– “Tell Delta leader that I do not care for his excuses”- said Hux with a calm tone- “if he does not destroy his objective in five minutes, he and his squadron will have their legs cut off. I heard somewhere that you can fly better with no legs.”

The surrounding officers gasped and gulped at his words since they knew that he would do it. When Delta leader heard of this, his offensive turned more vicious and desperate.

– “Send bombers to finish off the Cruisers with teams 236 to 310 as escorts”- he gave the next order- “if they can’t do it, tell them that it is better to join the Resistance, the First Order have no need for useless people.”

– “Have the teams in sector 94, 123 to retreat to sector 93, 900 and tell Dragonwing to support them with heavy fire”- said Hux thinking on the next move.

– “Dragonwing informs thati it is possible that they will also hit some of our guys in the attack”- informed the officer.

– “So?”- asked Hux with a cold indifference- “as long as he keeps the casualties as low as possible it will be fine. I do not want excuses, just results”

– “Yes, Sir!”

Anyone would feel the same about General Hux, he was cruel, merciless and cold not only with the enemies but also with his men. He only expected the best and he had no patience with anything lower than than. He did not care abut sacrificing thousands to get victory and even though all consider this heartless, nobody could deny that it was extremely effective and that was why his men had blind confidence in him even tough they fear him. They knew he would lead them to victory.

– “Transmission intercepted from the Resistance flagship to Takodana”- informed the officer- “they are asking for reinforcements and the voice corresponds to General rebel Leia Organa.”

– “She was so foolish to come here?”- he said with the voice of a psychopath- “this is perfect… Order Star Destroyers KylinRoar, StoneWeaver and SkyPunisher to ignore the rest of cruisers and attack and send all their fighters to attack the enemy flagship. Destroy it at all costs, I don’t care if the destroyers are lost but they must take down that cruisers!”

The officer transmitted the orders and Hux started to laugh maniatically imagining the bountiful rewards he would receive if he were to eliminate one of the leaders of the Resistance.

– “General!”- informed another officer- “we detect units coming from Takodana surface”

– “Hmph!”- General Hux did not even flinch to this piece information- “useless struggle… Teams 1 to 18 turn to the new arrivals and protect our flank. This is just like trying to hit a rock with an egg. Now… let me have my prize…”

(…)

Galactic Voyager Flagship

Admiral Ackbar was commanding his forces in the middle of this hard battle but he remained calm and collected. This was not the first time he was in this situation and definitely it was not the hardest battle he had been in. Even so, he had to admit that the enemy commander was doing a good job and it was at least much more competent than that Sylus who had been relegated to a simple side character trying to do the best he could not to be destroyed.

– “Now we’ll have to wait until Takodana sends us reinforcements”- said Admiral Ackbar while following the battle in the monitors.

– “We seemed to be pushed back…”- commented a mȧturė yet refined and elegant woman that was sitting next to him.

– “It’s normal to have some ups and downs during a battle, General”- said Ackbar using his most respectful tone with the lady, even though they had fought side by side countless times- “I must admit, though, that child Hux has certainly improved since the last time we met… Send cruisers SoundWave and IronHide to point 86, 963 and prepare to give backup to the Takodana forces.”

– “It’s people like him that makes the First Order so dangerous”- commented Leia with a sigh- “if only he used his talents in favor of peace…”

Leia sighed with deep sadness when she remembered what had just happened some hours before. All for she had fought all these years in the Senate, all the advances and negotiations, all the political maneuvers and delicate stratagems that had taken so much effort and patience had just vanished in an instant by the absolute and terrible power of First Order. Even though she would never say it out loud, she had to admit that she was completely lost about what to do next and could only sit there, watching a battle that was not in her field of expertise… just waiting and thinking about her role in this war now that politics and diplomacy were meaningless.

– “Admiral!”- informed a female Calamari officer who seemed to be confused and forced Leia to stop her line of thinking- “three enemy Star Destroyers have broken lines and are advancing at full speed to our position.”

– “Crazy!”- said Ackbar’s First Officer Thaneespi who had been serving alongside Admiral Ackbar since the war against the Empire and who now seemed to be shocked by the decision of the enemy commander- “they will receive massive damage. Why would he rush so much?.”

– “Overconfidence… maybe?”- commented Leia who even though did not know much of spacecraft battle, had seen enough to understand the enemy had made a big mistake.

– “Hux would never make that mistake”- said Ackbar and immediately ordered his crew- “Fire at will!”

