Chapter 20: Escape from Coruscant

Leia sat in a chair, gazing out the window at the night sky above Coruscant. The incessantly clogged travel lanes glowed and blinked in the distance against the backdrop of towering skyscrapers. Billions of beings who only a day ago looked to her leadership and respected her principled approach to governance now saw her as the heir to the legacy of death and destruction, a liar and a fraud with potentially sinister intent. From an early age, her life had been spent either in service or in preparation of service, and in a flash, her service had ended in disgrace. Searching her feelings, she felt the regret and remorse lurking, but the pressing need of the moment kept it at bay for now. There might be time to grieve later, but knowing the game was afoot, Leia steeled herself as she plotted her next move.

She sensed a familiar consciousness approaching accompanied by numerous guards, and she could feel their grim purpose. A news flash had come across her view screen indicating a report of suspicious transfers in the Chancellor's account, but the news meant little to her as she had already alerted her bank to the possibility of fraudulent transfers. Even as she spoke, the reporter on the screen spoke with an official from the Banking Clan, who claimed that the transfers were all highly irregular and appeared to originate from off the planet. Leia smiled grimly, knowing that she had been able to thwart at least one element of the plot that was unfolding.

As the guards and the familiar consciousness approached the door, Leia turned casually in her chair to face the entrance. Director Specks burst into the room, and the guards fanned out around him, raising weapons, but not aiming them directly at her. Specks raised a blaster and spoke, "Madame Organa, you are under arrest for fraud and bribery."

"You're a little behind the times, Director," and she nodded to the screen. Specks looked up to see the Banking Clan official explaining that the transfers did not constitute evidence of fraud and that they would be investigating their origin. Specks blanched as the news caught him unprepared, but his resolve returned quickly. The guards registered that the pretense they were following to arrest her had collapsed, and they looked to Specks for clarification.

Sensing an advantage in Specks's momentary uncertainty, Leia pressed on. "I must congratulate you on the success of your operation. I imagine that, despite the hiccups, everything must have gone better than you had hoped."

Specks showed a fleeting hint of fear and anger before he worked his way back into his mild, banal manner. His guards had begun to regard him questioningly. "Enough, Organa. There's more evidence than just these transfers. We've been monitoring your office for some time. We're here to place you under arrest."

"Indeed? Is that why Director Voon was failing to report intelligence findings to my office?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Director Voon is no longer. . ."

"And who exactly was it that ordered stun blasts and gases used on the protestors on the eve of the Senate vote? I seem to recall strictly forbidding it." She said, smiling with satisfaction at turning the tables on Specks. "It certainly wasn't Director Voon, as I had relieved him and placed you in charge of security."

"I. . ." Specks faltered. She could see that he was growing angry, but she also knew he could not attack her and reveal himself.

"Presumably, you would know. It's the responsibility of Intelligence to detect any irregularities, after all," she continued, and she was even more satisfied to see the guards Specks had brought with him had all lowered their weapons. Specks appeared lost for words, so she added, "Surely, if there are going to be inquiries. . ."

She was unable to finish her sentence. A deep rumbling sound rattled the windows of her apartment. Leia stood and turned to the window in alaram, and the others looked to the window as well. A brilliant light spilled through the window, and the security guards recoiled from its brightness. As Specks threw his hand up, Leia acted instinctively. Reaching deep into the Force, she pushed forward toward her would-be captors, sending them backward into the wall. The guards crumpled, unconscious, but Specks recovered. He raised his weapon to fire at her, but she pulled it from his grasp through the Force. Then, as the light intensified and the roar of the sound from outside set the whole room to vibrating, Leia sent the piece of Alderaan hurtling through the air. It slammed into Specks's head, knocking him backwards into the wall and leaving him unconscious.

Leia turned toward the light, and a shaft of brilliant purple broke through the reinforced glass of her apartment window. The blade cut upward through the glass, leaving a glowing streak of orange in its wake. The blade completed a rough oval, and the glass fell away, shattering on the floor. A shadow stepped through the hole out of the light, and she saw Han Solo holding her lightsaber. He deactivated the weapon and held it out to her. He smiled his wide, lopsided smile.

"Second time I saved a Skywalker with one of these things," Han said, pleased with himself.

Leia returned his smile, and after a moment's pause, she gestured to the Falcon and said, "And how many times have you nearly killed one in that hunk of garbage?"

Han's smile brightened, then he shot back, "At least it smells better than a trash compactor."

"I doubt it," Leia retorted.

Han stretched his hand out to the hole he had cut through the window as if inviting royalty into a luxurious space yacht, but Leia turned away. "Just a second," she shouted over the din that the Falcon was making. She activated a few switches beneath her desk, and the Ch'halla trees flashed in a rhythmic sequence before resettling into their volatile reactions to the Falcon's noise.

