The Bow and the Gun

Chapter 7: Intermission-Knight and Admiral

"I don't like this," Han Solo remarked, pacing on the Bridge of the Nebulon-B Frigate Liberator, "They said they would be here over an hour ago, and they still haven't arrived."

He shook his head, "This stinks of a trap."

"It will be fine," Luke countered, as he stared out the window, "The Force hasn't warned me of anything yet. I would probably feel something if this was a trap."

"Right, the Force," Han shook his head. The mystical force. In his opinion, Luke relied far too much on it.

"We've got something on scanners!" a sensors operator called, attracting the attention of the entire Bridge crew, "A spatial anomaly has occurred twenty kilometers off our port bow!"

The holographic display on the Bridge flickered to show the roiling tear in the fabric of space, as it disgorged a massive, 5,694.2 meter long stark grey warship.

The lettering on the side flickered as the translation software provided by their contact worked its magic.

UNSC Infinity.

Han was agape at the behemoth of a starship… no, warship. Such utilitarian design was rarely seen outside of Imperial shipyards, and the multiple barrels poking out of the prow was more menacing than the turret emplacements on a Star Destroyer. In fact, Han was sure that it could probably ram a Star Destroyer and suffer little more than superficial damage to the paint job.

"We're being hailed," a technician reported, drawing everyone's attention once more to the holographic projector as it momentarily blurred. When it resolved itself, the image was that of a heavily-decorated man in a military uniform. Han didn't recognize a single picture, symbol, or word on the dress uniform, but he mentally memorized their appearance so he could check the Holonet later.

"I am Admiral Lasky, Commanding Officer of the UNSC vessel Infinity. To whom am I addressing?" the voice of the man crackled over the channel. The language was completely unfamiliar to the crew of the Liberator, so the translation software was a real help. It provided a full and proper translation of what was said, and voiced it over the Bridge's speakers. Han was momentarily disturbed by this. This faction was completely unknown to the galaxy at large, and inversely, had been observing galactic civilization for quite some time. Han momentarily wondered whether they were making a huge mistake by attempting to ally themselves with this "UNSC".

"I am Luke Skywalker," Luke spoke up, "Jedi Knight of the Rebel Alliance. Greetings, Admiral Lasky. You've kept us waiting for some time, were you delayed?"

Lasky nodded onscreen, "Yes. We ran into an Imperial Star Destroyer on patrol. To prevent word of our existence from spreading, we were forced to destroy the patrol."

"It took you an hour to destroy a Star Destroyer?" Han asked in disappointment. It looked as if his expectations were off. If it took a ship that size to destroy an Imperial capital ship, it was weaker than he thought.

Lasky shook his head, "No, the battle itself lasted only a few minutes. We spent the majority of the time hunting down escape pods and stray fighters."

That got Han's attention. Only a few minutes? That was impossibly fast. Was this some sort of intimidation tactic? Whatever, it wouldn't work. It would take more than some alien's word to make him fear this "UNSC".

"Well, I am glad to hear that you were able to handle the situation," Luke nodded politely to Admiral Lasky, "Now, down to business. We extend an invitation for you to visit the Liberator to discuss the terms of our alliance."

"Thank you for the generous offer, but… we were hoping for a meeting on our-" Lasky began to reply, before Luke cut him off.

"Admiral, with all due respect, very little is known about your faction. As it is, we are not sure whether to trust you or not… Allowing us to host negotiations on our ship would go a long way into creating a… friendly… working relationship."

Han stared dumbfounded at Luke. That was risky. Tactful, but risky. This could scare off a potential ally, but at the same time, it could prove whether they were truly serious about this alliance. It also masked the fact that the Rebellion was desperate for help. Make it seem like the Rebellion was able to dictate terms at the negotiations. Which, really, it wasn't. Still, couldn't hurt to put on a show.

After a few seconds of silent debate from the UNSC ship, Admiral Lasky turned back to the camera, "After conferring with my senior staff, I have decided to accept your… kind offer. Expect our shuttle in ten minutes," then, in a tone that brooked no argument, Lasky added, "I will be accompanied by four personal guards."

The channel was cut immediately.

Luke visibly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. Turning to Han, he smirked, "I thought that went well."

A/N: Shortest chapter I've ever written. Mostly to get rid of that preview, and I did promise an update on New Years. So I'm resuming this story. I apologize for the incredibly long hiatus, but I've been obsessed with other story ideas. I still am, but I am committed to finish this, along with my other stories.