Ackbar’s instincts were screaming in alert and he had learned to believe in his guts in situations like this.

– “Have our shield cruisers to block the incoming Star Destroyers”- ordered Ackbar feeling that something was terribly wrong- “Deploy our remaining fighters and prepare all our anti-star fighter cannons!”

– “Massive damage received by Cruisers BlindJustice and Kyllstane!”- informed the officer- “Commanders inform that the TIE fighters include many bombers which are causing grave damage.”

– “Shoot at them!”- shouted Thaneespi- “Have the Cruisers concentrate their fire at the bombers!”

– “No!”- said Ackbar who seemed to understand the reasons of the enemy General- “Tell the all the Cruisers to focus their fire on the Star Destroyers. Send any fighters that we have to engage with the TIE fighters. We’ll cover them and give special priority to the enemy bombers! Let the other Cruisers take out the Star Destroyers!”

– “What are they thinking?”- asked Thaneespi having no idea on why the enemy was doing such an act- “even if they destroy the Flagship, it will not ȧssure their victory and they will lose three Star Destroyers in exchange of one? Is he so desperate to get your head?”

– “This is not about me or this battle”- said Ackbar and then looked at the lady next to him- “they want a more important head…”

– “You mean…”- Thaneespi also looked at General Leia.

– “It seems they have discovered that General Organa is in the ship”- explained Ackbar- “if that’s the case, they will not stop at anything to destroy this ship.”

– “Second Star Destroyer has massive damages but it keeps on advancing and using its main weapons against us! They have broken through the line of defense and are advancing towards us!”

– “More TIE fighters have been deployed from the second Star Destroyer!”

– “All weapons open fire!”

The remaining Star Destroyer launched heavy attacks on the Voyager ignoring the attacks it was suffering. At the same time, the TIE fighters and Bombers threw at the flagship of the Resistance with ferocity and bombed it with all they had.

– “Enemy casualties increasing by the second!”- said an officer shouting- “but the shields will not resist if this continuous like this!”

– “Shields at 70% and dropping!”

– “Transfer the energy from the non essential systems to the shields and keep the weaponry at 60%!”- ordered Ackbar knowing that he could only gain time until the reinforcements arrived- “the rest of the fleet take down those Star Destroyers for me!”

(…)

– “Leia organa has been found in the Voyager!”

When Kylo Ren heard this news, he immediately left Rey in the Interrogation chamber and ran to the hangar. Many Stormtroopers were baffled when they saw a shadow passing them by at such speed that they could not follow him. Kylo Ren kept running using the Force to boost his speed knowing that Hux could potentially ruin everything he and Snoke had been planning for years.

– “Pass me to Hux!”- he ordered and immediately a signal started indicating he was being transfer.

– “What do you want, Ren?”- said Hux not even trying to pretend any cordiality while still giving commands to the fleet- “you must know I am in the middle of something really important…”

– “By orders from the Supreme Leader, you must leave Leia Organa to me!”- said Kylo Ren with an imperative tone that denoted that he would not accept a rejection.

– “Humph! I have not received those orders from the Supreme Leader, Ren”- replied Hux with a sarcastic voice which indicated that he did not care at all about Ren’s previous statements- “if there’s nothing else, I have more urgent matters to attend…”

– “You’ll do as I say!”- said Ren an extremely dissatisfied tone and stopped in front of the hangar where his Silencer fighter was waiting for him- “Leia Organa is mine!”

– “You’re no superior of mine, Ren!”- said Hux with a cold voice which showed a hint of satisfaction for being able to make Ren pass a bad time- “the glory of eliminate a figure such as hers will be mine… but if you think you can stop me… I invite you to try!”

– “You’ll respond for this to the Supreme Leader”- said Kylo Ren in a last attempt to stop Hux.

– “I will take the responsibility”- said Hux immediately cutting off the communications.

Ren had burst of fury and wished to be next to Hux to break his neck and showed him who was the master. However, he understood that those thoughts were of no use and immediately boarded his TIE Silencer knowing that every second counted and immediately took off in direction to the Voyager. Leia Organa was one of the keys he needed to unlock his full potential and he would not permit anyone to kill her before it was the correct time.

– “Black Five”- he ordered using his secret communication systems- “meet me at point 78, 700 and wait for instructions.”

– “Yes, Sir!”- replied the only Knight of Ren that had survived the Battle of Takodana.

