LL2 1 Returning Home

When Han killed the hyperdrive engines, he was already switching on the comm channel to report their approach and order medvacs for the wounded. Yavin 4 glowed emerald green on its dayside, but the base was a single cluster of lights several hundred kilometres into the night. Solo reported a summary of events on the subspace channel days before, so the New Alliance was expecting them. They sent warm but worried 'welcome home's.

Solo hit the ramp control with one hand and unbuckled his seatbelt with the other. By the time he, Lando and Kess came out of the cockpit, the Falcon swarmed with medics and ground crew, shouting out orders and demanding answers about the state of the wounded.

Kess meekly stepped aside as Councilor Leia Organa Solo was pushed out on a gurney. Solo frowned as he followed the medics carry his wife off the ship without giving a glance in Kess' direction. She pushed back the afterimage of Solo's anger and moved to the passageway where her duffel waited. Lando was there, giving medical observations to another team who transferred Luke from his bunk to another gurney. Chewie walked out of the ship on his own two feet but was escorted by a member of the ground crew. Zoiy woke once during the trip, but that was just to throw up. The swarming medics filed onto the pad as they pushed the redhead out on a third gurney.

Kess slugged behind, trying to stay out of the way of all the hustle, but armed escorts closed in on her as soon as her combat boots hit the duracrete deck. She turned to glare at Solo when he stepped over with insistence. "Put her in holding until she's called for debriefing."

"Captain! You're overreacting!"

"Overreacting?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Solo motioned behind him as doors slammed shut on the medvacs and yellow lights spun to flash against the dark walls. Sirens blared hair-raising octaves as the vehicles carried the wounded away.

She stumbled over her words, "But-, I- I have a right to unbiased counsel!"

"You'll get your call in the morning," he sneered and stepped away.

The escorts nudged her to move. Kess didn't like being treated like a criminal, but the escorts could not have cared less what she thought about the situation or why. They posted themselves behind her shoulders and ushered her to start marching. The ground crew secured the ship and hurried back to the travel way to return to their respective watches. Han hopped on the runner that was waiting to take him and Lando to medbay so they could worry over Leia and Luke. Threepio waddled down the travel way carrying Han and Leia's bags back to their home. Artoo followed with Luke's bag on an extended arm.

Pad 14 went dark and silent again.

It must have been 2200 or later, Kess estimated. Only every other overhead light shined in the travel way. On the pad, six out of seven lights were turned off as if to allow the parked X-wings to sleep. Kess adjusted her duffel on her shoulder, glanced at the escorts, and sighed as she began her walk to the Security Building.

She was not looking forward to questioning, especially with Solo at the helm of the interrogation. Her thoughts began a checklist of the facts so she could get her own story straight and airtight.

When they exited the Complex, the wet jungle scent filled her nose. It was a comfort to be home despite the circumstances. A field of green grass split the six pad complexes. On one end, overlooking the base with proud white pillars and an extravagant facade, stood the Council Building where the New Alliance leaders reported for work every day. At the other end stood the Admin Building where personnel managed personnel. The Admin building and a dozen support buildings behind it separated two rows of barracks. The four-story rectangles were identifiable only by the numbers painted on the end walls and stood like dominos in twin rows long enough to house several thousands of New Alliance service members. Kess' barracks building was straight ahead, seven buildings deep into the South row, but the guards ushered her to the small security station behind Admin.

The security office was near empty in the middle of the night. A sergeant, bored with his watch, filled out her paperwork and a young private ushered her down the hall and locked her behind bars. Once she was inside, she sighed and turned around, seeing the world from the inside of a cell.

The private handed her a datapad through the iron. "In case you don't feel like sleeping, you can write your debrief report."

Kess had never been 'debriefed' before. She wasn't sure what the term meant. It must have showed in her face.

The private eyed her like she was stupid. "Your side of the story."

Kess stepped back and looked at the blank datapad. The private walked away, leaving her alone in the cell with the datapad, the camera's unyielding eye, and the fluorescent bright lights. She sat down on the bunk, leaned up against the wall, and thought hard about her side of the story.

