Star Wars: Lightforce

Chapter 29

The transport lurched and tipped forwards, giving the sensation that they were going down a steep slope. It got markedly darker inside the vehicle. Han peered out of his view hole again in time to see a patch of light disappearing from view.

They came to a stop and, shortly afterwards, the thunking of the lock accompanied the opening of the rear door. They were ordered out of the vehicle into a damp cave, vegetation hanging from outcrops of rock, kept lush with water that ran gently and dripped off the cave wall. At the lowest part of the cave, a metal hatchway had been cut into the rock face revealing a brightly lit corridor beyond.

Leia hugged Jak to her as they were all filed towards the open hatchway and through into a sophisticated hidden underground base. The hatchway slid shut behind them as the last child was guided through at the end of an officer's blaster. This is why there had been no sign of stormtroopers on Takodana. They must have been hiding out of sight until now. Leia was quietly pleased that one good thing to come out of all this was that they had shown themselves and now would probably have to abandon this site as well as the one on Thyfeera.

They were led through a maze of corridors containing closed hatchways, most giving no hint as to what was on the other side but a few had small view windows. Leia tried to see inside each one but they were steered too quickly past them. Han had hung back behind all the children as a partial protective measure and she hoped his extra height would afford him a better view.

Taking advantage of a scuffling amongst the children as one of them tripped, she moved quickly to one of the doors and stood on tiptoe to look through the window, taking in as much information as she could. Rows of children sat in front of vertical holo-displays, each with headsets on that blocked any peripheral vision and each display flickering with changing information and images, although they were directed away from her so she couldn't make out the content. She was shoved sharply in the back by a blaster rifle muzzle and continued to walk, glancing back to catch Han's eye. He was indeed looking surreptitiously through all the windows as he passed, frowning occasionally at what was inside and he caught her eye, a troubled look on his face.

They'd been walking for several minutes and Leia got the sense that they were slowly descending as they passed from one corridor to another. The light in these latter tunnels was significantly dimmer now and the doors windowless and blank. They came to a halt next to one, the troopers separating them from the children. Jak was pulled roughly from Leia's arms, causing her to begin crying hysterically, reaching her arms back in Leia's direction as she was dragged away.

"It'll be ok. " Leia tried to reassure her but her face showed how much this was hurting her to watch the little girl's fear. Han took her hand and squeezed it, her worried eyes imploringly looking into his face.

"We'll come back for them," he whispered as they were moved on at gunpoint.

Bringing them to a halt outside a room further down the tunnel, their guards slipped wide metal bracelets onto their forearms which sealed as they were clasped together, a little light blinking green on a tiny console on the back. Han examined his, turning his arm over in puzzlement but, once they were directed into the room and he saw the larger console by the door and a metal strip embedded in the wall, it all became clear.

"Magnetic," he quietly explained to Leia as she looked at hers.

Apart from the metal strip, which ran the whole circumference of the cell at roughly Han's shoulder height, the room was completely white and featureless with no windows and rather aggressive lighting embedded in the high ceiling which gave it the buzz and feeling of a clinical medical centre. The thick metal door hissed shut behind them.

"Did you manage to see anything in those other rooms?" Leia asked quickly, wanting to clarify her thoughts.

"Yeah." Han had been quite disturbed by what he'd seen. "They've got kids strapped into those contraptions like the one they used on us on Bespin." Leia recalled the electro-shock treatment Vader had used on them to lure Luke into a trap.