Kylo Ren flew at breaking speed to the voyager and not much longer started to feel the presence of Leia

(…)

At the same time Leia who was still in the Bridge of the Voyager and was next to Ackbar also felt this powerful and familiar presence.

– “He’s here…”- she said feeling a tight pressure in her ċhėst.

– “Shields at 40%!”- officers shouted while other also informed of many other damages they were suffering.

– “Enemy Star Destroyer depleting more TIE fighters!”- informed another officer

– “This doesnt look good!”- said Thaneespi but her face showed not much worry.

– “Takodana reinforcements behind us!”- informed another officer with a radiant smile.

– “The bait worked then”- said Ackbar and sighed with relief knowing that the plan had worked.

They had showed a small fleet on the flank of the flagship Inquisitor to make them believe they will make a desperate attack while the real fleet would support them in repelling this suicidal attack.

– “Here General Solo”- said the voice of Han and Leia couldn’t help but show a radiant smile- “Leave the cleaning to us and Poe. So send your guys out there, Admiral.”

– “Here Rogue 3”- said Poe who was leading the teams from the Rogue Squadron- “we’ll make way for the bombers so follow us tight and don’t get delayed.”

– “Received!”- said Ackbar with no hesitation- “have the Y-wings follow the Rogue squadron!”

Multiple hangars from the Voyager were opened and many BTL-A4 Y-wing Variant starfighters lifted off followed by more potent BTL-S8 K-wings that immediately ȧssembled behind Han’s group.

– “Ok, Chewee. Let’s do this.”- said Han introducing the last codes to the Millennium Falcon.

– “Grrreweee!”- said Chewee showing the typical excitement he had before a battle as his warrior blood started to boil.

– “Of course!”- replied Han grinning at him like so many times- “Are you ready, Kid?”

– “Ready”- responded Finn who seemed to be extremely angry since Kylo Ren escaped and seemed to be looking for somethng to let off steam.

– “Rogue Squadron!”- said Han confirming their positioning- “Get ready to enter the fray! Don’t make the First Order look down on you!”

– “We’re ready and anxious to start, General!”- replied Poe with a wide grin that shared with all the members of the Rogue Squadron.

– “All units attack!”- ordered Han and the Rogue Squadron surrounded the Millennium Falcon in formation. They were all battle-hardened warriors who smiled at death every day while betting their lives at every move, so this was just another deadly game which put no fear in them.

Some may think that a small force like this would not make any important contribution or difference and they wouldnt be wrong if it werent for the fact that this were the legendary Han Solo and the Rogue squadron who were veterans aces that had tilted far worse battles into their advantage. They entered the skirmish with no hesitation and cut through the enemy starfighters like a hot knife through buŧŧer.

– “Rogue sqadron! enemies at point 85, 999!”- informed Han- “send someone to block them!”

– “On it, Sir!”- said Poe who was already taking out many enemy fighters- “Team 4! You heard the general!”

– “Loud and Clear!”- responded the team leader and they separated from the main group

– “Keep on like that, kid!”- said Han praising Finn’s top notch shooting abilities- “maybe I’ll hire you after all this ends!”

Han and Chewee’s maneuvering gave Finn so many free shots that he thought that he had to be absolutely blind to fail. However, the truth was that FInn’s reactions were spot on and Han knew that not many could match Chewee’s maneuvering which spoke aloud of the abilities of the young man. Their momentum caught their enemies by surprise and managed to break their formations. In the first wave, they had managed to destroy a lot of TIE fighters and opened the way for the bombers who had been following them all along.

– “Bomber Squadron, do your job!”- ordered Han seeing the Star Destroyers in front of them- “Neutralize the upper cannons and protect them from the flies all around”

– “Yes, Sir”- responded Poe following directly after him- “Team 1! Follow me and get rid of the cannons! Teams 2 and 3 escort the Y-wings and clean up those greenhorns!”

-“Yes, Sir!”

– “Copy that!”

The bombers advanced to the Star Destroyer which was making the most damage to the Voyager and got ready to bomb it. Many TIE fighters flew to them like furious hornets whose nest had been hit. The Millennium Falcon and the Rogue Squadrom X-wings advanced evading the anti- starfighter upper cannons and started to neutralize them with shots so accurate that even elite pilots would consider impossible

– “Two bombers lost!”- they heard the inform but they continued doing their job- “four now!”

