into the chaos! → luke skywalker ✓

xiii. the annual bar fight

⋆☆* ✧✰.✦

MON MOTHMA HAD BEEN CLEAR: until they had a concrete plan to rescue Han, their first priority had to be the rebellion. Luke and the others, while desperate to get their friend back, understood that the rebellion needed their full attention. Luke hated having to choose between a friend and the galaxy, but the right choice was obvious—besides, it was what Han would have wanted. He could almost hear the other man's voice in his head: "go save the galaxy, I can wait a while". But, of course, that didn't mean he was just giving up.

So he burned the candle at both ends—they all did. They'd go on missions, continue to be a thorn in the Empire's side, keep each other safe and guard the secrets of the rebellion, but they'd also plan and plot and scheme wherever they had spare time. Unfortunately, though, spare time was difficult to come by for them these days, especially now that Leia had been made a general (thanks to her bravery during the Battle of Hoth) and Cas was now a commander alongside Luke. They were positions each took with slight reluctance because it meant less time planning the rescue (and in Cas's case, less time looking after Leia), but they accepted them nevertheless.

Luke's position hadn't changed, but now that Leia outranked him he was given the opportunity to do more work on the saving Han front. He, Lando, and Chewie made frequent trips to Tatooine, occasionally accompanied by Cas and—albeit rarely due to her position—Leia. He also spent a great deal of time reaching out to the Force and working on training himself, and while it wasn't an easy feat, he didn't exactly have the time to return to Dagobah and train under Yoda. The time for that would come once they rescued Han.

At first, Luke hadn't been sure how good of a teacher he'd be to himself, but he wasn't the scrappy boy from Tatooine anymore. He was strong, both in will and with the Force; he knew that it was an ally rather than a power, a cherished part of the universe that was to be held in higher regard than any Jedi who could wield it. It was through the Force that he could feel, see, and know things. It was a tough road, though, and only once he forged his own lightsaber did he truly become confident in his abilities.

With the newfound confidence in himself and his Force abilities came confidence in the plan he had conjured up after several months of nothing. It was a wild plan, one that anticipated each move that could be made by the opposing parties and accounted for any possible variation. There were many moving pieces and it was incredibly dangerous, but Luke knew it would work—even if he didn't exactly know how he knew, but that was part of allying with the Force, wasn't it?

The first step was fairly simple. Lando was to imbed himself in Jabba the Hutt's network as a guard, which he was able to do seamlessly. He would stay there long enough to gain trust and give the others a report, then they would set the rest of the plan into motion.

Nearly a month went by with Lando serving the crime lord before he finally made contact to set up a meeting. Cas had suggested having it at a cantina off-world, somewhere where all sorts of unscrupulous people could be found and no one would give them a second glance. Luke, always willing to take her advice, set the meet for a bar in Ord Mantell. With everything going on, he didn't even realize the date she had suggested—two days after Lando's call—happened to be Empire Day.

Since the destruction of Alderaan, Cas had developed a sort of tradition for Empire Day. Whether intentionally or by sheer coincidence she would find herself in a bar each year on the dreaded holiday—a bar that always happened to have Imperial sympathizers drunkenly (and loudly) celebrating. Now, Cassia Tarin was never one to start a fight, but she would argue with them and once the first punch was thrown (always by someone else) then she wouldn't hold back. The work she did for the rebellion was fulfilling, but this was her personal way of letting off steam, and while Luke couldn't exactly blame her that didn't mean he wasn't concerned for her. Well, there were unhealthier coping mechanisms he supposed.