"There!" Leia exclaimed.

"And that was?" Han asked.

"Ch'halla trees respond to sound organically. When we installed them, we wired them to record the sound." Leia explained. "Mon Mothma only used them a couple of times before she shut them off. Now, they're back on.""

"But won't the new Chancellor overhaul encryption on everything coming out of this office?" Han asked.

"Of course," Leia acknowledged, smiling broadly. "If only I knew a scruffy ex-smuggler who never stopped bragging about how great his ship's encryption capacities are."

Han returned a broad smile, feeling an old stirring that he had long buried away in anger and resentment. Leia seemed to read the emotions in his face, and she said, "I know."

And then from behind Han, they both heard a woman's voice shout, "Hey can we get a move on, you two?"

Leia followed Han out the window to the ledge. The Millennium Falcon hovered a few feet away from the ledge, and they both leaped onto the roof of the ship. Leia could see Chewbacca at the cockpit holding the ship steady, and Kit stood halfway out of the ship's ventral hatch looking behind them anxiously. Leia scanned the horizon, and in the distance, she could see emergency lights approaching. Han and Leia raced toward the hatch as Chewie pulled the ship gently away from the ledge. They dropped down into the ship, and Han raced up to the cockpit to pilot the ship away.

The ship had moved out into the open when Leia sensed another familiar presence. She followed Han up to the cockpit and looked at Han, who was perplexed, aggravated, and shouting back to Chewie, "I don't know why we aren't going forward! Were you screwing with the motivators again?" Chewie roared back indignantly, and Leia put a hand up. Han continued to shout, saying "Well then why don't you try giving it more throttle, you great hairy clod!"

"Shut up!" Leia shouted, and the command in her voice rendered them both silent and shocked. "It's not the ship."

Han followed Leia's gaze toward the building, and they saw Ben standing at the newly cut hole in her window. His hand was reaching out, and through the Force, he was attempting to hold the ship where it was. His face was set in anger and concentration.

"Great," muttered Han. The ship had started to drift back toward the building, and the emergency speeders were coming closer. "Now what?"

He looked up to Leia, and to his surprise her eyes were closed. He heard her whisper, "Let go," and he looked toward Ben who appeared to redouble his efforts. Suddenly, Leia opened her eyes, and in a quick, fluid motion, flung both her arms out in front of her as if to push something away. Han watched Ben fly backward from the window into the residence, and suddenly the ship was wrenched free from his grasp. "Cut the power," she yelled.

"Are you crazy?!" Han shouted back, but Leia did not give him a chance to argue. She reached out through the Force and cut the power, causing the ship to plummet. The emergency vehicles approached and overshot as the Falcon dropped hundreds of feet before Leia kicked the power back on. The ship stabilized, and Leia threw the throttle forward full blast, sending the ship hurtling above the Senate Square.

"They're coming back around," shouted Kit from inside the galley. "Should I man the guns?"

"Don't fire!" commanded Leia. "If we harm anybody, it will make it that much easier to attack us." Then, as Han regained control of the ship and flew it through the deep, steel canyons of Coruscant's urban landscape, she asked quietly, "Did Jax come?"

"Yeah, he's in the back," Han explained, straining with concentration as he swerved around a garbage barge.

"And Luke?" Leia asked.

"No word." Han answered.

Leia had tried to reach Luke again after touching his mind moments after reconnecting with the Force, but he had not responded. She had hoped he would have communicated with the Falcon and Han, but he had gone dark for the time being. Very well, she thought to herself - Luke was not the only fugitive ex-Jedi Master around to help them escape.

A burst of static erupted from the ship's comms, followed by a crisp military voice. "Millennium Falcon, this is Commander Wex Antilles. You are in violation of. . ." Han killed the commlink before he could find out what order he was in violation of, and he shouted back to the galley, "Strap in, we're gonna have company!"

Leia sat down behind Han, and as soon as she did, Han jerked the ship to the right into a canyon of skyscrapers. Half a dozen X-wings shot past them; X-foils opened in attack position. A blast flared in front of the cockpit as one of the X-wing pilots fired a shot across the ship's bow to show that he was serious.

"Kit, your cousin really is an idiot," Han shouted back to the galley. Kit's response came back unintelligible as Han threw the ship into a dive that sent them deeper toward the Coruscant underworld. Han pulled up before reaching street level, and the Falcon shot forward, tilting to the side as it soared through the narrow space above a bustling street. "X-wings won't follow us down here," Han laughed.

"And then what," Leia asked.

"I'll let you know when we get there," Han shot back.

Suddenly, Leia went tense, shouted, "Han, left! LEFT!"

