Chapter 27 - Lukes Mission (1/2)

Unknown regions - Queluhan Nebula - Planet Shardiv.

- ”I wonder when we will be given a change of station”- mentioned a stormtrooper who was keeping his position while watching a base in the middle of a mountain which was covered with crystals of magenta and purple color.

- ”I don't know”- replied his companion which seemed to be extremely annoyed by the complaint he had just heard- ”our mission is to watch, not to question...”

- ”I'm just curious”- replied the first stormtrooper ignoring the obvious fed up tone of his companion- ”normally it should be just some months but it's been years now and sincerely I'm just starting to believe we have been abandoned here.”

- ”If you have complaints, I can transmit them to the captain..”- said the second stormtrooper.

- ”No, no... that won't be necessary”- said the first stormtrooper who made a terrified expression under his helmet and decided that it would not be wise to continue with the current discussion- ”I'm not dissatisfied... it's just that I don't know why we should guard a place that is so difficult to access in the first place... nobody knows this exists in the first place.”

The zone was extremely difficult to access and there were very few paths for where one could access and all of these were extremely well guarded by the First Order. Not only was the geography very harsh due to the immense presence of the massive crystals placed all around the area but due to the effects of illumination and reflection of them, the place was a kind of natural laberynth that would be very difficult to escape if one did not know the area well.

- ”Orders are orders”- said the secnd stormtrooper taking in consideration the possibility of making his undesirable companion to get lost- ”it's an honor to serve in such important place for the First Order. Now stop blabbering and focus.”

- ”Roger that!”

After their defeat during the Battle of Jakku and the signing of the Galactic Concordance, a remnant of the Empire's once-powerful starfleet who refused to surrender retreated to the Queluhan Nebula, this place had been discovered by chance many years previous to the fall of the Empire and had served as a secret base for the Imperial Forces due to its high concentration of ionized gases that ensured that anyone could. For many years, the Imperials were able to amass a large fleet and other war machines without being noticed in this part of the unknown regions. Once the Empire fell, the First Order took control of this territory and under the leadership of the Supreme Leader had expanded and increased the number of centers and laboratories along all the Nebula and its innumerable planets.

- ”By the way, have you heard about the recent attacks on the laboratories?”- asked the first stormtrooper who only could contain himself some minutes before restarting the conversation again.

- ”Those are just rumors, right?”- replied the second stormtrooper who wonder what his punishment would be for shooting a fellow stormtrooper to death.

- ”No! I heard that the damage was real and that the security has been risen to the extremes now”- commented the first stormtrooper ignoring the danger he was facing- ”nobody knows who the attackers are, though. Some people say it's a group of rebels that...”

- ”Hey who goes there?”- shouted the second stormtrooper and he was relieved to see his companion holding his blaster seriously after listen the clear sounds of footsteps in the area.

Both stortroopers started to look for the source of the sound but they could not pin point it. The echo that was produced resounded as if it came from everywhere and the reflections produced by the crystals all around created shadows and figures that seemed to be lurking all around.

- ”This is a restricted area!”- shouted the second stormtrooper- ”show yourself and surrender!”

For a moment the sounds and the reflections stopped and a very tense silence governed the area. The two stormtroopers stood side by side protecting each other's backs while waiting. Their nerves were at their limits when they saw a figure appear at the end of the only road of access many meters away from them. The figure then just stood immobile there as if he were waiting for something.

- ”Kneel on the ground and put your hands behind your head”- said the stormtrooper and both blasters pointed at the black figure who did not respond or moved- ”this is our final warning! Go to your knees and put yur hands behind your head!”

A hooded figure did not react and the stormtroopers had a very bad premonition. The figure did not show any sign of being nervous or intimidated. The second stormtrooper activated his intercom.

- ”Here PY-87”- said the stormtrooper- ”trespasser found in the sector 43, 987 with possible company. I request reinforcement.”

- ”Received, PY-87”- responded a voice through the intercom- ”reinforcements incoming!”

- ”Roger!”

As if he had been waiting for that to happen, the figure started to move and the stormtroopers were about to open fire but as if it had been scattered by the wind, the figure just vanished in the air.

- ”What was that?”- said the first stormtrooper who started to look around in panic.

- ”Keep calm and do not get distracted!”

- ”Ok... what..? Noooo!”

When the second stormtrooper turned around he managed to see his companion dissapearing into the forest of crystal as if he were being dragged by an invisible force. He heard the screms through his intercom for some more seconds until they ceased. He had to accept that even though he did not like the guy, he was still the only good company he had in this isolated place so he really felt bad for him. He tried to communicate with HQ again but then he saw the figure on the edge of his vision and quickly pointed his blaster at him by reflex. However, he noticed that even though he had a point blank shoot, his body did not respond to his commands.

- ”What... is this?”- the stormtrooper felt an absolute terror gripping his heart while looking at the foe he had in front of him. He did not know who was under the hood that covered his face but he could distinguish a gray beard and a blue glint that seemed to to be capable of penetrating his soul.

- ”We'll have a nice chat while we wait for your friends”- said the stranger as he waved his hand in front of the stormtrooper's face and immediately the stormtrooper felt his problems and responsibilities flying out of him. He felt extremely relaxed and happy.

He found the voice of the stranger extremely convincing and friendly as if he were an old friend who was chatting with you after a long time and having a lot of things to catch up. The stormtrooper found surprising that he had no qualms in answering everything the man asked.

