TheBridge

Piett favored him with an eyebrow raise and then turned, tugging the hem of his jacket and being certain his cap was on straight before he pushed the gently blinking yellow button on the control panel.

“Grand Moff. A great honor,” he said to the life sized blue hologram that flickered into being six feet away.

Tarkin’s skeletal features could have been carved from Praxil granite.

“We’ll dispense with the honor, Captain Piett,” Tarkin said, tones frigid. Piett shouldn’t be surprised that the Moff knew who he was. Few things got past Tarkin. Which was why this conversation they were about to have was so very dangerous.

“I have been informed that you have taken the Rebel Princess into custody. You will immediately place her on a shuttle with your most trusted men and send her to me for interrogation.”

Piett’s gut churned at the horrible anticipation in Tarkin’s voice at that word. But he schooled his own countenance sternly.

“We have her, yes sir. The credit for the capture is due to the Avenger, however, so—”

Tarkin’s lip curled and he waved a long fingered hand. “I’m not here to listen to the details of her capture, Captain. You will follow my order.”

Piett tilted his head gently and blew out through his nose to prepare for his next move.

“Grand Moff. I regret to tell you that I cannot do so. I have been expressly ordered by Lord Vader that he is to interrogate the Princess. I await his return to the ship shortly, in order that that he may do so.”

As bold a lie as Piett had ever told, and one he desperately hoped was true.

"You think you could bring him back?" Wanda asked, a faint tremor in her voice. "His mental circuitry is very complicated," Shuri said, "and without the Soul Stone I cannot say how much he would remember – if he would even be the same person. But I have the best engineers in the world here. If you and Doctor Strange were to assist me? I think the answer is yes." For a moment, the clouds of grief on Wanda's face cleared, and she looked almost beatific, but only for a moment. Then the shadow fell on her again. "That…that wasn't what I meant to do," she whispered. Bucky stepped in again. Sam wondered when he was going to admit that he was really in charge of the Avengers, not just on a provisional or crisis basis, and what that would look like, but that wasn't the current problem. "Can we have some time to think it over?" he asked. "We all thought he was gone for good, and this is a bit of a shock. The good kind, but still." "Of course," Shuri said. "Take all the time you need. For this, anyway. You still need to bring me that shield!" Bucky and Okoye exchanged wry, amused smiles, and then said their farewells. Wanda stared around the room as though hoping to find the answers to her questions in the sleek holographic screens. Finally she turned back to the rest of the Avengers, who were standing still, in various attitudes of shock or deep thought. "How do I even begin to make a decision like this?" she asked. It was a good question. None of them were completely sure of the answer.

Leia immediately dropped to her knees beside Piett once more and had the horrible device off his head in seconds.

He was shaking a little and she cautiously eased his head back into her lap, stroking the curly hair and wishing she had the power to heal all of him immediately.

“They’re such bastards,” Zev said fiercely, dragging tarp back over to arrange around their Captain again.

Leia raised her eyebrows at him, impressed nonetheless.

“Does your mom let you say that?” she asked.

He grinned.

“Nope. But it’s true and you know it.”

“It is,” Luke agreed. “Bastards.”

Leia rolled her eyes.

“My Mom would destroy these clowns in five minutes if she were here,” Zev continued.

“Do you think they’re looking for you?” Luke asked, grabbing one of their water bottles and offering it to Piett. “Your parents?”

When the man couldn’t hold it steady, her brother surprised her by carefully helping him drink.

“I know they are,” Zev replied confidently.

“They will be,” Piett agreed huskily. “I have heard enough about Myra Veers to know that I might almost pity these smugglers. But then, anyone who takes children deserves to burn in nine hells.”

Luke grinned at him and Piett managed a tired smile back.

“Thank you all,” he said.

They took turns giving the Captain food and water and Zev calmly took Leia’s place to cradle his head while she moved to work on his ankle again. It had happily been a straightforward break and she knew she was getting it.

“How’s that, Captain?” she asked, trying to keep the pride out of her voice. Nobody liked insufferable ego.

He moved the foot experimentally and gave her an impressed look that had Leia feeling warm.

“Amazing, my dear. Still a bit tender, but….I think I could walk on it.”

Leia, however, could sense the rest of the damage. The damage she couldn’t really do anything about. Further, she could tell that Piett planned to do all he could for them until he dropped—-and he fully expected to drop.

“You should rest,” she told him, coming to take over from Zev once more.