Han sighed and knew that it was only natural. The typical curse of the bombers in general was their extremely weak defense which was the sacrifice they made in exchange for their equally ridiculous offensive capable of taking down Star Destroyers.

– “Hey, guys!”- shouted Han with anger- “I thought I had been clear about protecting those Y-wings! Do your job, Damn it!”

Even though many bombers and x-wings fell in the attack, plenty of them arrived to the Bridge and started their attack with powerful proton bombs that provoked massive damage on the systems of the enemy ships. Soon the first Star Destroyer started to change itsangle indicating that it was offline.

– “First target eliminated!”- said Han setting his eyes on his next prey- “the other two are not better than this one so we’ll do the same… do not lose your focus!”

The second and third Star Destroyers had received a lot of damage previously which had made their shields extremely weak and so the bombers, especially the BTL-S8 K-wings new series took them out what was left of them, sending them to the netherworld. The second Star Destroyer especially had received so much amage that it exploded with such violence that sent many Resistance starfighters flying and even destroyed some. The Millennium Falcon also received some damage due to this explosion but it was not of serious repercusions.

– “Mission accomplished, Admiral”- reported Han and the crew of the Voyager cheered loudly- “Keep covering us until we can clean this area…”

– “Good job, General!”- said Ackbar- “we will…”

An explosion made all the Voyager tremble and the alarms started to sound all around. The shake had sent many people to the floor including Thaneespi who was helped by Leia who had managed to hold on her seat.

– “Direct hit to the fuselage!”- informed an officer who had just returned to his seat- “Shields systems down!”

– “Damn it all!”- shouted Ackbar turning around to watch the battlefield- “All weapons shoot what we have and have the reaining Cruisers form a blockade in front of us… ”

– “Yes, Sir!”

– “General”- said Ackbar talking to Han- “we’re a sitting duck at the moment and we need protection until the Cruisers can position hemselves.”

– “Understood!”- said Han looking at Chewee so he can change of direction- “Rogue Squaderon! Gather your forces and defend…!”

– “Star Destroyer’s main cannons locking on the Voyager!”- someone shouted through the intercom.

– “What?”- Han looked through the window and saw one of the supposed eliminated Star Destroyers gathering energy on its cannons and reaccomodating its angle to shoot directly at the Voyager- “Bombers! Take down that Destroyer NOW!”

Many bombers turned around and flew in direction to the destroyer. Every X-wing also dashed against it shooting everything they had to stop the Star Destroyer but Han knew that they would not make it in time.

– “Leia!”- shouted Han in desperation seeing powerlessly how the massive destroyer had finally accomodate to shoot the shot that would kill one of the most important figures of the Resistance.

BOOM!

The shot was never done, however, since the Bridge of the Star destroyer had been destroyed by a direct hit that had definitely and mercilessly killed every crew member of it. Han and all of the Resistance members were in disbelief and wondered who had made such miraculously shot.

– “TIE Silencers detected!”- informed the officer by the radio and the happiness they had felt turned into desperation.

Han recognized the starfighter that was the personnal model used by Kylo Ren and he had no doubts about his intentions. Even though the rest of the Resistance did not understand why Kylo Ren had saved the Voyager, Han and Leia knew very well that it was because Kylo wanted to do it personally, so Han did not hesitate for a second in going after him.

– “Poe! After him!”- ordered Han and started a furious chase after Kylo Ren

– “Teams 1 and 2 follow General Solo!”- ordered Poe also flying at full speed after the TIE Silencer- “Teams 3 and 4 deal with the other Blackie!”

– “Roger that!”

Han and the Rogue Squadron started to shoot at Kylo Ren but he seemed to be uninterested in them and just evaded and moved with incredible swiftness in direction to the Voyager. Han saw in desperation how the other Mon Calamari Cruisers were trying to block him but he just slithered through them dodging any shot and preparing to finish off the Voyager in the same fashion as he had done with the Star Destroyer.

– “Please somebody!”- shouted Han calculating that Kylo Ren was in shooting range- “Block him!”

In the moment when it looked as if Kylo Ren was going to shoot, he made a drastic maneuver that permitted him to evade a shot that had been extremely accurate. Han looked for the responsible and saw a T-65 X-wing variant that looked extremely familiar. This X-wing not only forced Ren to dodge but he also destroyed four TIE fighters that were flying around the Voyager at a vertiginous speed.

– “Impossible!”- said Han recognizing the X-wing and its pilot- “It’s Luke!”

Chapter Title: “Luke Returns”