- ”Thank you...”- said the friendly stranger and the stormtrooper could swear he had seen him smiling at him- ”now go to sleep and you will forget everything we talked about once you wake up.”

Immediately the stormtrooper felt extremely tired and he thought that he had been working too much and he was soon embraced by the comforting hug of the darkness.

(...)

The figure saw the stormtrooper passing out and he turned his attention to the entrance to the secret base he had been looking so hard. He knew that he would receive company very soon so he prepare mentally. He took out an intercom device and turned it on.

- I'll enter very soon, R2- said Luke Skywalker- keep the camouflage at all times but be ready in case we have to flee .

- ”Durrppi tanatpiu”- responded R2 through the radio.

- ”I'll enter radio silence now”- said Luke and he found a hiding place and waited for the reinforcements that the sotrmtrooper had requested.

Luke waited and sighed. It had been two years of constant research and clues that had led him to this base. He just prayed that it was not another false lead as the last one since he had aready stayed too much time in this place and he was extremely worried for his sister and friends.

- ”They must believe I'm dead”- he thought feeling a pang of guilt even though he knew that the secrecy was absolutely necessary in order not to compromise the mission- ”I'm sure Leia will scold me in tears while Han laugh at me while listening at the sides.”

A warm smile formed in his lips imagining the scene and he realized how much he missed them and he hoped the reinforcements could hurry so he could finish with this and return.

Two years ago, Luke had received rumours about a certain place where the First Order hid a huge fleet and more importantly, secret and high level of importance data about not only the organization but even the Supreme Leader's personnal files.

- ”Are you sure this is real and not just a trap?”- asked Leia when he had told her and Han the information.

- ”Remember the fiasco of Kantalu”- mentioned Han and Luke furrowed his eyebrows remembering the great danger the Resistance had to pass only to collect information that was irrelevant or outdated.

- ”This one is different”- said Luke with a serious expression- ”my instincts are telling me to go there. And to avoid another Kantalu, I'll go alone and check the information personally.”

Leia and Han immediately disagreed and showed their opposition to the idea. Luke was too important to risk himself in a lead that could be false.

- ”Let me deal with this”- proposed Han showing his concern and Luke could feel the warm and worry from his best friend- ”Lando and me can confirm the sources of these rumors in a short time and make sure they are true.”

- ”No”- Luke shook his head feeling grateful for their corcern- ”The information filtering is too risky. You know as well as me that it's impossible to weed out all the spies in both organizations. If we alerted them and this is real, they will change the information's position or even erase it completely.”

- ”I prefer to lose that information than losing you”- said Leia turning her back on him to hide her worry- ”you say the Force is guiding you there, but my instincts are telling me that if you go we can lose you forever.”

Luke got closer to her and grabbed her shoulder to calm her down. He knew that this mission was more dangerous than other due to the vital information they could get.

- ”With no risks, there are no rewards, Leia”- said Luke turning her sister around and looking at her eyes directly- ”this could be the information we need in order to put an end to this war. It's worth the risk.”

- ”Nothing is worth your life, Luke”- said Han noticing Leia's inner thoughts.

- ”Give me some trust”- said Luke smiling confidently- ”I'm extremely difficult to deal with and I'll not take unnecesary risks, so I'll be fine. You know what's in game, Leia.”

Leia knew he was right and even though she hated the idea, she could only swallow her bitterness and let him go. After hugging his family, he left immediately without telling them anything about the mission in order to avoid the information to be filtered. He only told them to look for Lor San Tekka who had decided to isolate in the planet of Jakku in case too much time went without news from him. When he thought about Jakku, his feelings were affected since the place brought many memories not only of battle but other things that were sweet and also sour.

CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK

The sounds took Luke out of his reverie and he focus in the present. The door of the base opened and many stormtroopers got out in formation while checking the area.

- ”Comb the area and shoot any intruder at sight!”- said the one who seemed to be the leader of the group.

The stormtroopers advanced in a very well trained formation while looking for intruders and soon they found the fallen guards but they could not find anyone else. They did not notice the blur that entered the base at such speed that nobody would believe a human could move like that.

- ”Infiltration complete”- said Luke hiding in a dark corner- ”let's see if the stormtrooper outside was completely honest.”

Luke moved quickly inside the base evading the stormtroopers who had no idea they were being invaded by the Jedi master. Luke focused at maximum feeling the Force and letting it guide his steps. He literally walked among the stormtroopers in the area positioning himself in their blind spots and matching their footspteps with his advancing with such extraordinary timing that anyone wuld believe that he could predict what the stormtroopers would do the next second before they even thought on doing it, and they would not be wrong. He also made sure of interrupting the security cameras in order to advance unperturbed and soon he found the place where the files were compiled.

- ”Who are you?”- said the guard in the area pointing his blaster at Luke- ”identify yourself.”

- ”You will open the door and deactivate the alarms”- ordered Luke waving his hand at the guard.

- ”I will open the door”- repeated the guard and immediately did as told- ”and deactivate the alarms.”

He entered being followed by Luke who was extremely amazed by the massive size of the archives contained in the room. The guard went to the main panel and started to introduce codes that deactivated the alarms.

- ”Who are you?”- asked the keeper of the archives watching in shock how the guard and a stranger entered the room.