Encountering the Enemy

After the defense of Fondor, Inferno is granted access to the Emperor's Observatory on Pillio, one of many Observatories established by the Emperor across the galaxy for various classified purposes. Agent Del Meeko is sent alone to shut down the Mantle defense system and destroy the Observatory as its contents could be used by the Rebel Alliance against the Empire. Meeko travels to Pillio aboard a single Lambda shuttle with stormtrooper forces, unaware that the new age Jedi Knight and Rebel Commander Luke Skywalker is already there with his astromech R2-D2 on his own mission to the Observatory. Luke is forced to defend himself when the stormtroopers open fire on him, but encounters Meeko trapped in amber by Pillio's native Scritters. Meeko initially doesn't recognize Skywalker until the Jedi uses his lightsaber to free him. He doesn't understand why an enemy of the Empire would help him, to which Skywalker replies it's simply because he asked. Facing a common enemy and mission, Meeko is forced to work with Skywalker to defend themselves against Pillio's bugs and locate the Observatory. Despite Skywalker's shouts, Meeko hurls a thermal detonator at the bugs, ripping open the cave's grounds beneath them. Nevertheless, they reach the Observatory, where Skywalker defends Meeko from the bugs as he shuts down its security systems.

After the Mantle defense system is shut down, they are nearly overwhelmed as they run towards the Observatory, but the bugs strangely fly away from it and thus Skywalker and Meeko. Skywalker uses the Force to open the Observatory's doors, leaving Meeko as to wonder why the Emperor would create a facility that could only be opened using the Force. Skywalker tells Meeko that he already knows, to which Meeko asks in disbelief if Skywalker is telling him that the man who destroyed the Jedi Order was secretly one of them. Skywalker tells Meeko, however, that, as a boy growing up on Coruscant, he feared the wrong thing. Meeko remarks that the Emperor was only protecting junk, but Skywalker takes interest in a particular compass and asks Meeko if he can keep it. Meeko asks Skywalker why he would let him do that since his orders are to destroy the Observatory and Skywalker is an enemy, to which Skywalker replies simply because he asked. Meeko decides to let Skywalker keep the compass. Skywalker then asks Meeko to reconsider his mission, saying that the Empire has already done enough damage to many innocent worlds.

As they depart from the Observatory, Meeko asks Skywalker how they can just walk away and pretend like this never happened. Meeko confesses his growing doubts in the Empire to Skywalker, who tells Meeko that he has a choice. Meeko misinterprets this as a choice between the Empire and the Rebellion, but Skywalker corrects him in that it's simply a choice to be better. Skywalker wishes Meeko "may the Force be with you" as he leaves, walking off into the sunset with Meeko watching from behind.