By the time morning unfolded, security sent a droid to her barracks to gather her dress uniform, and a courier took her debrief report to the Council Building. In fresh khakis and tidy, braided hair, Lieutenant Lendra awkwardly met armed escorts at the door of her cell when they let her out. They marched her to a security speeder, drove her directly passed her workplace, and parked her out back of the Council Building.

Once in the Council Building, the guards directed her through the halls and up the elevator. The little Lieutenant had never been inside the building before. Without being obvious about it, she watched the other formally dressed bodies, ambassadors, administrative assistants, political officers of all kinds. When she stepped out of the elevator, they took her to the closed door of a conference room and ordered her to parade rest. Then the escorts fell into parade rest on either side of her.

People brushed passed them in the hall for several minutes, ignoring her entirely until one body stepped up and stopped to face her down.

Han Solo's face was nothing less than livid. His index finger pointed stiffly at the tip of her nose. "If you lie in there, I will find out about it."

Kess didn't move her eyes to give him the pleasure of meeting his glare. She took the battering in unflinching, military fashion.

Solo poked his head in the door. "Are you ready for the Lieutenant, sir?"

Kess caught her throat. Who was Solo calling 'sir'?

"Okay," he said. He motioned the guards to stay in the hallway and ordered her to go in. Kess came to attention and marched into the conference room. The room had more doors on both walls, probably shortcuts into personal offices, and a window on the far wall with a view of the jungle behind the building. A long oval table cut lengthwise down the room, surrounded by comfortable chairs and heavily decorated officers.

Kess recognized Commander Tolgray instantly because she expected him there. Commander Tolgray was the Commanding Officer of Gold Group (Kess' boss' boss' boss.) Across the table from him was Admiral Drayson, the Commanding Admiral over Rogue Group (Luke's boss.) Next to him sat the unmistakable Admiral Ackbar who ran the entire fleet (Luke's boss' boss.)

And, as if to beat her already dead career one last, fruitless blow, at the head of the table was the Minister of State Dell André, (Leia's boss… or, if you climbed the chain of command high enough, everyone's boss except for Chief Commander Mon Mothma herself.)

Kill me now.

At the foot of the table, Kess came to attention with her back to Solo, who, smugly, shut the door behind her.

Luke opened his eyes and recognized the ceiling of a patient room of medbay on Yavin Base.

He rubbed his eyes and squinted.

Yes, this is definitely in medbay. He'd spent a lot of time in this very bed recovering from missions before. His nose curled at the after smell of bacta liquid permeating his skin from an unconscious dunk in the tank.

He sat up slowly and verified to himself that, last he could recall, he went to sleep in a suite bedroom on the Frakkan System, thinking about things he probably shouldn't have, and mulling over the fight with Kess on the beach.

To him, that was yesterday, but he knew it would have taken at least four days in hyperspace just to get back here. He wondered how long he was out before that, what events had caused his unconsciousness, and, most importantly, if everyone else was all right.

Nearly on cue, Lando strolled into the room with the silver and black skeletal frame of the med droid waddling at his heels. Two-One-Bee greeted Luke with pre-programmed bedside manner as he began some periodic vital sign check.

Lando greeted him with a smuggler's grin. "He's alive! Howya doin', Luke?"

Luke pushed himself to sit in the bed and rubbed his eyes. He inhaled to ask the first question that popped in his head, but the second and third, and fourth questions crossed his expression before he got any words out—

Lando almost laughed at Luke's honest expressions of confusion and answered a few he knew Luke was trying to put into words. "Everybody's fine. You and Leia were drugged into a coma, but it was nothing a dip in the tank couldn't cure. The Frakkan government made a deal with the Empire and tried to turn over your negotiating team over to Admiral Cheenan, but your Usak and I foiled their plans and got you guys out of there."

"Usak," Luke repeated, I used to know what an Usak was. He blinked, "Kess?" He blinked again at his friend. "You and Kess? What were you doing there?"

Lando crossed his arms at his chest. "Coming to warn you." He shrugged humbly, "I was late."

There was a questionable pause in Luke's eyes.

Lando broke the silence, "I brought your uniform so you could get out of those pajamas and sneak into debriefing as soon as you were ready."

Luke started pulling off the ties of the hospital gown. "Do you have a speeder here?"

"Waiting out front," Lando said as he strolled out the door to let the man change.