Han was slow to respond, so Leia used the Force to force his response. The ship banked a hard left just as a security speeder came barreling around a corner full tilt directly at the Falcon. Han looked back to her. Her eyes were closed as she reached out to the Force. He spoke back to her, "Don't bother telling me. Just do it!."

Leia nodded, strained in concentration. Han felt his hands pull upward on their own accord, and the ship shot straight up, paralleling the side of a massive skyscraper. "75% throttle," Leia called out, and Chewbacca pushed the throttle forward. The ship tore straight up, nearly scraping the side of the building as it screamed toward a line of ships moving along the established travel lanes above the top of the tower.

"Leia!" Han shouted, terrified.

"Full throttle on my mark," she spoke, her voice strained with concentration. Another blast erupted near the ship, and Han got the sense that their warnings were getting more insistent. Would Specks order the X-wings to shoot them down? He thought to himself.

"Three. . ." Leia uttered.

Han gripped the steering control, doing everything he could to hold it steady. A passenger shuttle drifted by, nearly scraping the sides of the Falcon as they barreled ahead straight into the sky. Chewbacca hollered in outrage and fear.

"Two. . ." Leia spoke, her voice tense.

X-wings had approached, flanking them and signaling frantically for them to stop. A massive transport barge loomed almost directly ahead. If they continued their current speed, they would slam right into it. The X-wing pilots looked ahead, and seeing the approaching danger, they peeled away to avoid a collision.

"FULL THROTTLE NOW!" Leia cried, and Chewie pushed the lever forward. The Falcon shot straight ahead of the barge, missing it by mere meters. The X-wings fell behind, slowed by their attempt to work around the traffic line. With the Falcon moving at full throttle, which was already faster than a standard X-wing's sub-light drive, they rapidly neared the upper atmosphere without their pursuers.

They had escaped the pursuers in the city, but now orbital defenses awaited. Han steered the ship away from the Golan III battle platform, but even in doing so he could see he was directing the ship closer to an approaching cluster of A-wings. The smaller, faster interceptors barreled down on the Falcon, and Han knew that, once in range, their ionizing cannons would lock the ships controls, rendering them dead in space.

"Leia, I hope you got one more trick up your sleeve. . ." Han muttered.

The A-wings were nearly within range now, and Han looked back at Leia, who had closed her eyes once again. Suddenly, the A-wings appeared to have killed their power, losing their trajectory as they began to drift. The Falcon shot past them as the A-wings floated harmlessly past, and Han wondered why the A-wing pilots, always so single-minded, had inexplicably stopped piloting their ships. Then he looked back at Leia who was tight with concentration, and he understood.

"Chewie, she's plugged in for a jump to Corvus. Hit it!" Han called out, and Chewbacca pushed the hyperdrive lever forward. The stars stretched out before them, and the Falcon jumped into hyperspace, leaving Coruscant far behind.

Behind Han, Leia gasped and collapsed in her seat, her body sagging to the side as she strained to catch her breath. Han climbed out of his seat, and Chewie followed him. They unstrapped her from her seat and carried her back into the galley, where they sat her down in a chair. Leia, half conscious, smiled up at Han, saying, "Nice flying."

"You were amazing," Han said, awestruck at what she had done with the Force.

She smiled faintly, then whispered, "I could use a nap," and then she closed her eyes. Chewie lifted her out of the chair and carried her toward a bunk, where he laid her down gently and pulled a blanket over her.

Kit and Jax unstrapped from their seats and stepped over to where Chewie had laid Leia down. Kit looked over her sleeping form and said, "I don't care whose daughter she is – that was unbelievable."

Jax could only stare. During the flight, he had become aware of what Leia was doing through the Force and having gotten an inkling of how the mysterious power moved through her and guided her actions, it began to register fully what a person could do with the Force at their side.

He muttered his thoughts aloud, saying, "So that's what a Jedi is. . ."

Kit looked toward him and smiled, sensing the shift in his attitude. "Jax, if you could do that, would you still feel the need to run?" Jax looked toward her and shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah, Jedi are great," Han said, half-dismissively. "But we've got to think the next steps through. Jax, you said you could give us an estimate of how to find your secret base?"

"I think so," Jax said, with enough uncertainty in his voice that Han shifted impatiently. Reading Han's body language, Jax corrected himself. "Yes. I can get us to the general area, and from there, we'll have to explore."

"What are you thinking?" Kit asked, curious.

"You tell the Falcon's computer where to go. We find the Order of Ren, expose them for what they are, reveal the plot." Han began flipping switches on the navigation computer, muttering softly as he went.

Kit turned to Jax with a grin, saying, "You ready to meet the rudest computer in the galaxy?"